Around The Majors- Monday

School has started, and that means that baseball's regular season is hitting the stretch run. The weekend brought some heavy impact and one team has pulled out some Donald Trumps to send a message. Yesterday's recap, today's news and notes, and what's on tap for today is what's going down today on ATM.

Sunday Recap
Detroit hit 3 homers and scored their 5 runs on 4 hits in a 5-4 win over Phil Hughes and the Yankees. Curtis Granderson led off the 1st with an inside thr park homer. Erik Bedard had a rare rought outing as the Twins blasted Baltimore 11-3 to complete the sweep. Bartlett, Redmond, and White each drove in 2 for Minnesota. Carlos Pena homered twice and drove in 3 as the Rays beat the A's 7-4. Tampa got 7 strikeouts from starter Andy Sonnanstine. Boston got 6 solid frames from Julian Taverez and walloped the White Sox 11-1. Pedroia, Ortiz, and Kielty each drove in 2 for the Red Sox. Cleveland got RBI singles from Hafner and Martinez in the 11th to edge Kansas City 5-3. Escobar outdueled McGowan as the Angels beat the Blue Jays 3-1. Byrd and Sosa each drove in 2 as the Rangers defeated Seattle 5-3.
The Reds scored 6 in the first and mauled the Marlins 9-3. Ryan Jorgensen had a first inning grand slam for Cincy. Padres starter Tim Stauffer gave up a team record 11 earned runs in a 14-2 loss to Philadelphia. Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth each drove in 4 runs for the Phils. Ty Wigginton drove in 2 as Houston beat the Pirates 5-3. Adam Wainwright pitched the Cardinals past the Braves 4-1. Colorado scored 6 in the 3rd to weather Washington 10-5. Holliday and Tulowitzki each drove in 3 for the Rockies. Randy Winn and Guillermo Rodriguez each drove in 2 as the Giants edged the Brewers 5-4. Ryan Braun had a 3 run homer for Milwaukee. Chris Young homered twice and drove in 4 as the Diamondbacks got a much needed 5-4 win over the Cubs. David Wells got the win in his Dodgers debut as Los Angeles defeated the Mets 6-2. Pierre and Kemp each drove in 2 for the Dodgers.

News and Notes
- One day after retiring Jeff Bagwell's number 5, the Astros fired manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. Bench coach Cecil Cooper will be the interrim skipper, and president Tal Smith will currently serve as the temporary GM.
- Alfonso Soriano will be back in the lineup tomorrow for the Cubs in a huge series against the Brewers, according to manager Lou Piniella.
- Phils ace Cole Hamels has started his rehab and hopes to be back on the 3rd of September.
- Redefining a comedy of errors, the AAA Syracuse Chiefs (Toronto) made 10 errors in one game, and almost won! They fell 12-10 in 10 innings to the Ottawa Lynx (Philadelphia).
- Pete Orr up, and Joey Devine down for Atlanta. Detroit placed both Gary Sheffield and Jair Jurrjens on the DL, and called up Zach Miner and Timo Perez in their steads.

Monday On Tap
In a makeup game, the White Sox got 5 runs in the 7th inning on 4 home runs to beat Tampa Bay 5-4. Delmon Young had a 2 run shot for the Rays.
At 7 on ESPN2, the Yankees send struggling Mike Mussina to the hill against Justin Verlander and the Tigers. Silva and Byrd tussle as the Twins and Tribe open a series at the Jake. Burnett and Loaiza go in Oakland, and the Angels and Mariners open up a huge series with Lackey facing Batista.
The Phillies need wins over the Mets, JD Durbin faces Brian Lawrence. Atlanta is in Florida, and Arizona and San Diego open up a bigtime series, Livan Hernandez goes up against Jake Peavy. Los Angeles sends Derek Lowe to the mound against Washignton, and Josh Fogg faces Barry Zito as the Giants and Rockies open up a set by the Bay.

- ESPN senior writer Jayson Stark told SprungOnSports the rational behind the Cubs' recent acquisition of Craig Monroe.
"They're 12-19 against lefthanded starters. And Monroe is hitting .302, with an .858 OPS, vs. lefthanders. So he's there to be a platoon piece in the puzzle. They're not bringing him in thinking he's going to be Mark Teixeira." Maybe not an impact piece, but someone who can definitely impact a tight NL Central race.