LA Dodgers defeat Houston Astros 4-1. They did it with pitching, defense, a squeeze play, power and the bullpen. Whodathunkit? Starter Hiroki Kuroda went seven scoreless innings in his first outing since coming off the disabled list, Luis Maza squeezed in a run in the fourth and Andre Ethier hit a solo shot in the fifth. Meanwhile the Dodgers sent start Clayton Kershaw back down to AA Jacksonville to make room for Kuroda. Hopefully he'll improve on his command. Also word has it the Nomar Garciaparra will be back soon to play shortstop. Though the funniest sentence according to the Dodgers.com piece says, "Garciaparra did not field any balls at short, but he did dive for a couple balls that went up the middle for singles."

LA Angels defeat Oakland As 7-4. Starter Joe Saunders went 6 1/3 innings giving up four runs to get his AL-leading 12th win of the season. Francisco Rodriguez notched his 34th save which ties John Smoltz for most saves before the All Star Break. Juan Rivera and Eric Aybar went yard to give the Angels enough offense to hold off the pesky As.

Notable Notes

The Tampa Bay Rays proved a lot Wednesday night. Down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, they weaved their way through a weak Boston Red Sox bullpen to put up six runs for a 7-4 lead which they rode to a 7-6 victory to sweep the Sox. Coming into the series questions abounded about whether the Rays' inexperience would be a detriment. Frankly it wasn't an issue. The team that swept the Sox didn't show a whole lot of youthful naivete. This is a team that is ready to answer any challenges, and proved it after pulling out the win in the face of adversity Wednesday night. At 52-32 the Rays have the best record in all of baseball and will be a force to reckon with down the stretch.

The Golden State Warriors are trying to one-up the Clippers. After guard Baron Davis agreed in principle to a deal with the Clip Show, the Warriors made an offer to Elton Brand. The deal is rumored to be for five years and $90 million as opposed to the five-year, $70 million deal the Clippers offered. This is just a ploy for the Warriors to blow smoke up the Clippers' ass. If the Clippers manage to re-sign Brand they will have undoubtedly be winners of the free agent market hands down. Now they must pray that Davis stays healthy for the whole season. And I pray that I can sit on that beard at least once.

Can all of this Brett Favre bullshit just die already?

Tonight's Action

LA Dodgers at Houston Astros. The hot Chad Billingsley gets the start against Brandon Backe. Oh by hot I mean very good. 11:05 am FSN Prime Ticket, AM 790 KABC.

AP Photo by Pat Sullivan