Around the Bases: A trade candidate has a big day, Puig a hero

Brewers 6, Cardinals 3: Former Cardinal Kyle Lohse had his 13th quality start in his last 16 outings, out-dueling Lance Lynn en route to the victory. The Brewers supported Lohse with a big fourth inning, using five singles, an error and a sacrifice fly to plate five runs. Rookie Sean Helton drove in three runs and reached base three times for the Brewers.

White Sox 2, Royals 0: It's not often that a pitcher gives up one earned run on four hits over six innings and is still on the losing end of a game, but that's exactly what happened to Ervin Santana as he was outdone by John Danks. Danks threw eight scoreless innings to lead the Sox to victory. Gordon Beckham hit a home run in the first inning. Chicago tacked on one more run in the second frame.

Nationals 4, Cubs 2: Dan Haren gave up just one run over six innings while striking out six Cubs hitters. That helped Haren maintain a hot August that has seen him post a 1.04 ERA over four starts this month. Despite Haren's play, however, the Nationals held just a 2-1 lead going into the ninth inning. Ian Desmond and Denard Span each drove in a run in the top of the ninth to give Washington some added cushioning. The Cubs put up a leadoff homer from Donnie Murphy in the bottom half of the ninth, but the Cubs failed to register much more of a threat.

Rangers 4, Astros 2: Just a week after the Rangers acquired Travis Blackley from the Astros, he was starting against his former team. Blackley pitched four innings and allowed two runs, but looked to be on the hook for the loss as the Rangers struggled to put runs on the board against Jarred Cosart. Houston held a 2-1 lead through the first five innings, but a Texas two-spot in the sixth put the Rangers on top for good.

21st time for Rangers with games of at least three steals in consecutive games. Not whatever number I made up.

— Anthony Andro (@aandro) August 21, 2013

Dodgers 6, Marlins 4: Yasiel Puig was fined Tuesday for being late to a game and then was kept out of the lineup in part because he had been struggling mightily the last week and a half. That story ends with Puig pinch-hitting in the eighth inning, though, and launching a solo home run to break a 4-4 tie and lead the Dodgers to victory.

Apparently to save money the Marlins send the grounds crew home after 6 innings. Kenley Jansen having a problem with mound

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 21, 2013

Mets 5, Braves 3: Zach Wheeler looked unstoppable for the Mets through six inninngs, allowing just four hits and a walk while shutting the Braves out up to that point. He eventually ended up allowing three runs while securing just two outs in the seventh, but it was enough for New York. Led by Marlon Byrd's 21st home run of the season, the Mets offense did just enough to keep ahead of Atlanta.

Diamondbacks 5, Reds 2: Patrick Corbin has been one of the best left-handers -- and, actually, one of the best pitchers -- in the MLB in 2013. He didn't disappoint on Tuesday, either, striking out ten batters while throwing a complete game. Reds Rookie Tony Cingrani looked like he might match Corbin pitch-for-pitch, but left the game in the fourth inning with a lower back strain. With the D-Backs leading 1-0 in the eighth inning, Paul Goldschmidt put the game out of reach with a grand slam.

Three career grand slams for Goldschmidt. Hit all three this year. First Dbacks player to hit three in one season. #hegood

— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) August 21, 2013

Twins 6, Tigers 3: Amid rumors that he might be traded, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau fell just a triple shy of a cycle. He went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs in, anyway, leading Minnesota to victory. Four Tigers players had two hits apiece and Prince Fielder hit a home run, but that was not enough for Detroit.

Make it 36 career triples for 38-year-old Torii Hunter, four of them this year

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) August 21, 2013

Rays 7, Orioles 4: Despite quality starts from Alex Cobb and Miguel Gonzalez, this game didn't see the meat of it's action until the ninth inning. The Rays led just 3-2 headed into that frame before Wil Myers and Matt Joyce each drove in two runs to extend the lead out of reach. Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer in the bottom half of the ninth, but the Orioles would fall short.

Here's an embarrassing fact brought to my attention by @KevinCooney Os-Rays at OPaCY draws 26,158. Rockies-Phillies in Philly draws 34,018

— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) August 21, 2013

Rockies 5, Phillies 3: Unlike the Orioles and Rays, Colorado and Philadelphia scored all eight of their games runs in the first three innings. The Rockies led off with three runs in the top of the first, including a two-run home run from Troy Tulowitzki, then added on one more run apiece in the next two innings before the Phillies finally put up a three-spot of their own. The scoring stopped after that, leaving Colorado on top.

Yankees 8, Blue Jays 4 (Game 1): The game started off looking like it might be the Blue Jays whose offense would break out when Toronto scored four runs in the second inning. The Yankees went off after that, though, using three-run homers from Robinson Cano and Chris Stewart to take a controlling lead. The Dodgers also lost slugger Jose Bautista to the disabled list with a bruise on his hip bone suffered during this game.

Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2 (Game 2): The Blue Jays put up more of a fight in this game, taking the lead twice and holding it until the seventh inning. Close doesn't count in baseball, though, and Jayson Nix homered to tie the game back up. Nix then dashed Toronto's hopes entirely, walking the Yankees off with an RBI single in the ninth.

#BlueJays have now lost eight consecutive games against the #Yankees which ties second-longest skid to NY in club history.

— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) August 21, 2013

Indians 4, Angels 1: This one took 14 innings to complete in California, so you're forgiven for missing the end. Indians outfielder Drew Stubbs hit a two-run homer in the final frame and, even though the Angels put two men on in the bottom half of the 14th, the threat ended on a grounder back to the pitcher.

Mariners 7, Athletics 4: Sean Doolittle couldn't get anyone out when he entered the game in relief in the eighth inning for the A's as all four Mariners who batted against him reached safely. Ryan Cook could do no better, walking two batters and allowing two to score on wild pitches before the game was over.

Pirates 8, Padres 1: A.J. Burnett allowed just one run one on four hits during seven innings to lead Pittsburgh to its 74th victory of the year. Triples by Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen broke the game wide open in the seventh for the Pirates.

Giants 3, Red Sox 2: Brayan Villarreal issued a walk-off walk on four pitches, making his first relief appearance since joining the Red Sox before the July 31 trade deadline. That completed the comeback for the Giants, who trailed 2-0 relatively early before answering with three unanswered runs. Xander Bogaerts made his MLB debut for Boston but went 0-for-3. Before that, though, he was so excited:

Xander Bogaerts is pumped about first big league game. Said he didn't notice he had warmup shirt on backward until Napoli told him. #RedSox

— Joe Stiglich (@joestiglich) August 21, 2013