1. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants: Lincecum is turning into one of the best stories of the season, throwing seven shutout innings in a 4-0 victory over the Dodgers. He improved to 4-2 with a 2.08 ERA while the Giants improved to 6-2 against the Dodgers. The skeptics will point out that the walk rate is still too high and his strikeouts haven't improved. The believers will suggest that he has finally learned -- after three years of poor results -- to pitch with his diminished velocity and that he has allowed just one home run in 47 2/3 innings. Anyway, he's a big reason the Giants have clawed back to just 2.5 games behind the Dodgers.
2. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: Another former star who hasn't played at his previous level this season or last, Mauer hit his first home run of 2015 and it was a big one, a 13th-inning blast to right-center off Antonio Bastardo that gave the Twins a 4-3 victory. The Twins finally faltered a bit, allowing runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but J.R. Graham tossed three scoreless innings to keep the game going and Glen Perkins eventually recorded his 15th save in 15 opportunities (although he did walk his first batter of the season).
3. Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals: Crashing into walls -- or chain-link fences -- isn't something I'd advise, but it does make for a great Web Gem. The Royals beat the Reds 7-1, although they missed their third straight shutout when they allowed a run in the seventh.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks run wild: They picked up six steals in a 6-1 win over the hapless Marlins, including A.J. Pollock swiping home on a double steal. Looks like new Miami manager Dan Jennings may need to run his club through some fundamentals. The Marlins have lost nine of 10 and have hit .218 while scoring 2.2 runs per game in that span. OK, maybe some extra BP to go with the fielding drills.
5. David Letterman: Thanks, Dave.
