Reborn On The Fourth Of July

What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? You get baseball minutiae! First, the Cardinals just don't lose on the Fourth of July; they've won on that day for the past seven years straight. But the Diamondbacks don't lose when ahead in the late innings; they are 38-3 this season when leading after seven. So what happened on Wednesday? A tie. G'night, folks! Sorry, no ... St. Louis came from behind with four runs in its final two at-bats, beating Arizona 5-4.

Solo home runs by Chris Duncan and Brendan Ryan in the seventh started the rally, and Scott Rolen's run-scoring double in the eighth finished it. Sure, their team ERA is a portly 4.86 and they have trouble driving in runs, but in a division with the Brewers and the Cubs as your leaders, does a single-digit deficit at the All-Star break seem that bleak? One further request: Please print this out and carry it in your wallet or purse, and if you happen to see Will on a ledge, read it through a bullhorn. Thanks. (Ed. Note: Bryan Leitch was at this game yesterday and is still dancing from slot machine to slot machine at the Casino Queen.) • Right Down The Schmidter. Chuck James — hmm, I thought he was the guy from King of Queens — got the win, and Andruw Jones homered to lead the Braves over the Dodgers 5-2. And speaking of the Dodgers, Dodger Blues has an amusing graphic at the top of its home page; a real-time estimate of the money the team has "wasted" on inactive pitcher Jason Schmidt.

• Yankees Hamstrung Again. Most of the sports sites are making a big deal of Alex Rodriguez saying that he most likely won't play in the All-Star Game, so I thought I'd mention it. But of more interest to me was Johan Santana winning his fourth straight start, and Jason Kubel's tiebreaking homer, leading the Twins over the Yankees 6-2. But that's just me.

• What, No Mention Of The New York Mutuals?. This is kind of a dubious achievement, history-wise, but the Rockies on Wednesday became the first club to sweep two New York teams in the same season with their 17-7 win over the Mets. Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins both drove in five runs in Colorado's 20-hit attack. Yes, that means sweeps for the Rockies over both the Mets and Yankees this season. AP: "The last team to sweep series from two New York clubs during the regular season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was the Milwaukee Braves, who whitewashed the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants in 1956. After moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers swept the Yankees in the 1963 World Series after sweeping the Mets four times during the season."

• Vote Young! Unless You're Planning On Voting For Someone Else! Chris Young, the guy the All-Star voters left behind, struck out nine and walked none over seven innings as the Padres beat the Marlins 1-0.