Kerwin Danley Takes His Umply Lumps

Home plate umpire and crew chief Kerwin Danley took a 96 mph Brad Penny fastball to the jaw in the 4th inning of the Dodgers 11-3 win over the Rockies last night. The game was delayed 18 minutes and Danley had to be taken off the field in an ambulance. A Dodgers spokesman said Danley lost consciousness briefly, but was coherent again by the time he was loaded into the ambulance.

At that point the Dodgers were already up 10-2 and not much changed the rest of the way. Penny maintained composure after the incident, allowing three runs on four hits over seven innings. Matt Kemp apped a 10-run first inning with a grand slam off Mark Redman. Victor is the victor: A 9th inning bases loaded single by Victor Martinez plated Grady Sizemore to give the Indians a 4-3 win over the Yankees. Losers of three straight, the Yanks wasted a four-hit performance by Johnny Damon, now falling a game and a half behind the Rays for 4th place in the AL East. Meanwhile, the Tribe has won five in a row to return to .500.

Marlinspike: Florida's surprising stranglehold on the NL East is getting more and more tenuous as the Marlins see near unhittable reliever Renyel Pinto surrender the deciding home run to Prince Fielder in the 8th inning of a 4-3 Brewers win. The Phillies drew within half a game of Florida with their third straight victory, a 8-4 win over the Pirates. Ryan Howard looks to emerge from a poor start with his first career home run against the Bucs.