The Closer: Take That, Mr. Met

Notes from a day in baseball:

• 1. A Bronx Tale. One can almost hear the tiny squeal of air escaping from Mr. Met's enormous, balloon-like head. Alex Rodriguez led the Yankees to a 16-7 demolition of their crosstown rival with a grand slam and seven RBIs on Sunday. It still left the Subway Series tied overall at 3-3, but how sweet is an effort like that on the final day of interleague play? The Mets are 10 up in the NL East, but have lost five of six. And the Yankees' win gave the AL a 154-98 record against the NL this season, proving, well, something we're sure. Rodriguez, who earlier in the day made his league's All-Star roster for the 10th time, also had a three-run homer. Meanwhile, the Mets were receiving this news. Oy.

• 2. Vote For Francisco. Great things are happening in Minneapolis these days; too bad it's mostly all indoors, where God (a huge baseball fan, we hear) can't see it. When are the Twins getting that new outdoor stadium again? Anyhoo, even when Joe Mauer gets the day off (raccoon bite*), the Twins break out the whackin' sticks and win their 10th straight (and 20th of 22), 8-0 over the Brewers. Francisco Liriano (9-1) struck out 12 over eight innings for the win. (He didn't make the All-Star roster, by the way.)

• 3. Being There. It's the unsung streak of the decade; better in some ways than DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, mainly because Orlando Cabrera is still alive and we can ask him questions about it. On Sunday Cabrera reached base safely in his 59th straight game — the longest "gettin' it done" streak since 1960 — in the Angels' 4-0 win over the Dodgers. Cabrera is chasing Ted Williams' major league record of 84 games.

• 4. Gonna Fly Now. The Phillies have had a rough couple of weeks. But on Sunday, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley each had a home run and Bobby Abreu had four RBI to lead an 11-6 win over the Blue Jays. Philadelphia went 2-7 on its road trip, which is still better than reliever Brett Myers fared.

• 5. Red Sox File Appeal To Extend Interleague Play. Between the Twins and Red Sox, the NL had no chance. The AL teams combined for a 32-4 record against the rival league, with the Stockings holding up their end with a 16-2 mark. David Ortiz marked the end of the slaughter for this year with his third home run in two days in a 4-3 win over Florida.

* = May not be accurate.