The Red Sox and A's brought the drama last night, as Mark Ellis's cycle ended up being an afterthought to a game that featured a ninth-inning rally to tie the game, escapes from bases-loaded jams to keep the game alive, extra-inning plays at the plate, and a game-winning home run in the 11th.  Eric Chavez of the A's sent a solo shot into the sands stands with two out in the 11th to send the A's to a 5-4 victory, validating Ellis's rare feat and negating the efforts of David Ortiz, who hit his first home run in 19 games and added two doubles to end a long dry spell of power.

You know who else has had a long dry spell of power?  The Whig Party.  Whatever happened to those guys?  Henry Clay was the shit.  And Abraham Lincoln was a Whig congressman.  Fa real.

Other MLB scores: Derek Lowe tossed six no-hit innings before the Dodgers held off the Pirates 6-5… Gary Mattthews Jr's unnecessary grand slam capped off a 23-hit ass-raping, as the Angels beat the Twins into submission, 16-3… The Mariners' 9th-inning, two-out rally bailed out Felix Hernandez and gave them a 7-4 win over the Orioles… Hey, the Cubs won without Lou Piniella in the dugout!  They'll probably win four in a row and go back to losing when he returns, just to fuck with his blood pressure.