Joe Nathan deserves a great deal of credit for what he has done this season. The Rangers closer has blown just one save heading into this week… way back on April 11.

What a weekend for slump-busting, eh? Brian McCann and Dan Uggla both enjoyed some success at the dish after going through horrific offensive slumps. Every hot streak starts at one, you guys.

The O’s bats have come alive — and in grand fashion — behind Adam Jones, Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds.

If the Yankees-Orioles series is any indication of what the AL East race will come down to, we are in store for one heckuva final three weeks of the season.

The Angels did exactly what they needed to do, winning six straight against their wild-card competition.

The Pale Hose were just 3-3 at home against the Royals and Twins last week, teams they must beat if they want to hold off the Tigers in the Central.

Jake Westbrook’s injury creates an open spot in the rotation. Could the miraculous Chris Carpenter return be happening at the perfect time? Or what about top pitching prospect Shelby Miller?

If the Pirates want to finish out the year in playoff contention, then a performance like going 2-4 on a six-game homestand against the Cubs and Astros can’t happen again.

The D-backs continue to simply hover around the .500 mark and manager Kirk Gibson won’t hesitate to mention that isn’t good enough.

Kevin Millwood looked good in his return to the win column last Wednesday. The right-hander tossed six strong innings against the BoSox for his first win since July 28.

The Mets are not winning games at home and have struggled to manage more than three runs per contest. Even Anthony Bourdain wouldn’t touch that recipe for disaster.

In his first save opportunity since losing the closer’s job at the All-Star break, Heath Bell give up a game-tying home run in the ninth inning to Jayson Werth —on the first play after a two-hour, 33-minute rain delay. Ouch.

Recently recalled David Huff was one of the few bright spots for the Tribe last week. The right-hander relieved Jeanmar Gomez on Wednesday and pitched 3.1 hitless innings to defeat the Twins in his 2012 debut.

Auditions for the 2013 Cubs rotation is underway after the Cubs decided to shut down right-hander Jeff Samardzija for the season.

How about starting pitcher Edgar Gonzalez going from Triple-A to unemployment to the Mexican League to a deal with the Astros. The definition of journeyman, Gonzalez has impressed in his first two starts for Houston.