Today’s brief has a former stud pitcher going 7-1 in his last 10, two players who hit for the cycle, a reliever who has hit 100 mph, a Nelson Muntz imitation and lots more.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had three hits, two runs and four RBIs.  A-Rod was the first player picked in most drafts but the Roto Times Player Rater has him as the ninth-best hitter in fantasy.  He clearly will not be the first choice next year but I’m wondering if he’ll even be the first third baseman picked.  I think the age difference with David Wright might make him a more attractive choice.

Marlins reliever Matt Lindstrom pitched a scoreless ninth inning and picked up his third win of the season.  Since the All-Star break, Lindstrom has a 1.83 ERA in 22 appearances.  He’s reached 100 mph and with a little better command could be a top closer.  I definitely like that he’s allowed just one home run in 48 innings pitched this season.

Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado had two hits, a homer and two RBIs.  Delgado is now fifth in the National League with 31 home runs and seventh in RBIs with 95.  He’s going to finish the year as a down ballot MVP candidate, which is nothing short of amazing considering he had a .224 average and a .689 OPS on June 1^st.

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman had a home run, two runs scored, two RBIs and two walks to help Washington to its seventh straight win.  As a Mets fan, I’m extremely happy to see how the Nationals are not lying down against the Phillies.  They are 5-8 versus Philadelphia this season compared to 2-10 versus Florida.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had two hits, a triple, a run and an RBI.  He’s allegedly not fully healed from his torn quad muscle, which I’m hoping explains his .370 slugging percentage this season.

Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt pitched 8.1 scoreless innings to pick up his 13^th win of the season.  Considering at the end of May he had a losing record with a 5.45 ERA and then proceeded to spend time on the disabled list, it’s been a pretty good season for Oswalt.  In his last 10 games, he’s 7-1 with a 2.42 ERA and has allowed just three home runs in 63.1 innings pitched.

Diamondbacks infielder Stephen Drew had a five hit game and hit for the cycle with two doubles.  He scored three times and had the one RBI.  Home cooking agrees with Drew, who has a .314/.351/.547 line at Chase Field.  The National League is already pretty deep in quality shortstops and Drew is poised to add his name to the list of impact fantasy players at the position.

Red Sox pitcher Paul Byrd went seven innings and won for the third time in four starts for Boston since being acquired from Cleveland.  He’s been unimpressive in three previous stints in the post-season (2-3 with a 4.80 ERA) but if he continues to pile up wins he’ll be a major asset to the Red Sox’ playoff chances.

Indians pitcher Cliff Lee pitched a shutout to notch his 20^th win of the season.  I’m happy for Lee to achieve the milestone win.  Now I want to see him pounded for the remainder of the season.  I think he’s due to give up some gopher balls.

Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre had a five-hit game and hit for the cycle.  He finished with five runs and three RBIs.  He combined with Drew to become the first tandem of Major League players to hit for the cycle on the same day since 1920 when Bobby Veach and George Burns did it.  Veach and Burns combined for 17 home runs in 1920 while Beltre has 24 already.

Dodgers pitcher Greg Maddux gave up two runs in 5.2 innings and picked up the win.  It was his 354^th lifetime win, which tied him with Roger Clemens for eighth place on the All-Time list.  Say, whatever happened to Clemens anyway?  He seemed like such a competitive guy, I can’t believe he’s just going to let soft-tossing Greg Maddux pass him in wins.  In my best Nelson Muntz imitation - Ha-Ha!