Cotts began the season with the Cubs, and compiled a 7.36 ERA in 19 games. He was demoted to Triple-A Iowa, where he was 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 12 games. In his last outing June 24, Cotts gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning. Dr. Tim Kremchek performed the operation in Cincinnati.

Abreu owners have to be scratching their heads, wondering where this type of power production has been hiding all season. Maybe 2009 won’t be the year Abreu falls short of 15 homers and 85 RBIs for the first time in his career of regular playing time, after all. This big performance left the smooth-swinging veteran with a .299 average and 48 RBIs.

Hamilton led off and went 0-for-4, one day after going 1-for-7 for the Redhawks as the DH. He is expected to start in Oklahoma City's outfield again on Friday. The date for Hamilton's return to the Rangers is still unknown, but it could come sometime this weekend against the Rays, possibly as early as Independence Day.

Lohse is rehabilitating from a right forearm strain. He first sustained the injury on May 23, skipped a start, and aggravated it in his next start on June 3. It's expected that Lohse will make at least one more rehab start. If he remains on the five-man rotation schedule, he would be in line to start for St. Louis on July 12, the last day before the All-Star break. The Cardinals have a doubleheader against the Cubs that day.

Calls for Lee’s demise were clearly premature, and anyone savvy enough to grab the Cubs first baseman at the beginning of June got the bargain of a lifetime. Lee has been tearing the cover off the ball since the start of that month, going for nine homers and 29 RBIs and compiling a 21-game hit streak along the way. Now is no time to bench Lee, who’s reemerged as a viable starting option at first and run producer in the heart of the Cubs lineup.

If there’s any silver lining to this gloomy piece of news, it’s that the injury could have the Orioles thinking about promoting its best pitching prospects. One of those candidates, Chris Tillman, was recently selected to compete in the Triple-A International League's All-Star Game. The Orioles want Tillman -- who has been one of the youngest pitchers in virtually every league he's competed in -- to continue growing at his own pace. Still, his time may be close to arriving. Baltimore GM Andy MacPhail wouldn't address Tillman's case specifically on Thursday, and he's consistently said that fellow top prospects Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz need as much time as possible to ease their transition. Now, with just staff ace Jeremy Guthrie remaining from the original rotation, it may be time to reconsider.

The Braves have to be encouraged by Escobar’s display of extra-base power in his first game back. The double marked his 16th of the season, lifting his average to a rock-solid .294.

A nice outing by Wellemeyer, but let’s be honest – the Giants aren’t one of the game’s better offenses, and the Cardinals right-hander isn’t one of the NL’s most consistent starters. Before Thursday, his last quality start came way back on May 22, which provides just a glimpse of what life would be like relying on Wellemeyer from start to start. Wait to see if he can build on this outing and continue chipping away at that 5.44 ERA before you go playing with fire.

The only downside to this otherwise sharp outing was Buehrle’s one strikeout, but owners have come to expect low strikeout totals from the finesse left-hander. Thursday's terrific effort left him with an impressive 3.09 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Throw him back out there when he plays host to fellow southpaw David Huff and the Indians next time out.

Blum has a habit of erupting for big games every once in a while before going back to subpar production the next day. The two-hit effort snapped a 2-for-15 slump, giving him a .266 average and 24 RBIs as the Astros’ semi-regular third baseman. In spite of this big game, Blum warrants little to no attention outside of deep NL-only leagues.

The 33-year-old right-hander will begin throwing batting practice Monday, July 6, at Wrigley Field in preparation for July 19, when he'll make his first Minor League rehab start with Class A Myrtle Beach. With his current rehab schedule, Hudson is slated to make his first six-inning rehab start Aug. 20. With this in mind, the veteran hurler said that his earliest possible return to Atlanta's rotation would likely be Aug. 25.

The injury caused Ramirez to leave Wednesday's game in Cleveland prior to the bottom of the eighth inning. X-rays on his finger were negative, but it's unclear whether he'll be able to return to the lineup after missing just one game. "I cannot say he will be back [Friday]," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "It's still a little bit early. I don't want him to aggravate it. ... I got to wait for him to see how he feels." Jayson Nix filled in at shortstop for the White Sox on Thursday.

Home runs have become a problem for Wandy in recent outings, but the Astros southpaw took advantage of the spacious confines at PETCO Park to twirl a rare road gem, lowering his ERA to 3.21 in the process. His recent inconsistency aside, there’s no point benching him next time out, when he faces a punchless Pirates lineup at home.

Another game missed for McLouth, despite the fact that he was able to run and take batting practice without any discomfort. "I'm just giving him as much time as I can," Braves manager Bobby Cox said of McLouth, who hasn't played since straining his hamstring last week. McLouth remains hopeful that he'll be back in the lineup for Friday night's series opener in Washington.

Langerhans, acquired from the Nationals last Sunday for Minor League infielder Mike Morse, was 5-for-23 against left-handers last season and is a better defensive player than Balentien. "The biggest reason [for starting Langerhans] was to get him acclimated to the club," manager Don Wakamatsu said before Thursday night's game. "Historically, his numbers against right-handers and left-handers are pretty even." The Mariners acquired Langerhans for defensive purposes, but he offers little to no offensive production.