Quote: "It didn't matter who it was off. I would have taken a base hit. As soon as I hit it, I said, 'Please don't catch it. Please don't catch it.' " -- Twins' Doug Mientkiewicz, who ended an 0-for-24 slump with a homer off David Cone

It's a fact: The Blue Jays are 14-29 against teams with winning records.

Who's hot: The Red Sox's Troy O'Leary has a career-high 15-game hitting streak.

Who's not: The Angels are 6-23 since the All-Star break.

On deck: Tomorrow, the Rangers begin a stretch of 13 straight games against four playoff contenders: the Indians (four), Red Sox (three), Yankees (three) and Blue Jays (three).