By Ron Kaplan, contributor

Ian Kinsler was a triple shy of a cycle as he helped the LA Angels (52-52) beat the visiting Chicago White Sox, 12-8. He drove in two runs, scored three, and walked. The home run was #14 and broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth. The double was his 19th of the year.

Danny Valencia was 2-for-3 with a walk as the Baltimore Orioles (28-74) dropped a 4-3 decision to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

Joc Pederson was 2-for-5 with his 21st double, a run scored, and an RBI as the LA Dodgers (57-46) beat the host Atlanta Braves, 8-2.

Ryan Braun’s pinch-hit single drove in the run that gave the Milwaukee Brewers (59-46) a 3-2 lead over the host San Francisco Giants in the eighth inning. The Brewers went on to win, 7-5. Braun remained in the game in left field and was hitless in a subsequent at-bat.

Gabe Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies (58-44) beat the host Cincinnati Reds, 9-4.

No game for Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros (67-37). Bregman was the subject of a segment on Thursday’s Pardon the Interruption which highlighted his reaction to being called out when a fan interfered with his fly ball in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies. After the game, Bregman went into a profanity-laced tirade against the review officials.

Ron Kaplan (@RonKaplanNJ) hosts Kaplan’s Korner, a blog about Jews and sports. He is the author of three books, including The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games and Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War.

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