By Ron Kaplan, contributor

A bleak day except for one brief shining moment.

Joc Pederson hit his 11th home run, a solo shot in the fourth inning to put the LA Dodgers on the board in a game that they would eventually win, 6-5, over the visiting Minnesota Twins. The victory put LA 40 games over .500 at 71-31. It was the only hit for Pederson in three at bats (he came out for a pinch-hitter in the eighth).

In fact it was the only hit for an MOT, period.

• Ryan Braun, 0-for-4 in an 8-5 loss by the Milwaukee Brewers (54-49) to the host Washington Nationals.
• Ian Kinsler, 0-for-2 in a 16-2 blowout loss for the Detroit Tigers (45-55) to the visiting KC Royals. He came out for a defensive replacement after the Royals scored nine runs in the top of the seventh.
• Kevin Pillar, 0-for-3 in the Toronto Blue Jays’ (47-54) come-from-behind, 3-2 win over the visiting Oakland A’s, scoring all their runs on a two-run homer and a solo blast in the bottom of the ninth.
• Danny Valencia, 0-for-4 in a 4-0 shutout loss by the Seattle Mariners (51-52) to the visiting Boston Red Sox.
• The bad performances weren’t limited to just the hitters. Brad Goldberg gave up a run on three hits and a walk (one strikeout) in 1.2 innings of the Chicago White Sox’s 8-3 loss to the visiting Cubs. Given all those men on base, it’s surprising he gave up only one run. His ERA is now 14.73 and you wonder how much longer he’ll remain with the team. Then again, with the Pale Hose 20 games under .500 (39-59), they might as well let him get this out of his system.

Richard Bleier did not appear for the Baltimore Orioles  (48-53) in their 5-1 loss to the host Tampa Bay Rays.

Alex Bregman missed last night’s 9-0 loss by his Houston Astros (67-34) to the host Philadelphia Phillies. He’s listed as day-to-day and might be back on Friday.

According to a UPI report (who knew there’s still a UPI?), “Reds RHP Scott Feldman (right knee) is making progress with his throwing program. Manager Bryan Price said Feldman would join the team this weekend in Miami to continue his rehab.”

And here’s a bizarre incident, non-JML related, but entertaining nonetheless. You know, the announcers complained, but if you’re gonna show up the umpires — who traditionally have little sense in the humor department — you have to expect something like this. And get off my lawn.

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