By Ron Kaplan, contributor

Ian Kinsler was dropped to seventh in the lineup and responded by going 3-for-3 with a double (#8), home run (#3), single and a walk. He scored three runs and drove in three for a nice line in the box score. The homer came in the second with two on and gave the LA Angels (35-20) a 4-0 lead over his old team, the host Detroit Tigers. “It’s a comfortable place for me,” he said afterward about Detroit’s Comerica Park. The Angels would eventually win by a final score of 9-2.

In comparison with Kinsler, Kevin Pillar was moved to second in the order and responded by striking out in four of his five trips to the plate as the Toronto Blue Jays (25-30) lost to the host Boston Red Sox, 8-3.

Alex Bregman was 1-for-4 with a run scored and his sixth stolen base, but the Houston Astros (35-21) lost to the host NY Yankees, 6-5, in 10 innings.

Ryan Braun — still batting fifth and having a tough season — was 0-for-3 with a walk as the Milwaukee Brewers (35-21) fell to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1.

Joc Pederson grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning as the LA Dodgers (25-29) lost to Gabe Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies (30-22), also by a score of 6-1.

Neither Danny Valencia nor Richard Bleier appeared for the Baltimore Orioles (17-38) in their 3-2 loss to the visiting Washington Nationals.

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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