DOMINANT STUFF Having won 8 of their last 10, the Boston Red Sox find themselves securely standing at first place in the AL East with the best record in the American League. Boston defeated Chicago 5-3 in front of a heavily Red Sox-favoring crowd at U.S Cellular Field. Above, closer Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth inning. He has 24 saves.

HORRID AND HELPLESS The Houston Astros have fallen 37 games under .500, aiming for one of the worst records in National League history. After losing Hunter Pence in a trade that sent him to the Phillies, many fans are wondering if the Astros will be any different next year.

ON FIRE Dan Uggla celebrates with Freddie Freeman and Martin Prado after his three-run homer in the seventh inning against the Marlins. The Braves are 5 games up in the Wild Card race with a record of 63-45.

SEEING RED Losing another game, the seventh of their last 10, the Cincinnati Reds fell 10-9 Thursday at Great American Ballpark. They lost all four home games they played against the now 54-51 New York Mets.

WETTER THAN EVER India's Clifford Miranda, bottom, and a United Arab Emirates attacker failed to corral the ball in New Delhi in a wet Asian qualifier for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

GOOD ENOUGH FOR FIRST Detroit's Miguel Cabrera hits an RBI single in the sixth to score Brennan Boesch. The first place Tigers won 5-4.

AMERICAN WITH HONOR Being selected a MLS All-Star and getting the chance to suit-up to play against Manchester United wasn’t something that Sean Franklin expected, but “it sure was nice,” the Galaxy defender said Tuesday after All-Star practice.

DEEP, DARK LAST PLACE In a rare display of frustration Seattle’s Brendan Ryan pauses, appearing to have given up Saturday after grounding out to end the seventh inning in the Mariners’ 3-1 loss to the Red Sox in Boston. The Mariners have lost 15 games in a row.

HITTING HAPPY Arizona's Justin Upton hits a two-run double in the first inning. The red-hot Diamodbacks went on to win 12-3.

DEADED Third base coach Dino Ebel celebrates with Vernon Wells after he hit a 9th-inning grand slam for the red-hot Los Angeles Angels

ALL SAID AND DONE Arturo Vidal has ended his four-year association with bayer Leverkusen

DIVING OUT OF THE PICTURE Ichiro Suzuki slides safely into second as Mike McCoy dives to catch the throw from cather J.P Arencibia. The Mariners won the game 7-5 and put the Blue Jays just one game above .500, falling quickly out of contention in the AL East.

DROPPED In front of another sell-out crowd at Citi Field, Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals diving too late to catch Ronny Paulino's single in the seventh inning.The Mets beat St. Louis, 4-2.

EUPHORIA! Valentina Vezzali of Italy after winning the women's team foil final against Russia during the European Fencing Championships.

A CHAMPIONSHIP OF HEALING Japan"s players celebrate with the trophy after winning their Women"s World Cup final soccer match against the U.S. in Frankfurt July 17, 2011.

MILE HIGH FRUSTRATION Chris Iannetta argues a call at home plate during the 7th inning. Iannetta was ejected and the Colorado Rockies went on to lose to the first place Milwaukee Brewers, 8-7.

2ND HALF HAS BEGUN A father and son watch the game from the upper deck as the sun sets during a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

AMERICA The United States is in the World Cup final for the first time since it last won the title in 1999, and once again, it was Abby Wambach coming up big in a 3-1 victory over France on Wednesday at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 Semi Final match at Borussia-Park.

IN IT TO WIN IT Players celebrate victory at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Semi Final match between Japan and Sweden at the FIFA World Cup stadium Frankfurt on July 13, 2011.

STAR IN THE SPOTLIGHT All-Star Most Valuable Player Prince Fielder, of the Milwaukee Brewers, is photographed by the media following Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona. The National Leauge won, again, by the score of 5-1.

THE ONE AND ONLY WINNER Mark Cavendish (GBR), middle, celebrates after winning stage eleven of the 2011 Tour de France between Blaye-les-Mines and Lavaur.

AN UPSET FOR THE AGES Abby Wambach celebrated after scoring in the 122nd minute. Wambach's late goal helped the Americans survive in the final minutes of extra time.

A LEGEND NOW STANDS ALONE Derek Jeter became the 28th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits on Saturday, with a home run in the third inning at Yankee Stadium off the Tampa Bay Rays’ David Price. In doing so, Jeter became the first player in the Yankees’ storied history to reach the hallowed number.

FIGHTIN PHILS Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after left fielder Raul Ibanez (29) hits a walk off home run during the tenth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Braves 3-2 in ten innings.

ANIMAL ENTERTAINMENT A calf, used to amuse the revelers, jumped into the arena after the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Six steers, six bulls and thousands of runners charged through the narrow streets as part of the annual San Fermin festival.

LET IT RAIN The pack, with Thor Hushovd of Norway wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, riding in pouring rain during the sixth stage of the Tour de France.

UH OH A dust storm converges on Chase Field in Arizona, home of the 2011 All Star Game.

RAY OF LIGHT Lucian Bute of Romania, the International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion, shadow-boxing in Bucharest -- with plenty of shadows -- for his title bout with Jean-Paul Mendy of France on Saturday.

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YOUNG AND QUICK The Rays John Jaso and Sean Rodrigez score in the bottom of the 8th off Johnny Damon's three-run triple. The Rays beat the Cardinals 8-3.

BACK NORTH Roy Halladay threw yet another complete game, granting the best-in-the-bigs Philadelphia yet another win. Het took the field in Toronto to a standing ovation of Blue Jays (and Phillies) fans, who welcomed him back to Canada with applause. Above, he retired Bautista- the Home Run leader.

THE BETTER TEAM WON Alexi Ramirex hits a two-run home run in the 7th inning as the White Sox beat the Cubs in front of a sell out crowd for the aWindy City Showdown.