While watching the scores roll in Sunday afternoon and evening, you can be excused if you did a double take and suddenly wondered if you were looking at pre-season football results.

With August just around the corner, you've probably already got Sundays filled with pigskin viewing on the brain, but with scores like 18-11, 14-10, 13-4 and 10-6 rolling by on the ticker, you had to wonder where Terry Bradshaw was on Sunday Night Baseball.

Instead, we were treated to a trio of broadcasters that, if Orel Hershiser would just add about 40 pounds, looked amazingly like the Teletubbies in their bright, colorful shirts. The Angels took that nailbiter by three field goals, by the way.

I get the whole concept that strange things happen under a full moon, but come on – eight teams scoring 10 or more runs, two of which wound up on the losing end of their games? Even weirder, despite all the offensive fireworks, there were four shutouts hurled and three other teams limited to one run each.

On a day when hits were flying all over the place like drunken astronauts, you'd expect there to be some offensive fantasy lines that have your team jumping up the standings a spot or two. But strangely, the runs tended to be spread out. Oh sure, there were big-time days from Adrian Beltre (2-for-4, home run, three runs, four RBI), Mike Cameron (3-for-5 with a walk, two doubles, home run, three runs, three RBI) and Johnny Damon (3-for-5 with a walk, double, four runs, two RBI), but for the most part, the football-like scores were taking their toll on the hurlers.

For instance, I pity the owners who had any of these starters active on Sunday [Editor's note: viewing of these pitching lines not suitable for children under eight]: Jason Jennings (0.2-8-11-11-3-0-2), Jeremy Bonderman (2.1-9-11-10-3-4-0), Livan Hernandez (4-8-8-8-3-0-1), Lenny DiNardo (3-7-7-7-2-0-1) and Tim Stauffer (3.2-4-7-7-3-3-3).

Please tell me that if you ventured outside last night, you went suitably armed with silver bullets, garlic and a sharp, pointy spike.

At any rate, we'll leave the analysis of the day's crazy events to the Teletubbies or an equally advanced species. In the meantime, here's our take on Sunday's stories that we can make sense of:

• Do you think it's a coincidence that ever since Carlos Zambrano turned around his nightmare season, the Cubs are the best team in baseball? Let's harken back to Opening Day in the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, when the Big Z was touched up for six hits and five earned runs in just five innings. That set in motion a first two months of the season that were simply horrific, punctuated by a June 1 start against Atlanta during which Zambrano was drilled for 13 hits and seven runs – six earned – in just five innings. His ERA at the time was 5.62.
  
  Since then, Zambrano has been a completely different pitcher, going 9-2 with a 1.41 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings. The Cubs have followed suit, going a major league best 33-17 since June 3, including an outstanding 23-9 mark over their last 32 games.
  
  Sunday, Zambrano returned to the scene of the crime and dominated the Reds in Cincy, tossing 7 1/3 innings of two-hit shutout, fanning six and walking three, to become the major league's first 14-game winner. Who would have thought that about eight weeks ago when Big Z owners were ready to cut bait?
  
  The big dude even pitched in on offense, lashing three singles to equal his career high for hits in a game.
  
  Best of all, he's getting it done on the road – one of the true tests of an ace. Over his last 11 starts away from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, Zambrano is 9-1. Stretch that back to his last 45 starts on the road and the record is 27-7.
  
  It doesn't seem like anything can stop Zambrano right now. He was drilled in the ankle with a line drive in the sixth, and shook it off like an elephant struck by a flea. Although he had to come out in the eighth with cramps in his right calf, Zambrano is not expected to miss a start.



• There's plenty more news on the Mark Teixeira trade front, but still no deal with the deadline just over a day away. The Diamondbacks have entered the fray with an offer, but it's apparently not as strong as Atlanta's pitch. Arizona probably lacks the pitching necessary to entice Texas to pull the trigger, so the Braves remain the frontrunner to land the switch-hitting slugger, with the Angels also a strong possibility to nab him. Atlanta had to amend its offer because Matt Harrison has been shut down with shoulder tendonitis, taking him off the table. The Braves have countered with a list of young pitchers to add to a package that already includes Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Elvis Andrus, but Jo Jo Reyes is apparently still not in the mix.

AL Quick Hits: Kenny Rogers, who looked amazing after coming off the DL, but has been less than impressive lately, is back on the sidelines thanks to elbow inflammation. Jordan Tata will take Rogers' place for at least the next two times through the rotation…C.C. Sabathia continues to pitch lights out for the Tribe. If his defense and offense supported him more, he'd have 16 or 17 wins by now. He's lost his last two starts despite giving up just 11 hits and four runs – two earned – in 14 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and not a single walk. And how about that nine innings of three-hit shutout he tossed in a no-decision on June 10?...A-Rod is in an 0-for-12 funk since cranking his 499th career home run…One for the X-Files: Paul Bako, who had drawn 10 walks in 43 games this year and who has never had more than 27 walks in a season, earned four free passes Sunday.

NL Quick Hits: With Paul Lo Duca out because of his hammy, Ramon Castro was 2-for-2 with a homer, a double and two RBI. Explain to me why the Mets don't give this guy another game per week?...In his second start in place of the injured Jason Simontacchi, Billy Traber proved he's not a viable long-term option for the ever-changing Washington rotation…Can we stop whining about Derrek Lee's lack of power this year already? The dude went yard for the third time in four games Sunday and now has five blasts in his past nine…Matt Belisle, a nice early-season surprise after he went 5-4 with a 4.26 ERA over the first two months of the season, has now gone 10 straight starts without a W. His record has dropped to 5-8 and his ERA has soared over a run per game to 5.30…Jimmy Rollins is 7-for-12 with four RBI in three games since taking over from Chase Utley as the No. 3 man in the Phils' lineup.

Rob Blackstien runs www.RotoRob.com, a site featuring daily fantasy sports analysis. In addition to his baseball work on the site, he contributes to Rotoworld’s basketball coverage. Rob also writes for CREATiVESPORTS.com, BaseballNotebook.com and has contributed to Rotoman’s Fantasy Baseball Guide and Fantasy Football Guide.

Contact Rob Blackstien