This hasn't been a pretty season for the Indians, but two of the team's scarce bright spots were on full display Tuesday as they overtook the Tigers for third place in the AL Central. Cliff Lee held the Tigers to a pair of runs in 7.2 innings to tie Brandon Webb for the MLB lead with 19 victories and Ben Francisco went deep twice while driving in four runs. Lee's monthly ERAs are 0.96, 2.88, 3.41, 3.14, and 1.86, and he's 19-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 145-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio overall.

While some misguided voters will no doubt put Francisco Rodriguez atop their ballot if he ends up breaking the all-time saves record, there's little question that Lee has been the best pitcher in the league this season and he's shown no signs of slowing down despite his career-year drawing lots of skepticism throughout. Meanwhile, Francisco is hitting .288/.345/.473 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs in 98 games since being called up from Triple-A in late April.

What makes Francisco's strong rookie season unexpected is that he hit .228/.308/.315 at Triple-A before being called up, but even with the poor month at Buffalo he's a .292/.358/.459 career hitter in 1,126 plate appearances at Triple-A, which nearly matches his .284/.338/.476 line in 472 trips to the plate as a big leaguer. Cleveland has a lot of work to do this winter, but with Francisco (26), Grady Sizemore (25), and Franklin Gutierrez (25) their outfield is set for a while.

While the Indians improve to 20-6 (.769) when Lee starts compared to 44-61 (.419) when anyone else takes the mound, here are some other notes from around baseball …

* After placing J.D. Drew on the disabled list Tuesday with a herniated disk in his back, the Red Sox are said to be on the verge of acquiring Mark Kotsay from the Braves. Kotsay posted a .575 OPS while missing two-thirds of last season with longstanding back problems that also sent him to the disabled list for a while this year and have caused his range in center field to shrink, but he's hit .289/.339/.418 in 87 games for the Braves.

Kotsay certainly isn't an impact player at this stage of his career, but the 32-year-old veteran is a decent pickup given Drew's uncertain status, Jacoby Ellsbury's second-half struggles, and Coco Crisp's ongoing ineptitude offensively. Kotsay has hit .305/.358/.457 against right-handers this year while Crisp has hit .288/.299/.493 against left-handers, so they'd make for a nice platoon in center field that would likely leave Ellsbury is a reserve role once Drew returns.

If Kotsay is indeed dealt, rookie Gregor Blanco will take over as the Braves' starting center fielder and Brandon Jones figures to get a long look as his replacement in left field. Blanco has hit just .258 with one homer in 464 plate appearances, but has posted a strong .368 on-base percentage thanks largely to coaxing 64 walks. It remains to be seen if someone with such little power can continue to draw that many free passes, but so far at least he's done a very nice job leading off.

* Geovany Soto's rookie season got off to an amazing start when he batted .301/.391/.563 in 52 games through two months, but it looked like he might be wearing down when he hit a pedestrian .254/.314/.429 in 48 games between June and July. However, Soto has quieted any concerns by once again putting up monster numbers this month, including smacking a homer and two doubles while driving in a career-high seven runs in Tuesday's comeback win over the Pirates.

Soto is now hitting .328/.436/.578 with 20 RBIs in 21 games this month, giving him an outstanding .285/.368/.509 mark with 20 homers and 78 RBIs in 121 games overall. Toss in brief stints with the Cubs before this year and he's hit .292/.368/.512 with 23 homers, 60 total extra-base hits, and 62 walks through 575 plate appearances. Soto was featured in my "Top 25 Sleepers" article in the Rotoworld Draft Guide, with advice that he was "worth gambling on." Hopefully you did.

* Facing a 7-0 deficit in the fourth inning Tuesday, the Phillies stormed back to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning before taking a half-game lead in the NL East by beating the Mets with a walk-off single in the 13th frame. Jimmy Rollins did his best to quiet some of the boos that he's heard recently from the home crowd, going 5-for-7 with a homer and three steals. Rollins broke a 4-for-46 slump Monday and is now 8-for-10 with five RBIs in the past two games.

Chris Coste didn't enter the game until the eighth inning, but still went 4-for-4 and smacked the game-winner over Carlos Beltran's head with the bases loaded. Coste took over behind the plate after coming on as a pinch-hitter and the Phillies shifted starting catcher Carlos Ruiz to third base, which is an interesting move given that Ruiz hasn't played a single inning at third base in at least seven years and Coste played 156 games at the hot corner during his minor-league career.

AL Quick Hits: Josh Beckett (hand) reported no problems after a bullpen session Tuesday and is on track to start Friday against the White Sox … Roy Halladay picked up his 16th victory Tuesday while throwing at least 110 pitches for the ninth time in 12 starts … For the second straight start, Kevin Millwood allowed one run in a complete-game win Tuesday … Tim Wakefield returned from the disabled list Tuesday with a win over the Yankees despite serving up a pair of Johnny Damon homers … Scott Rolen came off the shelf Tuesday, but a balky shoulder makes him a poor bet down the stretch … Manager Eric Wedge said Monday that "there's a chance" Victor Martinez (elbow) could return from the DL before September 1, but "will not play every day" … After going hitless in five at-bats Tuesday, Josh Hamilton is in a 0-for-16 slump … Rays vice president Andrew Friedman said Monday that Evan Longoria (wrist) is "progressing well" and remains likely to return next week … Vernon Wells went 3-for-5 with a homer Tuesday and is now hitting .339 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 14 games since coming off the DL.

NL Quick Hits: With John Maine (shoulder) landing on the disabled list Monday, the Mets are said to be considering filling his rotation spot with 21-year-old southpaw Jon Niese … Brandon Lyon has a 14.21 ERA this month, but manager Bob Melvin said Monday that he won't lose closing duties unless he struggles in save situations … Ben Sheets came into Tuesday at 1-5 with a 4.05 ERA in his last eight starts, but shut out the Cardinals for six innings in a blowout win … Brian Fuentes will be away from the Rockies for at least three days after being placed on bereavement leave Tuesday, making former closer Manny Corpas the favorite for saves … Bronson Arroyo allowed one run in a complete-game victory Tuesday and is 11-6 with a 4.17 ERA over his last 21 starts … Austin Kearns (foot) landing on the shelf Tuesday gives Elijah Dukes a chance to start in right field … Derek Lowe tossed an eight-inning complete game Tuesday, but took the loss while giving up two runs … According to manager Cecil Cooper, Kaz Matsui (back) is unlikely to come off the DL before next week.