This and every weekday a.m., let's rise and shine with the dearest and beerest baseball on either side of the Mississippi. Today's Roll Call starts near the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, where the St. Louis Cardinals told the Milwaukee Brewers to stop disrespecting the game by showing emotions of which they disapprove!

Game of the Day: Cardinals 5, Brewers 3

Party Ah-Pu-per: The Cerverceros beat the Cardinals 12-0 on Tuesday and appeared on the verge of further extending their wild-card lead until Carlos Villanueva got a little too happy with himself. He irritated the Cards, especially Albert Pujols, by a-wigglin' and a-gyratin' and a-screamin' after a-wrigglin' out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. He also glanced at the Cards dugout, as if to say, "Take that, infidels!" Villanueva said he just lost himself in the moment. No, you don't do that. Not on Ah Pu's watch.

"Major League" moment: Rather than be peaceful and one with the universe, Pujols got angry with his neighbor. "I didn't care about what he was yelling," Pujols said. "But when he started pointing to the dugout ... that's when I got [angry]. That's when I told him shut up and go to the dugout. He doesn't have to do that. And then he said something in Spanish that I'm not going to say to you guys, and that's when I got fired up and I told him to stop and come and say it to my face." Yeah! Like Cerrano says, "Bring that [bleep] to me, man!"

Not in our nest: The Cardinals, who trailed 3-1 to that point with only a Ryan Ludwick solo home run to their credit, put four runs on the board in the eighth. Pujols swears it was Villanueva dissing his crew that started his team back. "I guess he did us a favor," Pujols said. "He woke up a sleeping giant."

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Feelin' Rundown (the rest of Wednesday's machismo):

Cubs 2, Pirates 0: The Cubs have run on all cylinders before, but this is their first V16 engine since the days of their great double play combo of 100 years ago: Drinkers, Beavers and Chants. Oh, wait, that's the Wrigley Field bleachers. Speaking of the early 20th century, you know what else happened on Aug. 27 100 years ago? That's right. LBJ was born in Stonewall, Tex.

Padres 5, D-backs 4: If the D-b's sneak their way past the guards and into the playoffs, they will be very dangerous in a short series with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and La Gran Unidad pitching. Fear them, Cubs!

Nationals 5, Dodgers 4: It's a chicken-pox-and-the-rotten-egg scenario: Do we credit the Gnats for being relevant to the pennant race or do we deride the Dodgers for losing to the best Triple-A team in the majors? I say, let 'em both crash.

Giants 4, Rockies 1: Clint Hurdle, in comparing Tim Lincecum to Juan Marichal (wow), also said he was like a "whirling dervish." Aware of the term but ignorant of its meaning (despite my sixth-grade education), I looked up "whirling dervish" and found this. Whirling Dervishes worship in a Sufi order of Islam, and they practice a mystical brand of the religion that includes a twirling dance, part of a prayer to Allah (the Big Dodger in the Sky). Hurdle can get all that just out of Lincecum's delivery? Wow! Here is secret video of some Whirling Dervishes I smuggled out of Tajikistan. Or maybe I just found it on YouTube.

Twins 6, Mariners 5: How is a guy named "Tug" Hulett supposed to make it home before Denard Span throws him out at the plate? "Hydrofoil" Hulett, now, at least he has a chance.

Orioles 11, White Sox 3: Griffey Jr. looks more and more like Griffey Sr. every day.

Red Sox 11, Yankees 3: The Bronchitis Bummers have a backer in Red Sox infielder Dustin Pedroia who said, "I never write the Yankees off until the season's over and the standings are set." Poor sap. Delusional.

Rays 1, Blue Jays 0: Heart drops into stomach on Rod Barajas' drive to deep left in the ninth, but it's put back under the rib cage on this skeleton-shaking catch by li'l Justin Ruggiano.

Mets 6, Phillies 3: Carlos Delgado re-claims this division for Spain Flushing!

Marlins 4, Braves 1: Space doctors rebuilt Josh Johnson's right elbow. They made it better. Stronger. Faster.

Indians 9, Tigers 7: FEMA ought to order the Indians airlifted into the NL West, so their 10-game winning streak might have meaning. Can you imagine the look on Casey Blake's face as Grady Sizemore and Co. egress from the choppers Michael Bay-style — wearing flight suits and sunglasses, in super-slo-mo? ... I'm not going to say what I'm thinking about the Tigers. It's not nice, I'll tell you that.

Astros 4, Reds 1: Does someone in a pennant race want a relief pitcher? LaTroy Hawkins has two wins, a save, four holds, a 14-3 K/BB ratio and has no ERA in 11 appearances for the Astros.

Rangers 3, Royals 2: Milton Bradley stayed out of the press box and Jose Guillen stayed out of the stands. What else ya' gotta know?

Athletics 6, Angels 5: Big game for Emil Brown, of the Chicago Browns. The best kind. If you had a feeling the A's were going to squander their early 6-0 lead, you were not alone. You also were not correct.

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Photo of the Day: Orioles Rays Magic!

Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken, who just bought the Rays' affiliate in Vero Beach and will move them to Port Charlotte, slings a slider during his 7 2/3 shutout innings against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

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Fantasy Freaks

Jason Marquis (Cubs) 7 IP, 5 H, 3 K, Win

Pedroia (Red Sox) 3-5, HR, 4 RBI

Delgado (Mets) 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI

Dave Purcey (Jays) 8 IP, 5 H, ER, 11 K, Loss

Matt Garza (Rays) 7 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 K, Win

Johnson (Fish) 9 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 8 K, Win

Oswalt (Astros) 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K, Win

Rajai Davis (A's) 4-5, 2 R, 2 SB

Lincecum (Giants) 7 2/3 IP, 5 H, ER, 3 BB, 10 K, Win

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Fantasy Flakes

Joe Saunders (Angels) 1 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, BB, K, Loss

Justin Verlander (Tigers) 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, Loss

John Danks (White Sox) 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K, Loss

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Words of Mouth

"We're fighting some demons, the demons of the past, the rascals that have hung around us for a year. Every time we lose a game like last night is a reminder of that." — Jerry Manuel

Related: Morning Juice