Betemit's double in 8th helps Tigers beat Royals

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers have two of the best players in the majors in ace Justin Verlander and slugger Miguel Cabrera.The rest of the roster is holding up quite nicely, too.Wilson Betemit capped Detroit's three-run eighth inning with a tiebreaking RBI double against his former team, leading the Tigers to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.Betemit's big hit came less than 18 hours after reserve Ramon Santiago delivered a game-ending homer in the 10th inning."People wonder why I play so many different lineups, but that's what you have to do when you want to win a division," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "You don't win unless you get contributions from everyone, and you have to play them so that they are ready to make a play when you need them."Austin Jackson went 4 for 4 and scored three times for the AL Central-leading Tigers, who have won seven of 10. Cabrera added two hits and Jose Valverde worked the ninth for his 40th save in 40 chances."Austin had a great game for us -- that's exactly what we want from him at the top of the order," Leyland said. "When he's hitting, it is a really big tonic for our offense."Eric Hosmer had a pair of solo homers for Kansas City, which has dropped four of six.Jackson sparked the winning rally with a leadoff triple against Blake Wood (5-2). Ramon Santiago followed with a sacrifice fly that trimmed Kansas City's lead to 4-3.With one out and Delmon Young on first, Victor Martinez hit an RBI double into left-center. Alex Gordon made a diving attempt on the ball but couldn't haul it in."Alex made the dive, and I couldn't tell if he got it or not until I saw Melky (Cabrera) running after the ball," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He covered a lot of ground to even get close to that."Alex Avila was intentionally walked before Betemit hit a liner into the right-field corner to drive in pinch runner Brennan Boesch. Jeff Francoeur cut down Avila at the plate to end the inning."I haven't been swinging the bat well in the last couple games, but this was a big situation," said Betemit, who was acquired from the Royals on July 20. "I know Blake throws hard, so I was looking for something I could hit. He threw me a slider, and I put a great swing on it."Daniel Schlereth (2-1) pitched an inning to get the victory and Valverde got Alcides Escobar to fly out with runners on first and second to end the game.Hosmer connected in the second and the fourth, hitting a drive to right on a 1-2 pitch each time, and Kansas City added two more runs in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.Gordon hit a leadoff single and scored on Melky Cabrera's double. Cabrera then scored when Young couldn't handle Billy Butler's drive to left and misplayed it again when trying to pick it up."I thought I was pitching well until the sixth -- other than the two homers, obviously," Tigers starter Rick Porcello said. "Things got away from me a little in the sixth, but I was still pleased that I kept us close enough to get the win."Jackson scored each of Detroit's first two runs, on Young's sacrifice fly in the first and Nate Adcock's wild pitch in the third.Kansas City helped itself on defense. Rookie Johnny Giavotella made four highlight-reel plays at second base, and Gordon robbed Avila of extra bases with a leaping catch as he crashed into the fence in left."We played great defense, but every time you lose a one-run game, you hate it," Yost said. "We had a two-run lead and we couldn't hold it in the eighth."Game notes The teams finish their four-game series with a second straight afternoon game on Thursday. The game -- a makeup of a May 15 rainout -- will feature Detroit rookie Jacob Turner (0-1) making his second career start. Danny Duffy (3-8) goes for the Royals. ... Despite Giavotella's outstanding day in the field, he was replaced by Chris Getz in the eighth inning for defensive purposes. ... Neither starter got a decision. Porcello allowed four runs in seven innings, while emergency starter Adcock gave two in 5 2/3. Adcock replaced Felipe Paulino, who was scratched with back spasms. ... The Royals traded backup C Matt Treanor to Texas during the game. Treanor has been sidelined with a concussion since July 30.

Price fans 14 for Rays' franchise record in rout

TORONTO -- David Price blew away the Blue Jays.Price struck out a franchise-record 14 in seven dominant innings, Desmond Jennings hit a pair of solo home runs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Toronto 12-0 on Sunday."Hitting is hard enough already," Rays catcher John Jaso said. "What David brought today made it pretty much impossible."It wasn't just Price's stuff, but a stiff wind blowing out to center field that made him so effective, giving his fastball extraordinary movement."I've never had that much movement before so it was pretty cool," Price said. "The wind kept blowing and it was making my eyes watery all game. I knew it was blowing pretty good and I just kept throwing it."Jaso and Price felt strong gusts pushing them as they walked in from the bullpen beforehand, but didn't know how helpful the wind would be until the game began, and Price's two-seamer started drifting."It looks like a strike right out of his hand and then it's just fading off the plate," Jaso explained. "It was moving about three feet. Once they start to swing on his fastball, they can't hold it back."Price (12-11) broke the team mark for strikeouts shared by Scott Kazmir and James Shields."He had everything working today, the changeup, the slider, the backdoor cutter," manager Joe Maddon said. "Everything was working off the fastball. That's why their hitters could not get comfortable at all."Price allowed only three singles and walked two. His first seven outs all came by a strikeout, with two hits mixed in during that span."He's got great movement," Blue Jays bench coach Don Wakamatsu said. "You can get down in the count right away."After leaving the game, Price wrote a birthday greeting for his mother on his hand and flashed it for TV cameras. He'd sent her flowers and a card on Friday, but figured she'd like the win even more.Rays pitchers set a team mark by fanning 18 batters overall. Reliever Brandon Gomes struck out two in 1 1/3 innings and Cesar Ramos struck out two to end it."It's fun to catch when you've got something like that going," Jaso said.Jennings homered on the first pitch of the game and got a career-high four hits. He drove in three runs, scored three, drew a walk and stole a base from the leadoff spot.Sean Rodriguez added a two-run homer and Matt Joyce doubled twice during a six-run ninth as the Rays improved to an AL-best 20-9 since July 28.The Blue Jays lost their fourth straight. They finished with five hits.Price quickly matched his career high, striking out 12 through five innings. The left-hander didn't fan anyone in the sixth, but finished his outing with two more strikeouts in the seventh, matching and then passing Kazmir (2007) and Shields (2011) for the Rays' record.Price improved to 9-1 with a 1.99 ERA in 11 career starts against Toronto.Price didn't give his defense much to do in the first three innings. He did allow a pair of baserunners over that span: Mike McCoy led off the first with a walk and Jose Molina hit a two-out single in the second. Neither runner advanced.McCoy was the first batter to make an out on a batted ball when he grounded to second in the third. McCoy, who walked again in the sixth, was the only Blue Jays batter not to strike out against Price.Toronto's 18 strikeouts were a season-high, two more they had in a 3-1 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels on April 10. The franchise record is 19, set twice previously, both times in extra-inning games.Jennings put Tampa Bay ahead right away, connecting against Brandon Morrow (9-9) for the first leadoff home run of his career."It's an early run and gets the team up and the pitcher, especially David, he doesn't need many runs," Jennings said.After John Jaso's RBI double in the second scored B.J. Upton, Rodriguez hit a two-run shot into the second deck in left. Jennings made it back-to-back homers when he followed with another drive to left, his first multihomer game.Morrow (9-9) allowed five runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander has given up five homers in his past 10 innings. He lost for the fourth time in five starts.Game notes Toronto LHP Wil Ledezma was designated for assignment after allowing six runs in the ninth. ... Blue Jays manager John Farrell (pneumonia) missed his third straight game, with Wakamatsu continuing to run the team. ... Rays RHP Kyle Farnsworth (elbow) was available after missing the previous four games. ... Toronto 1B Adam Lind, mired in a 3-for-21 slump, was held out of the starting lineup. ... Blue Jays RHP Jon Rauch (appendectomy) threw a bullpen session before the game, his second in three days. ... Toronto OF Rajai Davis (torn left hamstring) has begun jogging and taking batting practice at the team's minor league complex in Florida and could return before the end of the season. ... Tampa Bay RHP Wade Davis (8-7) faces Blue Jays LHP Ricky Romero (12-9) in Monday's series finale.

Upton's home run helps Rays hold off Blue Jays

TORONTO -- Few people were certain whether B.J. Upton's sixth-inning drive landed fair or foul. Not even Upton himself knew for sure.The next time up, he left little doubt.After barely missing a home run earlier, Upton hit a three-run shot in the seventh that broke open the game and sent the Tampa Bay Rays past the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Saturday."He's got as much power as anybody, especially for being so skinny," Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach kidded. "When he gets into a ball, it can be very impressive."Upton's 18th homer put the Rays ahead 6-2, and Tampa Bay held on despite a pair of late home runs by Toronto.In Upton's previous at-bat, he led off with a long fly to left field that landed just a few feet foul. Upton and Rays manager Joe Maddon questioned the call with home plate umpire and crew chief Tim Tschida."(Tschida) said, 'I'll talk to the boys,' and I guess none of them were absolutely certain, so they did the right thing," Maddon said.Upton wasn't positive where his drive ended up, either."It looked fair from where I was, although it hooked very hard late," he said. "I don't think it hurt to check it out."After huddling near the mound, three umpires left the field to review the video. They returned two minutes later and confirmed the original call, leaving the score at 2-all.Upton reached the painful way when Shawn Camp's next pitch hit him on the leg. Sean Rodriguez singled and Kelly Shoppach tried to bunt the runners along.But Camp (1-3) fielded the ball and threw to Brett Lawrie for a forceout, and the third baseman's throw across the diamond completed a double play. The Blue Jays almost turned a triple play, too, but Rodriguez slid into third just ahead of the return throw. Elliot Johnson followed with a go-ahead single.Upton connected the next inning against Jesse Litsch. The shot into the second deck in left field scored Sam Fuld and Evan Longoria after they both walked."In that situation I'm not trying to do too much, just take what he gives me," Upton said. "He left something out over the plate for me and I got extended on it."Maddon was pleased with Upton's powerful shot."I congratulated him on keeping that ball fair," he said.The Rays are an AL-best 19-9 since July 28, and haven't given up hopes of winning the wild card. The Rays are seven games behind the second-place Yankees in the AL East."I keep saying that we're very much in this race right now," Upton said. "We've just got to continue to try and win series. That's all we can ask ourselves. Hopefully (New York and Boston) hit a little rut and we can gain some ground on them."Litsch, a converted starter who was working for the third time in four days, denied feeling the effects of fatigue."I left the one ball up that Upton hit," Litsch said.Rodriguez and Johnson each had three hits for the Rays.Jeff Niemann (9-5) won for the fifth time in six starts. He came in 0-2 with an 8.36 ERA in his last three matchups with Toronto, failing to work more than five innings in any of them.Niemann reversed that trend, allowing three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six.The right-hander improved to 8-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 12 starts since returning from the disabled list on June 20 after missing 39 games with a strained lower back."Not great but good," Maddon said of Niemann. "He got through it. He started out slowly but I thought he settled in pretty well. Then eventually, at the end there, you could see he got tired."J.P. Howell replaced Niemann after J.P. Arencibia's RBI grounder in the seventh, ending Tampa Bay's streak of 11 consecutive games in which its starter worked at least seven innings.Rays left-hander Jake McGee gave up a leadoff homer to Eric Thames in the eighth, the ninth of the season for the rookie outfielder. McGee got two outs before Juan Cruz came on and surrendered a solo homer to Edwin Encarnacion, his 14th. Kelly Johnson followed with a walk but Brett Lawrie fouled out.Joel Peralta finished for his second save in four chances.Game notes Rays closer Kyle Farnsworth (elbow) was unavailable but could pitch Sunday, Maddon said. ... Arencibia threw out three potential basestealers, getting Upton at second in the second, Rodriguez at third in the fourth and Johnson at second in the eighth. ... Rays 1B Casey Kotchman was scratched with flulike symptoms but came on as a defensive replacement in the seventh. ... Toronto OF Dewayne Wise made his debut in center after being claimed on waivers from Florida. Blue Jays OF Colby Rasmus (right wrist) was placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 24. ... Blue Jays manager John Farrell (pneumonia) missed his second straight game and remains day-to-day. Farrell came to his office and was checked by team doctors before returning home to rest. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu served as manager.

Weaver stifles White Sox as Angels win 6 in row

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The money didn't change Jered Weaver. A day after he signed a lucrative new contract with the Los Angeles Angels, he was his inimitable, near-unhittable self on the mound.And the way his teammates are playing over the past week, it's looking like everybody in Anaheim wants to get rich. Weaver pitched seven innings of four-hit ball in his first start since signing an $85 million contract extension, and Erick Aybar drove in three runs in the Angels' sixth straight victory, 8-0 over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.Torii Hunter homered for the Angels, and Jeff Mathis had a two-run double during a three-run second inning in a dominant finale to their nine-game homestand. Los Angeles' second straight series sweep and Texas' 13-2 loss to Boston trimmed the Angels' deficit in the AL West to just 2 1/2 games before they head into a weekend series at Rangers Ballpark on Friday."I love the way we're playing ball right now," Hunter said. "We've got some guys with some heart. We're going in to play the first-place team, and we're 2 1/2 games back. We're riding that wave."Los Angeles scored four runs in the seventh, prompting manager Mike Scioscia to call an early night for Weaver (15-6), who received one total run of support in his previous three starts combined. Weaver didn't need that much help while emphatically ending a four-start winless streak, striking out eight and allowing just one runner to reach third base."I was a little amped up going out there, but I got it together," Weaver said. "Obviously, Sosh took me out a little early, and me being me, I wasn't too happy about it, but it was the right thing to do. I won't hold it over him." A day earlier, Los Angeles announced Weaver had agreed to a five-year deal through 2016, passing up unrestricted free agency to stay in Orange County. Although the Angels scored just eight runs in Weaver's previous six starts, the AL All-Star Game starter's 15 victories already are one short of his career high in 2009.The Angels have Thursday off before heading to Arlington, where they could conceivably take over the division lead with a three-game sweep. It's an improbable development after the Rangers took three of four at Angel Stadium last week, only missing a sweep on Mark Trumbo's two-run homer on the last pitch of the final game.Texas has lost four of six since leaving Anaheim, while Los Angeles has been perfect."The attitude is the same," Scioscia said. "We're just playing better. We started with a rough homestand. We weren't playing the way we needed, and you saw the standings go the other way. ... We reversed it, and now we're right back where we need to be, and that's in the hunt."Zach Stewart (1-3) allowed seven hits and seven runs while pitching into the seventh inning for Chicago, which missed a chance to move into second place in the AL Central for the second straight day. Division-leading Detroit and Cleveland both lost earlier Wednesday."They can win or lose all they want, but if we don't win, it doesn't really matter," White Sox outfielder Juan Pierre said. "I know some guys scoreboard-watch, but if we don't take care of our business, we'll be making fishing plans here soon. We've just got to keep battling and hope we turn things around."Alejandro De Aza's third-inning double was the only extra-base hit for the White Sox, who haven't been above third place since April. They also missed a chance Tuesday to move above .500 for just the second time in four months.Until the game got away in the seventh inning, Stewart had made a solid return to the White Sox's rotation after a stint in the bullpen. He made two starts immediately after arriving in a trade with Toronto on July 27, returning to the rotation after an injury to Philip Humber."There were so many big pitches where I just left the ball up and missed my spot," Stewart said. "I put it in a place where (Mathis) could do something with it, and he did."After Aybar drove home Trumbo for the Angels' first run in the second inning, Mathis pounded a double into the left-center gap, scoring Vernon Wells and Aybar. Mathis entered the game batting .176, but his rapport with Weaver makes him valuable to the Angels.Hunter hit a two-out shot well beyond the left-field wall in the third inning, his 18th homer of the season. The steady slugger is closing in on his sixth straight 20-homer season.Aybar laced a two-run double down the first-base line in the seventh, followed by back-to-back RBI doubles by Alberto Callaspo and Bobby Abreu against reliever Josh Kinney.Game notes More bad news for Texas: Scioscia is contemplating using Ervin Santana and Weaver on short rest after 13-game winner Dan Haren starts the opener at Rangers Ballpark. Los Angeles started rookies Garrett Richards and Tyler Chatwood in the first two games of last week's series with the Rangers, who beat both soundly. ... Jake Peavy will start for the White Sox on Friday when they open a series in Seattle against Charlie Furbush and the Mariners. ... Abreu's 547th career double tied him with Manny Ramirez for 25th on baseball's career list.

Mets snap 5-game skid as Pelfrey limits Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- Mike Pelfrey needed a career-high 125 pitches just to get through six innings. It was worth every one.Pelfrey pitched effectively, Nick Evans and David Wright homered and the New York Mets snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. The Mets avoided a sweep with their sixth win in 23 games."He came off the field after the fifth and said, 'I got one more,'" Mets manager Terry Collins said. "I needed one more. He got us to where we needed. That was huge for him."Pelfrey (7-10) allowed three runs and nine hits. He nearly caused benches to empty in the sixth when he took exception to the way Placido Polanco turned away from an inside pitch. Pelfrey, who has a history of hostility toward the Phillies, motioned toward Polanco, who said something back. Catcher Josh Thole stepped in front of Polanco and the confrontation didn't escalate."I hung a slider. I thought he tried to lean into it. I said: 'Don't lean into it.' He said he didn't. Done," said Pelfrey, who earned his first win since July 27.Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save this season and second in his career. He retired Carlos Ruiz on a grounder with two runners on to end it.Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (7-6) gave up six runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in four innings filling in for Cole Hamels.The major league-leading Phillies entered 6½ games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East. That lead, which was 9½ games on Aug. 6, could be down to five by the time Philadelphia opens a three-game series against Florida on Friday night. The Braves had two more games at the Chicago Cubs before visiting the Mets on Friday.The Mets jumped on Kendrick in the first, scoring four unearned runs with the help of a fielding error by shortstop Michael Martinez. Angel Pagan led off with a single. Ruben Tejada followed with a sharp grounder to Martinez that could've been a double play. But Martinez bobbled it and both runners were safe. Wright singled to load the bases and Pagan scored on Lucas Duda's fielder's choice grounder to second. After Jason Bay struck out, Evans hit a three-run shot to left."It's all you can ask for is to get a chance to play and you do the best to make the most of it," said Evans, who is playing first base now that Duda was moved to right field. "It's definitely easier to get in a rhythm the more you play."Martinez, filling in for the injured Jimmy Rollins, started his second game at shortstop. He's started 24 games at second base and third base this season."He tried to make that play too quick," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "That's going to happen. The kid, he's got good hands."The Phillies answered with three runs in the second. Shane Victorino hit a two-run single with two outs, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. After Polanco singled, Chase Utley's RBI single got the Phillies within a run. Ryan Howard walked to load the bases, but Pelfrey retired Hunter Pence on a fly to right to end the inning.Wright led off the third with an opposite-field drive to right to put the Mets ahead 5-3. It was Wright's 15th career homer at Citizens Bank Park, his most at any road stadium. Wright's sacrifice fly in the fourth extended the lead to 6-3.Pence's RBI infield single in the seventh cut it to 7-4. The Phillies had runners at first and third with one out in the eighth against Manny Acosta when second baseman Justin Turner started a double play with a diving, back-handed grab on Polanco's grounder up the middle."A great play by J.T. We needed that double play bad," Collins said.Game notes The Mets placed Jonathon Niese on the disabled list with a ribcage injury. ... Pelfrey improved to 7-6 against the Phillies. ... The Mets have lost all five series against the Phillies this season, but haven't been swept. ... Mets SS Jose Reyes (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Binghamton on Thursday. ... Howard was back for the Phillies after sitting out a game because of a heel injury. . . Phillies LF Raul Ibanez remained out because of a sore groin. ... A crowd of 45,689 was the 203rd straight sellout for the Phillies, including postseason play. ... The Phillies are off on Thursday before opening a three-game series at home against Florida on Friday night. Roy Oswalt (6-7, 3.51) takes the mound against the Marlins. ... The Mets return home for a three-game set against Atlanta, starting Friday. Chris Capuano (9-11, 4.71) pitches the opener.

Rangers' Beltre runs bases; return date still iffy

Even with another loss chalked up to the bullpen, Rangers president Nolan Ryan isn't ready to reach for the panic button. More Podcasts " "I think it's going to be up to them," Beltre said about a possible return date. "Whatever they tell me to do, I don't really have a say in it. Running the bases at full speed and being able to manage it at game time [is the important thing]." The AL's starting third baseman for this season's All-Star Game, Beltre was put on the disabled list July 23 and had a setback a few weeks ago when he re-aggravated the hamstring as he made the turn at first base.

Damon, Rays walk off after replay cancels slam

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There was no doubt about where Johnny Damon's last drive landed.Damon lost a grand slam to a video review in the seventh inning, then hit a game-ending home run in the ninth that lifted the Rays over the Seattle Mariners 8-7 Sunday."It feels good," Damon said. "It was a great team effort, again."Damon connected for a leadoff shot in the ninth on the first pitch from Dan Cortes (0-2), sending his 11th homer of the season into the right-field seats."The first pitch I was going to look to drive something," Damon said. "But after that I was going to think about bunting, maybe, and getting on base and set the table. Fortunately I hit it far enough."The Rays trailed 5-4 in the seventh when Damon launched a deep fly to right-center field. It was first ruled a home run, but the umpires changed the call to a three-run double after 2-minute, 45-second video review.TV relays showed the reversal was correct and that the ball hit off the top of the wall."They were right on with that call," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Actually, we got the ball back and it had yellow paint on it."Damon also came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but the inning ended when catcher Josh Bard chased down a pitch that went to the backstop and threw the ball to Cortes, who tagged out Matt Joyce attempting to score from third.After blowing an early four-run lead, Seattle tied it at 7 during the eighth when Wily Mo Pena hit a long two-run homer to center off James Shields."We were in position to win two out of the three games here and ended up losing both late," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "We just have to keep plugging."Kyle Farnsworth (5-1) pitched a perfect ninth as the Rays won for the 10th time in 12 games."I had a good feeling about it," Maddon said. "The resolve was there. The attitude was there. They were ready to roll."Casper Wells also homered for the Mariners, who have lost five in a row. Mike Carp extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a third-inning double.Shields gave up seven runs and 12 hits over 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander had given up just two runs in 24 innings over his previous three starts at home.Seattle starter Michael Pineda allowed two earned runs and six hits in six innings. The rookie had five strikeouts, giving him 148 over 147 innings this season.Wells hit a two-run shot, helping Seattle go up 3-0 in the first. He has five homers over his last seven games.Bard made it 4-0 on second-inning RBI grounder.Joyce and John Jaso each had RBI singles that got Tampa Bay within 4-2 during the second. Jaso also had a run-scoring grounder in the seventh.Seattle took a 5-2 lead in the fourth when Franklin Gutierrez drove in a run with a single. The Rays got the run back on Ben Zobrist's sixth-inning sacrifice fly.Game notes Tampa Bay RHP Jeff Niemann (8-4), who has won seven straight decisions, will face Detroit ace Justin Verlander (18-5) on Monday night. ... Seattle SS Brendan Ryan, who returned from a sprained left shoulder joint this weekend, is expected to be in the starting lineup Monday. ... Mariners INF Luis Rodriguez, hit in the right elbow by a pitch Saturday night, didn't play. ... Seattle LHP Jason Vargas (7-11) will pitch Monday against Cleveland RHP Fausto Carmona (6-12). ... The Rays gave kids 14 and under a superhero action figure of LHP David Price and his French bulldog, Astro. Before a pregame on-field photo shoot, Price had to chase down Astro, who ran up a walkway to the clubhouse level. "I guess every dog has its day," Maddon said. "Plus, it's a pretty cool dog."

Rodriguez helps Astros blank slumping Giants

HOUSTON -- The San Francisco Giants' slump has gotten so bad they are even losing to the Houston Astros.Wandy Rodriguez pitched eight innings and had a two-run single to lead the Astros to a 6-0 victory over the slumping Giants on Friday night.The Giants have lost 15 of their last 21 games including four of the last five."We've talked, and we're working," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You just have to keep going. You always have to think it's just temporary and that you will come out of it, and we will."The Astros have won three straight but their 41-84 record is the worst in the major leagues.The Giants are trying to overcome injuries and had the added problem Friday night of facing Rodriguez when he was in control of all his pitches."He's got that curveball that he can do a lot of different things with," Giants third baseman Mark DeRosa said. "Honestly, he is probably the one pitcher in baseball that can really control his curveball as good as he does."He can pretty much put it where he wants; in, out, upstairs, down and he works in that fastball that always has a little life on it."The Astros were leading 2-0 in the sixth inning when Carlos Corporan hit an RBI single with two outs and Rodriguez followed with a long single down the right field line on the first pitch from Ryan Vogelsong (10-3)."Wandy was absolutely outstanding," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "He just threw the ball real well. It's nice to see him be able to use all of his pitches and he was able to keep them off balance, obviously, all night, which was good."Rodriguez (9-9) allowed five hits, struck out eight and walked two. It was his third eight-inning performance of the season."I tried to locate my fastball early in the game and late I used my breaking ball," Rodriguez said.Brian Bogusevic, who hit a walkoff grand slam against Chicago on Tuesday, made it 6-0 with a homer off Guillermo Mota in the eighth.It was the Astro's fourth shutout of the season and their first since June 30 against Texas.Vogelsong had won four of his previous five decisions. He pitched seven innings, allowed four hits, two earned runs and walked four with three strikeouts.The Astros struck first in the third. Clint Barmes walked to start the inning and Corporan doubled before J.B. Shuck doubled down the right field line to make it 2-0.Vogelsong walked the bases loaded in the fifth inning but escaped when J.D. Martinez took a called third strike.Rodriguez escaped a two-on, two-outs close call in the second when Mike Fontenot hit a single to right fielder Bogusevic, who made a clean throw to the plate for the tag on Aubrey Huff.Rodriguez threw 110 pitches, 72 for strikes, and acknowledged he tired in the final two innings."I was honest with him that I was a little tired," Rogriguez said. "I told him I could go back out there but he said it was OK."DeRosa is tired of talking. He wants results."We've had our share of meetings, I mean you can talk all you want; talk is cheap," he said. "Until you go out there and put up some solid approaches find ways to score runs it doesn't matter what it looks like."Game notes San Francisco has a 27-15 record at Minute Maid Park, the best of any major league team. The Giants lead the majors with a 32-0 record in games they led by three or more runs. INF Jeff Keppinger returned to Minute Maid Park for the first time since the Astros traded him to the Giants in July. He popped out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth The Giants have used the DL 21 times this season. The Astros are first in the NL and fourth in the majors with 240 doubles. OF George Springer, the Astros No. 1 draft pick, took batting practice before the game. "I just didn't want to miss the first pitch," he said. He didn't. With family looking on, he drove a fly to deep right field.

Soto, Cubs rally for walk-off win over Cardinals

CHICAGO -- Tyler Colvin's RBI single in the 10th inning off Octavio Dotel lifted the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.Geovany Soto led off the 10th with a single off Dotel (0-2), advanced to second on Marlon Byrd's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Colvin's hit to center field just hours after the Cubs fired general manager Jim Hendry. Soto also had a game-tying RBI double in the eighth inning. Darwin Barney homered and tripled, and Starlin Castro added two hits for the Cubs. Sean Marshall (6-5) pitched a perfect 10th to earn the win.Castro, who leads the NL with 162 hits, has 301 in his career. He is the fifth Cubs player to pass 300 in his first two seasons.Chicago beat the rival Cardinals for just the third time in 10 games this season, delighting a home crowd of 42,343 -- the largest at Wrigley Field since the home opener in 1978.The Cubs responded in their first game following the firing of Hendry, who was let go about three hours before the game. He was replaced on an interim basis by assistant general manager Randy Bush.Yadier Molina hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, and David Freese added a solo shot.Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia left with a 4-3 lead after he scattered nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. Garcia, who entered the game hitting .085, added an RBI single.Chicago's Randy Wells gave up four hits in seven innings and struck out five. He set down the Cardinals in order in four of his seven innings, but was hurt by homers by Molina and Freese.The Cubs nearly won the game in the ninth, but ran themselves out of the inning.Tony Campana reached first leading off the ninth when second baseman Ryan Theriot bobbled a routine grounder for an error, but he was doubled up when Castro flied to center on what appeared to be a hit-and-run play. Reed Johnson followed with a two-out single, and Aramis Ramirez walked, but the threat ended when Carlos Pena flied out to right.After trailing for 7 1/2 innings, the Cubs tied it 4-4 in the eighth. Soto's double into the left-field corner scored Pena all the way from first base.Molina's second-inning homer opened the scoring, and Garcia's single up the middle scored Theriot to make it 3-0. Freese hit a solo shot in the fourth to put the Cardinals ahead 4-1. He has an RBI in seven of his past eight games.Barney brought the Cubs within 4-2 with his second homer of the season, landing a shot just barely into the basket in the left-field corner. His previous homer was April 25 against Colorado.Barney added a triple when Lance Berkman overran a blooper into the right-field corner in the seventh. He scored when pinch hitter Blake DeWitt's fly to center was misplayed by John Jay, and the ball rolled to the wall for another triple.With DeWitt on third and one out, representing the tying run, Jason Motte relieved Garcia and worked out of the jam by striking out Castro and getting Johnson on a grounder.Game notes St. Louis' Allen Craig made his first career start in center field as manager Tony La Russa wanted to give the slumping Jay a break. Jay replaced Craig in the fifth inning. Cubs pitcher Andrew Cashner threw his third live batting practice session on Friday, the latest step in his recovery from a strained right rotator cuff that has had him on the disabled list since April 6. Larry King sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. Edwin Jackson will start for the Cardinals on Saturday against the Cubs' Matt Garza. Jackson will be making his first in Chicago since being dealt by the crosstown White Sox on July 27. He's won both of his career starts against the Cubs. Garza is 1-1 with a 7.80 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis. The big crowd was entertained by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds practicing over Lake Michigan a few blocks east of Wrigley Field during the middle part of the game in advance of the weekend's air and water show in Chicago.

Kershaw shines as Dodgers cool off Brewers

MILWAUKEE -- Clayton Kershaw throttled the streaking Brewers with eight scoreless innings and Rod Barajas homered Thursday, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 win over Milwaukee.The NL Central-leading Brewers came in winners of 19 of 21 and were looking to complete a 7-0 homestand.But Kershaw (15-5) was tremendous, retiring 13 of his final 14 batters and never facing serious trouble after the third inning.Barajas hit a solo homer in the second. Los Angeles built a 5-0 lead by scoring twice in the seventh and two more in the eight, the first runs allowed by Milwaukee's bullpen in the last 10 games.Milwaukee is 6 1/2 games ahead of idle St. Louis. The Brewers had won six in a row.Kershaw scattered five hits and struck out six. He's fanned an NL-best 199 this year, and is on the cusp of joining Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale as Dodgers pitchers to most quickly reach 200 in a season.Marco Estrada (3-8) pitched well in his second spot start for injured left-hander Chris Narveson.Estrada's only mistake in five innings came against Barajas, who homered for the 11th time this year and snapped an 0-for-13 skid.Los Angeles had managed two runs in the first three games of this series, but the Dodgers gave their 23-year-old left-hander plenty to work with late off Milwaukee's bullpen.Kameron Loe worked a clean sixth, but with two outs in the seventh, Barajas doubled and Jamey Carroll singled him in. Carroll reached second on the throw home, then scored when Kershaw laid down a bunt single and Loe threw wildly to first.Los Angeles tacked on two more in the eighth on Juan Rivera's sacrifice fly and Aaron Miles' RBI single.Milwaukee has been streaking in the previous three weeks -- losing only twice to St. Louis while moving from third place to comfortably in first with six weeks left in the season. The Brewers play their next 10 games against teams under .500 before a matchup with the Cardinals at the end of the month.The Brewers' best opportunity against Kershaw came in the third. With runners on the corners and one out, Jerry Hairston grounded into a double play -- Josh Wilson, who was on the third, broke home on the pitch and was already halfway to the plate.Hairston could be seen asking, "Why was he running?" after the botched squeeze sign.Hairston doubled off Kershaw with one out in the sixth, but Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder each hit harmless fly balls.Fielder's sacrifice fly off Javy Guerra in the ninth kept Milwaukee from being shut out at home for the first time this season.Game notes Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Narveson (thumb) may not be ready to start a doubleheader in Pittsburgh on Aug. 22 when he's eligible to return from the 15-day DL. RHP Zack Greinke is scheduled to pitch the first game while the second starter could be Narveson, RHP Frankie De La Cruz or a Triple-A pitcher such as RHP Wily Peralta. ... Dodgers 3B Casey Blake (right shoulder) was out of the lineup after leaving Wednesday's game in the sixth. ... The Brewers begin a three-game series at the Mets on Friday with RHP Shaun Marcum (10-3, 3.50 ERA) facing RHP Mike Pelfrey (6-9, 4.53). ... The Dodgers continue their 10-game road trip at Colorado and will send RHP Hiroki Kuroda (8-14, 2.88) to face RHP Jason Hammel (7-11, 4.97).

Downs' 2-run single launches Astros over Cubs

HOUSTON -- Matt Downs hit a go-ahead two-run single, Mark Melancon wriggled out of a jam in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Wednesday to take the series between the worst teams in NL Central.Brian Bogusevic, who hit a game-winning grand slam for Houston on Tuesday night, had a two-run double in the third inning against Casey Coleman, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to replace Carlos Zambrano in the rotation.Bud Norris (6-8) allowed three runs and six hits in his first win since July 6. The right-hander was 0-1 with a 3.91 ERA in his previous four starts. Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer and Geovany Soto had a solo shot for the Cubs, who had won four straight series. Ramirez, Soto and Darwin Barney each had two hits.Chicago had several chances but struggled with runners in scoring position all day long.The Cubs' last opportunity came in the ninth, when Barney hit a leadoff single against Melancon and moved to third on Ramirez's perfectly placed grounder up the middle.Melancon retired Carlos Pena on a popup before pinch-runner Tony Campana swiped second to put runners on second and third with one out. Soto then tapped to shortstop Clint Barmes, who threw to third to catch Barney in a rundown. Marlon Byrd grounded out to end the game, giving Melancon his 12th save.Coleman (2-5) allowed four runs and a career-high 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings while filling in for Zambrano, who was placed on the disqualified list Saturday following a meltdown in Atlanta last week when he talked about retirement and left the team.Ramirez extended his major league lead by hitting his 11th first-pitch home run of the season in the third, a drive to left-center field that gave Chicago a 2-0 lead. It was his second consecutive game with a home run and the 40th of his career against the Astros.Bogusevic's sharp grounder down the right-field line tied it, but Soto connected in the fourth to put the Cubs in front again.The Astros responded in the bottom half. With two out and a runner on first, Jose Altuve singled, J.B. Shuck took third on a wild pitch and J.D. Martinez walked to load the bases.Downs then singled to center to give Houston a 4-3 lead.The Astros didn't get another hit after the fourth inning and Chicago's relievers retired 10 in a row after Jason Michaels walked with two outs in the fifth.Chicago hit back-to-back two-out singles in the eighth inning, but Starlin Castro grounded out to end the scoring threat.Norris hit Barney to start the fifth inning before loading the bases with consecutive walks to Ramirez and Pena. But the Cubs came away with nothing when Norris retired the next three batters, striking out two.Game notes The Cubs optioned LHP Scott Maine to Iowa to make room for Coleman. Maine was recalled from Iowa on Monday, but did not make an appearance before being sent back to Triple-A. ... Houston OF Jordan Schafer, on the disabled list since July 20 with an injured left middle finger, started a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. If his rehabilitation goes well, he could join Houston on Monday in Colorado. Schafer was acquired from Atlanta in the Michael Bourn trade. ... Both teams are off Thursday before Houston hosts the San Francisco Giants and the Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals. ... Ramirez has 22 home runs and 63 RBIs at Minute Maid Park, which rank first among opposing players.---Kristie Rieken can be reached at http://twitter.com/kristieAP.

Ellsbury's HR backs Lester as Red Sox top Rays

BOSTON -- Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer and Jon Lester struck out eight, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in the opening game of a doubleheader Tuesday.Lester (12-6) got the win against fellow All-Star James Shields, who pitched nearly as well and deeper into the game but received little support from the Rays' offense. Shields (11-10) retired the last 15 batters he faced and struck out six. The only three hits he allowed were a pair of singles by Josh Reddick and Mike Aviles, followed by Ellsbury's homer deep into the right-field stands. It was Ellsbury's 21st home run of the season -- one more than he hit in his first three years combined.That was all the offense Lester and the Boston bullpen needed in a game that lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes and included just six hits.Daniel Bard pitched a perfect eighth and Jonathan Papelbon got his 28th save in the ninth when Dustin Pedroia made a diving grab on B.J. Upton's line drive headed for center field.Lester pitched seven innings, holding the Rays to just three hits and no runs after Desmond Jennings scored on a fielder's choice in the first inning.Lester retired 12 straight batters before Evan Longoria's single to left with one out in the sixth. The hit hardly disrupted Lester, who struck out Ben Zobrist and Upton to end the inning.The game was a makeup from a rain-out April 13.Game notes Former Boston outfielder Johnny Damon received a mix of cheers and boos when he pinch hit for Elliot Johnson in the eighth, then struck out swinging. ... Boston DH David Ortiz was a late scratch from the lineup because of illness. ... RHP John Lackey, who is on a six-decision winning streak and is 11-8 despite a 6.13 ERA, faces LHP David Price (10-10, 3.76 ERA) in Wednesday's matinee series finale. ... Entering Tuesday's doubleheader, Lackey was tied with Lester for the staff lead in wins. ... Tuesday's opener was the first game between the two teams since the Red Sox edged the Rays 1-0 in 16 innings July 17 in St. Petersburg. ... The Red Sox, just off a six-game road trip to Minnesota and Seattle, returned home for just the three games with Tampa Bay and then head right out for eight games in Kansas City and Texas.

Murphy key as Rangers complete sweep of A's

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Ron Washington's reigning AL champions are on quite a roll, finding ways to win the tough ones -- and the strange ones -- exactly when they want to be playing their best.They held on through all kinds of interesting circumstances Sunday.David Murphy hit a tiebreaking RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning, and Texas survived after blowing a six-run lead to beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 and complete a three-game series sweep. Mike Adams (1-1) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for the victory, then Neftali Feliz finished for his 23rd save in 29 chances as the Rangers won their fourth straight road game heading into a key four-game series with the Angels in Anaheim."We're excited about it," slugger Josh Hamilton said of his team's recent run of success. "I don't want to say it relaxes us, but it makes us want to get after it more and send a message. A month and a half to go, all the rest of the series with them are very important."Mitch Moreland hit a sacrifice fly, Michael Young and Mike Napoli each drew bases-loaded walks against former Ranger Rich Harden and first-place Texas extended its winning streak in the rivalry to eight games. The Rangers (69-52) also moved a season-best 17 games over .500.Andrew Bailey (0-3) issued a one-out walk to Moreland in the ninth. Craig Gentry came in to run for Moreland and stole second on a 1-2 count to put himself in good position on Murphy's single to center."I can't put a guy on in that situation," Bailey said.This marks the A's longest skid against the Rangers since dropping nine in a row from June 19-Sept. 30, 1986. Texas outscored Oakland 23-8 in the series -- and did so without a single home run. The Rangers left a man on base every inning Sunday.Oakland's Hideki Matsui hit a tying RBI single in the sixth after he was brushed back twice by reliever Darren Oliver, once even going to the ground to get out of the way.A day after the A's committed four errors, they had another blunder. Right fielder David DeJesus dropped a routine fly ball by Ian Kinsler in the fifth, allowing two runs to score.In the bottom half, Kinsler misplayed a bouncing grounder to second that went under his glove and brought home Oakland's first two runs.The game had a little bit of everything: an Oakland comeback that fell short, a hit batter and wild pitch that scored Texas' initial run, the two defensive mistakes and a balk. Rangers starter Matt Harrison even turned his attention for a brief moment to the folkloric dancers who performed on "Fiesta Day" right behind home plate as he warmed up in the middle of the sixth.Harrison's concern was hitting someone if the ball got past his catcher."You don't see that every day," Washington said. "It sort of distracted Harrison -- not because he couldn't get in rhythm but because he didn't want to let one get away. That had nothing to do with how the sixth inning unfolded. They swung the bats."Harrison was done that inning. He allowed Scott Sizemore's leadoff double, an RBI single to Kurt Suzuki one out later and then Brandon Allen's RBI double. No. 9 hitter Cliff Pennington walked and Washington turned to Oliver.Late lineup addition and newcomer Allen provided the highlights for Oakland, which lost its third straight on the heels of a 4-2 road trip.The finale was considered an improvement, though, after the A's lost 9-1 on Friday and 7-1 on Saturday."In our dugout, the feeling was that we were going to win that game, no question, once we tied it up," manager Bob Melvin said. "So the mojo kind of turned for us a bit. ... They took it to us, obviously and beat us. And we didn't respond very well during those (first two) games. To be able to come back and do what we did today kind of in the face of all of what I've been talking about was a good sign."Allen singled leading off the third for his first hit since joining the A's, then produced another base hit to start the fifth. He also had the double in the sixth.Allen, acquired in last month's trade with Arizona that sent reliever Brad Ziegler to the Diamondbacks, was called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.Harrison received a mound visit from pitching coach Mike Maddux after loading the bases with one out in the third. He calmly got out of it unscathed, retiring Matsui on a flyout and cleanup hitter Josh Willingham on a swinging strikeout.Harden fell behind right away against his former team. He hit leadoff man Kinsler with a pitch, then got Elvis Andrus on a flyout before four straight Rangers reached base. Texas' first run scored on a wild pitch, then Napoli drew a bases-loaded walk and Moreland added his sacrifice fly.Harden walked in another run in the fourth when Young drew a free pass. Harden wound up with a season-high five walks over four innings. The right-hander hadn't issued five walks since last Aug. 23 while with Texas.The reigning AL champion Rangers released Harden after the 2010 regular season, in which he struggled with injuries and control. Harden received a $1.5 million, one-year contract in December to rejoin Oakland, his original team.Game notes Rangers DH Yorvit Torrealba extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a leadoff single in the fourth. Young's hitting streak ended at 12 games. ... Oakland scratched 1B Conor Jackson from the lineup because of neck tightness. Allen took his place. ... A's CF Coco Crisp returned to the lineup after missing six games with a strained right calf. ... Texas has won 17 of 21 vs. the AL West since May 15. ... LHP Gio Gonzalez (9-10) pitches Monday's series opener for the A's against Baltimore trying to end a four-start losing streak. Gonzalez is 0-5 with a 5.82 ERA in six starts against AL East clubs this year. ... RHP Alexi Ogando (11-5) takes the ball in Texas' opener with the Angels. Ogando, 2-0 with a 0.41 ERA lifetime vs. Los Angeles, looks to take over the team lead in victories.

Uggla's hit streak halted at 33 in loss to Cubs

ATLANTA -- Dan Uggla was quick to acknowledge he never thought he'd have a hitting streak as long as 33 games.Now the Chicago Cubs are streaking.The Cubs stopped Uggla's 33-game hitting streak and rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Sunday for their fourth straight series win.The Cubs have won 11 of 14.Uggla's streak was the longest in the majors in five years. He was 0-for-3 with an RBI."That's more games than I thought I would ever have," Uggla said.His best chance to extend the streak came in the fifth. Second baseman Darwin Barney made a diving catch of Uggla's fly ball in shallow right field. Barney was fully extended when he made the catch in front of right fielder Tyler Colvin."I wasn't even looking at him," said Uggla of Barney. "I was looking at Colvin and I was like `Oh, it's going to drop in front of him.' And the next thing you know Barney comes flying through."Barney said the catch was more important because of Uggla's streak."Because of the circumstances and all that, I'm pretty happy about it," Barney said."It was a good streak for him. He's a great player. But I think our pitchers are happy. They take a lot of pride in that, and I'm happy for them."Uggla grounded out to shortstop against Jeff Samardzija in the seventh in his final at-bat. He didn't come up in the ninth, when Carlos Marmol earned his 28th save."The streak is one thing. I'm more disappointed in the loss," Uggla said. "It was a fun run but all things have got to come to an end sometime. I had fun with it. We had a nice, little roll as a team and we're looking to get back on track tomorrow."Uggla's streak was the longest in the majors since 2006, when Philadelphia's Chase Utley had a 35-game streak. Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins had a 38-game streak that began in 2005 and carried through the start of 2006.Uggla was hitting only .173 when he started the streak on July 5. He has raised his average to .231.Uggla had 15 homers and 32 RBIs in the streak.Marmol walked Michael Bourn, who had three hits, with two outs in the ninth. Bourn stole second base but Martin Prado popped out to third baseman Aramis Ramirez to end the game. Uggla was on deck.Uggla's teammates patted him on the back and hugged him in the dugout after the game."For me, it's impressive," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "It was a streak where at any given time Chipper (Jones) wasn't in the lineup and Brian McCann wasn't in the lineup, and Uggla carried us. That was impressive."Uggla streak passed Rico Carty's 31-game streak in 1970 as the longest in Atlanta Braves history. The franchise record is 37 games by Tommy Holmes for the 1945 Boston Braves.The Braves led 4-0 through five innings and 5-4 through six before Carlos Pena's two-run homer in the seventh.Atlanta took a 5-4 lead in the sixth when Jason Heyward singled off John Grabow (3-0), stole second and scored on Grabow's wild throw to first on a grounder by Alex Gonzalez.The Cubs answered in the seventh when Barney singled and scored on Pena's 23rd homer to right field off Eric O'Flaherty (1-4).The Cubs, who won two of three from the Braves, have won four straight series for the first time since Sept. 9-21, 2008.Cubs manager Mike Quade said before the game the team has moved past the controversy of pitcher Carlos Zambrano cleaning out his locker and leaving the team on Friday night and being placed on the disqualified list on Saturday."Look, grown-ups make decisions, and he made a decision," Quade said. "And that's his deal at this point, it's not mine."Zambrano's Cubs equipment bag was seen on the truck being loaded outside the clubhouse, but there was no indication he will join the team before the end of his 30-day leave without pay. He cannot be involved in team activities while on the disqualified list.Bourn singled in the first and moved to third when Matt Garza fielded Prado's soft grounder and threw high to second for an error. Bourn scored on Uggla's fly ball to left.Garza's six errors lead all pitchers in the majors, according to STATS LLC. He gave up four runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk in five innings.The Braves added two runs in the second on RBI singles by Bourn and Prado and stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fourth when Jose Constanza walked, stole second and third and scored on Bourn's broken-bat single to center.Colvin had a two-run single in Chicago's four-run sixth. Brandon Beachy, who gave up two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings, was lifted after allowing singles by Barney and Ramirez and Pena's run-scoring fly ball. Scott Linebrink gave up three straight hits, including Colvin's two-run single.Arodys Vizcaino's wild pitch to Blake DeWitt allowed Geovany Soto to score from third.Game notes Atlanta pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts. ... Quade said RHP Casey Coleman will be recalled from Triple-A Iowa to replace Zambrano in the rotation. Coleman is 2-4 with a 7.23 ERA in 11 games, including nine starts, with Chicago this season. ... Former Braves two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy threw out the first pitch. ... The Braves will open a four-game series against San Francisco on Monday night when Tim Hudson faces the Giants' Madison Bumgarner. ... The Cubs begin a game at Houston when Rodrigo Lopez is schedule to face the Astros' Henry Sosa. ... McCann came off the 15-day disabled list and was 0-for-4. ... The Braves placed RHP Tommy Hanson on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis and activated Linebrink. The team optioned RHP Anthony Varvaro to Triple-A Gwinnett. Fredi Gonzalez said RHP Randall Delgado will be recalled from Gwinnett to start Tuesday against San Francisco.

Lind's slam leads Jays' rout of Weaver, Angels

TORONTO -- Jered Weaver wasn't going to sulk about one awful outing. In fact, he even had a song ready for the occasion."Mama said there'll be days like this," the Angels ace sang as he prepared to leave the clubhouse following a rare pounding.Adam Lind hit a grand slam, Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Teahen also went deep, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels 11-2 on Saturday.All three homers came off Weaver, who allowed eight runs and eight hits, both season highs, in 4 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the year."It took 20-some odd starts for it to happen, but it's going to happen," Weaver said. "You can't hang your head. Just get out there and battle the next time."The right-hander, who had won eight of nine decisions, saw his AL-leading ERA rise from 1.78 to 2.13."He's been lights out all year," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "This is one where it just wasn't there for him. He'll be ready for his next start."Weaver (14-6) was pitching for the first time since Aug. 5 after serving a six-game suspension for throwing over the head of Detroit's Alex Avila in a loss on July 31. The Angels ace originally appealed the suspension, but decided last Saturday to serve his punishment in full. Still, he acknowledged feeling "rusty" after a seven-day layoff."Just kind of flat," he said. "Nothing was very sharp. I usually have a pitch I can go to to get me out of situations and I didn't really have that today."Riding a streak of 15 consecutive quality starts, Weaver was in trouble from the get-go against Toronto, surrendering a two-run shot to Encarnacion in the first, the 10th homer of the season for the Blue Jays infielder.Toronto added one more in the second on back-to-back doubles by Rajai Davis and John McDonald, then blew it open with a five-run fifth.Yunel Escobar hit a one-out double before walks to Eric Thames and Encarnacion loaded the bases for Lind, who drove Weaver's first pitch over the wall in right for his 20th homer and third career grand slam. One out later, Teahen chased Weaver with a solo drive to right, his fourth.The slumping Lind had just eight hits in 58 at-bats before the grand slam -- his 100th career home run. He homered for the first time since July 26 against Baltimore."You make a mistake to a guy like that and he's going to put it where he wants to, and he did," Weaver said.The beneficiary of Toronto's offensive outburst was Ricky Romero, who won his fourth straight start for the second time in his career. The left-hander allowed one run and two hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out three.Romero (11-9), who also won four straight in his 2009 rookie season, has an ERA of 1.15 over his past four outings and has allowed just 11 hits in 31 1/3 innings."Just being consistent, throwing strikes, getting quick outs and getting deep into games," Romero said. "There's really no other formula. I'm kind of just going out there and competing. The key for me every time I go deep into games is strike one. That's big with me, and when I do that I feel like I'm in control."The Angels' lone run against Romero came on a leadoff homer by Alberto Callaspo in the fifth."He's got the kind of stuff that he deserves to be an ace on any staff," former teammate Vernon Wells said of Romero.The Blue Jays piled on with three more in the sixth against reliever Joel Pineiro. McDonald singled and went to third when shortstop Andrew Romine made a throwing error on a potential double-play grounder. Thames walked to load the bases for Encarnacion, who drove in a run with a sharp infield single to third. Lind followed with a sacrifice fly, and J.P. Arencibia capped it with an RBI single to center.Trever Miller worked a scoreless eighth, and Luis Perez gave up a sacrifice fly to Mark Trumbo in the ninth.Game notes The eight earned runs against Weaver matched his career high. ... Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to a season-high 12 games. ... Toronto OF Jose Bautista, OF Colby Rasmus and 2B Aaron Hill were all held out of the starting lineup. ... OF Bobby Abreu and SS Erick Aybar didn't start for the Angels. ... Blue Jays LHP Brett Cecil (4-5) will face Angels RHP Dan Haren (12-6) in Sunday's series finale.

Stark: The road to October

But here comes the bad news: Despite what you may have heard, very possibly from your favorite commissioner of baseball, there's now almost no chance this sport will be expanding the postseason by next year. And it's far from a lead-pipe lock that an expanded postseason will be part of the next labor deal at all. That news may come as a shock to anyone who read Bud Selig's quote a few months ago that this change was "inevitable." But we're getting the impression a crazy thing happened behind the scenes on the way to that inevitability: Nobody has been able to agree on much of anything. Imagine that. We know both sides think expanding the postseason is a swell idea. But beyond that? They're going to need to figure out a whole bunch of details. And we're hearing that part isn't going so hot. We've had to piece this tale together from numerous conversations with people around the sport, because the labor talks are taking place in total secrecy, complete with a pact of silence from everyone involved. But enough tidbits on this particular topic have seeped out to others within the industry that they could at least paint us a picture of where the big roadblocks are located. So here is where it appears they're running into trouble: The players view expanding the postseason as just one piece in a much larger jigsaw puzzle. We know this because union chief Michael Weiner laid out the players' vision last month in a meeting with the Baseball Writers Association of America. Weiner said the players see the expanded postseason as part of an extensive redesign of the regular-season schedule, the October schedule and the whole league and division structure. All those things, he said last month, are "connected." In other words, if baseball wants to start penalizing wild-card teams by forcing them to play an extra wild-card survivor round (or, very possibly, a one-game winner-moves-on, loser-goes-home sudden-death game), that has a bigggg ripple effect. At the moment, as this Yankees-Red Sox race reminds us, what the heck is the difference, when the playoffs start, between what it means to finish first and what it means to make it as a wild card? It's miniscule. That's been proven many times. But if that's about to change -- really change -- the players want to see a radical adjustment to the schedule. If it matters that much who wins the division, shouldn't all the teams in each division be playing basically the same schedule? Of course they should. [+] Enlarge Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesIf commissioner Bud Selig hopes to add two more teams to the postseason mix, he may first have to solve the realignment jigsaw puzzle. And what would have to happen to make that possible? Realignment. That's what. Why? Because you can't map out a "fair" schedule unless all six divisions are the same size and both leagues are the same size. That's Math 101. And we know everybody out there passed Math 101, right? Sure, you did. We won't even make you take a quiz to prove it. But just because all those folks in baseball understand the mathematics doesn't mean they're now raising their hands to say, "Hey Bud, whatever you need us to do to make this happen, you can count on us." That, of course, is the big issue here. There are more people in favor of realignment now than there have ever been in the history of baseball -- just as long as it's somebody else's team that's realigning. Oh, there are teams that would move out of the AL East, but nobody wants to move INTO the AL East. … And teams in the West don't want to get stuck in the same division as teams two time zones away. … And teams in the Central divisions don't want to play a bunch of road games that end after midnight back home. Get the picture? These same arguments have been going on for months. And there has been so little progress that an official of one club told Rumblings this week, "I don't think there's any chance whatsoever" realignment winds up happening. Why is that? "Who's going to realign?" he replied, pithily. Excellent question. But next week is a big week on that front. How come? Well, there's an owners' meeting next week, in which Jim Crane is scheduled to be approved as the next owner of the Astros. Crane is a pivotal figure in this drama. Pivotal. That's because the other 29 current owners have the right to veto any move of any kind -- to another league, to another division, to any place they don't feel like moving. But Crane doesn't have that right, just because he's the new guy. We keep hearing that he's told Selig behind the scenes that he really doesn't want the Astros to leave the NL Central. But face it. He doesn't have much leverage here. If realignment ever happens, you can bet the Astros will be moving -- somewhere. But where? To the AL West? We're not sure the Mariners, A's and Angels would throw a Welcome to the West party over that announcement. To the NL West? Then some other team -- presumably the Diamondbacks -- would have to shift to the AL West. And of course, they're not wild about that idea. So round and round they go, riding the same Ferris wheel they've been riding for months. The trouble is, we're approaching the point at which something needs to give. Next season's schedule, for instance, has already been tentatively drawn up and circulated -- and needs to be finalized in the next few weeks. We're hearing it looks a lot like this season's schedule, and the season before that, and the season before that. That's why it's no longer feasible to think we'll see any expanded playoffs next year. If that expansion is going to be tied to a major change in the schedule, it's just too late for that. It's not too late -- yet -- for things to change by 2013 and beyond. But the hope within the sport was this labor deal could be wrapped up before the next offseason begins. And that's only two and a half months away. In theory, that's enough time to agree on just about anything -- even issues as major as blowing up the league, division and postseason formats as we've come to know and love them. But ... What happens if the owners get hung up on realignment, can't agree on who would go where and give up on the whole idea -- for this labor go-round, at least? It's very possible the players would decide they aren't ready to go along with expanding the postseason, either. Then a great idea gets tossed onto a back burner, referred to another one of the commish's very special committees or drifts off into space forever. Too bad. Now maybe that isn't how this turns out after all, because this concept is far from dead. But unfortunately, it certainly isn't "inevitable," either. Not anymore. Ready to Rumble • We'd love to believe all the denials coming out of Toronto that the Blue Jays would never, ever steal signs. But other clubs have been buzzing about that possibility since last season. One of the biggest reasons has been the transformation of Jose Bautista -- but not so much in his power numbers as in his amazing ability to lay off tough breaking balls he used to hack at. "This guy could always hit a fastball," one scout said. "But he'd chase so many other pitches, he didn't get in enough hitters' counts to get those fastballs. Now he doesn't chase those pitches. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen a player make that change and do it that dramatically." Bautista at home last year: 55 walks, 44 strikeouts, .403 OBP, 1.118 OPS. On the road last year: 45 walks, 72 strikeouts, .353 OBP, .879 OPS. His splits this year aren't anywhere near so pronounced. But let's just say AL executives and scouts we surveyed didn't dismiss this sign-stealing flap as preposterous. Nevertheless, said one AL exec, "I'm guessing you won't be seeing a guy in a white shirt holding up his arms there anymore." • The commissioner's office has done its best to crack down this year on the leaking of names of players who made it through waivers. But here's one interesting name we've heard who cleared: Johnny Damon. Teams that spoke with the Rays last month report they never had any "heavy" interest in Damon before the deadline. But he's still viewed as a winning player who could entice an AL contender to make a run at him over the next three weeks. MLBTradeRumors.com doesn't currently project Damon to be a Type A or Type B free agent. So he's not a player the Rays would hold onto just to accumulate a draft pick if he leaves. • One executive did tell us this about the early-August waiver scene: "The Yankees and Red Sox are claiming everyone who can pitch at all." • The Astros don't have to choose the Class A prospect to be named later in the Hunter Pence deal for another two-and-a-half weeks. But there are rumblings out of the Phillies' Florida State League outpost in Clearwater that an injury to one of the minor leaguers believed to be on the Astros' list -- outfielder Leandro Castro -- might be complicating that selection. It isn't clear if Houston has the right to replace Castro with another name. But one Florida State League source said he expects the Astros to attempt to expand their shopping list because of Castro's injury. That has a chance to be an issue. • Teams such as the Yankees clearly backed off their pursuit of Ubaldo Jimenez last month because of concerns he might be hurt. But a source familiar with the Indians' physical of Jimenez reported his MRI came back "remarkably clean" -- cleaner, in fact, than those of many pitchers who are considered completely healthy. • The Indians always recognized the risk involved in trading four players for a pitcher such as Jimenez. They also saw more than just a rare opportunity to deal for a top-of-the-rotation arm who fits into their budget through 2013. They saw an opportunity to acquire a pitcher whose contract runs through what should be his peak years -- and lines up with their window to win. They have Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo under control through 2013; Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner under control through 2012; and Justin Masterson and Chris Perez under control through 2014. So their time is now -- and over the next two years. • As another Orioles season fizzles before our eyes, it's time to wonder if their esteemed president for baseball operations, Andy MacPhail, would be better off moving on to a higher calling -- such as commissioner of baseball, for instance. (That, of course, assumes Selig really does plan to retire at some point in this century. And who would ever assume that? But play along with us, OK?) For years, MacPhail has heard his name dropped as an oft-rumored potential successor to Selig. But one baseball man who has known MacPhail for years has his doubts, saying, "If he did it, he'd do it out of loyalty to the game. But I wouldn't say he has a burning passion to do it. Andy has always been a guy who took pride in the fact that the game does not define him." Stewart • Just two years ago, the only two NL third basemen who out-homered Ian Stewart were Mark Reynolds and Ryan Zimmerman. Now the Rockies have banished Stewart to the minor leagues again, with zero homers (and a .221 slugging percentage) in 136 trips to the plate. And clubs that have spoken to them say the Rockies are openly advertising they'd like to swap their favorite needs-a-change-of-scenery guy for somebody else's needs-a-change-of-scenery guy. The one problem with that scenario is: Other teams suspect Stewart is a non-tender candidate next winter. • Another Rockies tidbit: We're hearing they could take a flyer on J.C. Romero -- who already has been released by the Phillies, Nationals and Yankees this year -- as a third left-hander in their bullpen. Alonso • When Dusty Baker pulled the plug on Yonder Alonso's left field audition after a rough weekend at Wrigley Field, a lot of folks jumped to the conclusion Alonso has no future in Cincinnati. Uh, guess again. Yes, Alonso is blocked at first base by Joey Votto. But the Reds still balked at including Alonso in a Jimenez package, and they still project Alonso as a special bat. So with Votto's long-term future in Cincinnati a very large question mark, the Reds' quest isn't to find somebody to trade this guy to. It's to find a place Alonso can play as long as Votto is hanging out at first. All they've asked Alonso to do in left is avoid trying to do too much, the Reds' vice president for player development and scouting, Bill Bavasi, told Rumblings. So guess what he did when he got to the big leagues and found himself playing left field in Wrigley? "What all kids do," Bavasi said. "He tried to do too much." So they've now backed off on that experiment -- for the time being, anyway -- just because "the whole issue probably needs to settle down a little," Bavasi said. "One thing is for sure, folks at both the major and minor league levels here like and believe in the kid, his hitting and work. Any moves made with him are made to help him find a place to play." • Speaking of the Reds, scouts who have seen Dontrelle Willis are sold, after six starts in which Willis has averaged more than six innings per start and pitched to a 3.41 ERA and even ripped off a 10-strikeout game against Colorado on Tuesday. "That's as good as I've seen him in three or four years," one NL scout said. "He threw strikes. His delivery was a little firmer. He had a good downward angle on everything, as opposed to being quick and open and under everything. He made a lot of good pitches." • Finally, time to hand out our Injury of the Week award -- to Brewers pitcher Chris Narveson. He was hanging out in the clubhouse Tuesday in St. Louis, decided he wasn't happy with the laces on his glove, grabbed a pair of scissors to perform some minor glove surgery and accidentally sliced up his left thumb. Eight stitches later, he was heading for the disabled list. Oops! Five Astounding Facts (Friday edition)

Ramirez homers as Marmol, Cubs hold off Nats

CHICAGO -- Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena hit back-to-back homers and the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 Thursday.Ramirez's two-run shot in the seventh was his 21st of the season, and gave him 16 homers since June 25, the most in the major leagues since then. Pena followed Ramirez with a clout that curled around the pole in right field and landed on Sheffield Avenue and put the Cubs up 4-1.Ryan Dempster (10-8) limited Washington to a first-inning home run by Ryan Zimmerman and went seven innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out six.Washington loaded the bases and scored a run in the ninth against Carlos Marmol, but he recovered to get his 26th save.Wilson Ramos hit a high chopper off Marmol that he beat out for an infield single, scoring Jonny Gomes. But Marmol struck out Brian Bixler and got Rick Ankiel on a fly ball to the wall in center to end the game.Marmol has converted seven straight saves since returning to the closer's role on July 31.Washington also scored a run in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Bixler hit an infield single. Ankiel followed with a single, but Cubs reliever Kerry Wood struck out Danny Espinosa and Zimmerman.Wood has struck out the last eight batters he's faced, tying the Cubs' record by a reliever since the mounds were lowered in 1969.Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann (7-10) allowed four runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.The Cubs have won nine of their last 11 games and got their third straight series win at home, something they hadn't done since 2009.Zimmermann held the Cubs to one run on six hits through six innings but ran into trouble after striking out the first two batters of the seventh. Johnson laced his third single of the game into left field. Ramirez followed with a shot into the left-field bleachers, putting the Cubs up 3-1 before Pena's homer chased Zimmermann.Dempster won his third straight start and reached 10 wins for fourth straight season. He's won 10 or more seven times in career. Only Fergie Jenkins (15) and Reggie Cleveland (8) have more 10-win seasons among Canadian-born pitchers.Alfonso Soriano hit an RBI triple and Reed Johnson added three singles for Chicago. Johnson went 7 for 8 at the plate over the last two games of the series.Zimmerman opened the scoring in the first when he homered onto Waveland Avenue beyond the left-field bleachers to extend his hitting streak to 19 games, the second-longest active streak in the big leagues behind the 31-game streak of Atlanta's Dan Uggla.The 91 first-inning runs the Cubs have allowed are most in baseball.Chicago tied it in the fourth on Soriano's RBI triple. Right fielder Jayson Werth dove for the ball but it clipped the end of this glove and rolled to the wall. Byrd scored and Soriano wound up at third with his first triple since Aug. 23 of last season.Zimmermann reached 145 innings for the season, leaving him two or three starts left before he reaches his limit of 160 for the season. He had Tommy John surgery nearly two years ago.Game notes Cubs starter Andrew Cashner completed a bullpen session before Thursday's game with no problems, the latest step in his recovery from a strained right rotator cuff. Asked if he expected to be back before the end of the season, Cashner said, "There is no doubt in my mind.". The Cubs travel to Atlanta for a three-game weekend series against the Braves, the first leg of a six-game road trip that will also stop in Houston. Carlos Zambrano is set to face Atlanta's Mike Minor on Friday. Zambrano has hit 23 career HRs. He tied Walter Johnson for ninth among pitchers with his homer off Johnny Cueto on Aug. 6. Zambrano is 0-4 with a 6.24 ERA in last 10 starts against Atlanta since July 13, 2003. . The Nationals' Livan Hernandez will start the opener for Washington against Philadelphia's Cole Hamels. Hernandez hasn't won at Citizens Bank Park since May 31, 2006. . Washington's Michael Morse had to leave the game after being hit on the elbow by a pitch. . Despite an announced crowd of 34,733, just about half the seats were actually occupied on a picturesque afternoon at Wrigley Field. Thursday's game was a makeup of Monday's rainout. It was the Cubs' lowest announced crowd since their June 1 game against Houston.

The Dog Days of August: Los Angeles Angels

Jered Weaver isn't just battling Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young Award, he's having a season for the ages, with a 1.78 ERA and 36 runs allowed in 24 starts. He's yet to allow more than four runs in a game this season, and he's allowed four just twice. Weaver is going to have to keep this up, however, because the Angels don't score many runs -- they're 13th in the American League, averaging 3.85 per game. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot Who needs to step up? The Angels are paying Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter a combined $45.1 million in 2011 -- or more than the entire roster of the Tampa Bay Rays. Wells has 16 home runs, but an abysmal .243 on-base percentage. Yes, that's on-base percentage, not batting average. He's hitting .174 since the All-Star break. Hunter is better, but his .722 OPS is still lower than Alberto Callaspo's. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot Key stat: defensive runs saved

Brewers keep rolling behind Fielder and Greinke

HOUSTON -- Zack Greinke tied a season high by going seven innings and Prince Fielder homered to help the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros 7-3 Sunday for their sixth straight win.Fielder had three hits and scored four runs for the Brewers, who have won 11 of their last 12 games.Mark Kotsay added three hits and an RBI in place of the injured Corey Hart.Greinke (10-4) allowed a run and four hits. He's won his last three starts and kept opponents to two earned runs or fewer in his last six.Houston starter Bud Norris (5-8) tied a season high by allowing six runs. He gave up eight hits in five innings.

Big Z homers, beats Reds for Cubs' 7th straight

CHICAGO -- Carlos Zambrano homered and pitched six solid innings, and the streaking Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-4 on Saturday.The Cubs pounded Reds starter Johnny Cueto for five runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings and have won seven straight games for the first time since Aug. 23-29, 2008. Starlin Castro drove in four runs for Chicago, his highest RBI total since he drove in six in his major league debut May 5, 2010. He doubled and singled, raising his NL-best hit total to 148.Carlos Pena doubled twice, walked, was hit by a pitch and drove in three runs for Chicago. Aramis Ramirez reached base four times on two singles, a walk and a hit by pitch and scored twice.Alfonso Soriano also was on base four times and scored twice. He singled, doubled and drew a pair of walks. Reed Johnson singled, doubled and scored three runs.Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips had to leave the game with a sprained right ankle after colliding with center fielder Drew Stubbs in the fourth. Phillips was able to finish the inning but was removed for pinch hitter Todd Frazier in the fifth.Zambrano (9-6) overcome early control problems. He allowed six hits and four walks and struck out six. One of the top hitting pitchers, Zambrano's solo homer in the third opened the scoring for Chicago and gave him seven career homers against Cincinnati.Cueto (7-5) hadn't allowed more than three earned runs over a span of 17 starts dating to last season but allowed season highs in hits and runs. The homer he allowed to Zambrano ended a streak of six starts without a long ball.Yonder Alonso drove in two runs and hit his first major league homer for the Reds, who have lost four of five and 11 of their last 15 on the road.Both pitchers started the game off with control problems. After retiring the first two Reds, Zambrano walked the bases full before striking out Miguel Cairo to end the threat.In the bottom of the first, Cueto hit Ramirez and Pena with two outs, but got Marlon Byrd on a groundout to escape the inning unscathed.None of the seven baserunners the starters allowed in the first two innings reached via a hit. Edgar Renteria snapped the string with a leadoff single in the third. He scored on Cairo's two-out bloop single to right. That was followed by Alonso's solid run-scoring single to left.Cueto entered the game with a 1.72 ERA and had allowed just one run over his past 20 innings but the Cubs responded to their early deficit by jumping on the hard-throwing righty and knocking him out of the game before he could escape the fourth.Zambrano started the rally by golfing a low pitch well into the right-field bleachers for his second homer of the season. It was the 23rd career homer for Zambrano, moving him into a tie with Walter Johnson for ninth on the all-time list for home runs as a pitcher.Cueto allowed seven hits, five runs, three walks, a homer, hit two batters and threw a wild pitch in 3 2/3 innings, striking out two.The Cubs broke the game open in the fifth with five runs against Cincinnati reliever Sam LeCure.The Reds matched their season high by committing three errors in the game.Game notes Tony Campana wasn't in the Cubs' lineup one day after his career-best game on Friday that featured three hits and his first career home run. Manager Mike Quade said that he'll continue using Campana as a bench player and occasional starter for the time being. After wavering slightly in his pregame talk with the media on Friday, Quade said that Rodrigo Lopez will make his next start despite his poor recent outings in which he's allowed 12 runs in 8 1/3 innings. Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman had a streak of 10 1/3 hitless innings snapped on Friday. It was the longest such streak by a Reds reliever since Chuck McElroy had 11 1/3 hitless innings from April 25 to May 17, 1994. Reds manager Dusty Baker said Chapman wasn't even aware that he had a streak going. Chris Heisey was held out of the Reds' lineup for the third straight game because of a sore oblique muscle caused by a batting practice swing Wednesday in Houston. Baker said that the team is not yet thinking of placing Heisey on the disabled list, but he wasn't sure when he would be able to return to action. The Cubs and Reds wrap up their three-game weekend series on Sunday. Bronson Arroyo will start for Cincinnati looking for his first win since June 25. He's 0-3 with three no decisions over that stretch. He's fared well at Wrigley Field, however, going 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA over his past five starts there. Randy Wells will take the mound for Chicago. He's 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA lifetime against the Reds, but he's struggled overall this season, having allowed a home run in 10 of his 13 starts. Zambrano has now driven in a run at the plate and earned a victory in the same game 38 times in his career, breaking a tie with Washington's Livan Hernandez for the most among active players.

Chirinos, Jennings rally Rays past Jays in 12

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- If the Tampa Bay Rays are going to make a push for another playoff berth, they'll likely need help from newcomers like Desmond Jennings and Robinson Chirinos.The rookies were major contributors Thursday, helping the defending AL East champions rally twice in extra innings to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6.Jennings' solo homer in the 10th made it 4-all. Chirinos tied it again in the 11th with a two-out, pinch-hit single up the middle against Shawn Camp (1-2) and then won it with another two-out single in the 12th.A third rookie, right-hander Brandon Gomes (1-1), pitched one scoreless inning for his first major league win."Those guys are showing they definitely belong in the big leagues," Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon said."It's not like we have to wait for them to be good. I feel very confident in them," manager Joe Maddon added. "Obviously, they lack experience. Obviously they need to be tested in even hotter moments than today. But I think they can achieve in those moments because their makeup is so good, combined with their skill level."Tampa Bay loaded the bases in the 12th on B.J. Upton's one-out triple and a pair of intentional walks. One out later, Chirinos grounded a single off Camp past diving shortstop Yunel Escobar.The Rays said Chirinos became the first rookie with separate tying and winning hits in extra innings of the same game since Nick Green did it for the Atlanta Braves against the Boston Red Sox on July 2, 2004.Slumping slugger Evan Longoria, who entered the day on a 3-for-33 slide that dropped his batting average to .226, hit a three-run homer for Tampa Bay. Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 33rd home run for Toronto, a solo shot off Wade Davis that made it 3-all in the eighth."It was a tough game. We jumped out quick, got a couple of runs but didn't have many opportunities for six straight (innings)," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "Jose hit the home run to get the game back tied and ... pump some life back into us."The Blue Jays took a brief lead in the 10th when Colby Rasmus delivered a RBI double for his biggest hit since being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in an eight-player trade on July 27. Reliever Jon Rauch blew a save chance in the bottom half when Jennings hit a leadoff homer.Jose Molina's two-run triple off Juan Cruz put Toronto ahead in the 11th. Matt Joyce's RBI grounder pulled Tampa Bay within a run before Chirinos singled to extend the game once again.In the 12th, Chirinos liked his chances."He was the one in trouble," Chirinos said, describing the final at-bat against Camp. "He had to throw strikes. ... You win and you see everybody smiling and happy, it's just a great feeling."It was a difficult loss for the Blue Jays, who had a chance to win three consecutive series for the first time since mid-May."I think any time you lose a game late, those are tough to take," Farrell said. "You work all day to get yourself into a position, you present yourself the position and it is not converted."Longoria homered off Blue Jays starter Brett Cecil to erase a 2-0 deficit in the fifth.Davis, meanwhile, got off to a shaky start for the second straight outing. He gave up five first-inning runs at Oakland last week but then settled down and didn't allow any more over the next five to give the Rays a chance to rally to beat the Athletics.The Blue Jays loaded the bases with no outs in the first when Rasmus doubled and Davis walked Escobar and Bautista. Adam Lind's single, snapping a career-worst 0-for-22 streak, drove in one run and another scored when Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a double play.Cecil limited the Rays to one hit -- Casey Kotchman's two-out single in the fourth -- until Justin Ruggiano and Jennings singled in the fifth. Damon kept the inning going by hustling up the first base to avoid grounding into a double play, setting up Longoria's first-pitch homer that put the Rays ahead 3-2.Game notes The Rays have especially struggled offensively at Tropicana Field. While they lead the majors in runs scored on the road with 294, they're 29th at home with 177. They matched their season high at the Trop with nine in a 9-1 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night but remain one of two AL teams that have yet to score 10 or more in a home game this season. ... Rays right-hander Jeff Niemann starts the opener of a weekend series against Oakland on Friday night. He went 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts in July. His ERA during the month ranked second in the majors to CC Sabathia's 0.92. Niemann is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and one shutout lifetime against the Athletics. ... Left-hander Brad Mills will make his second start of the season for Toronto when the Blue Jays continue their six-game road trip at Baltimore on Friday. He lost his season debut 3-0 to the Texas Rangers, allowing two runs over seven innings. ... The Blue Jays purchased the contract of infielder Brett Lawrie from Triple-A Las Vegas. In addition, left-hander Luis Perez was recalled from Las Vegas, outfielder Travis Snider was optioned to the Triple-A club and right-hander Carlos Villanueva was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain.

Uggla pushes hit streak to 25, Braves top Nats

WASHINGTON -- When his batting average dipped to .173 on July 4 and every hard-hit ball seemingly turned into an out, Dan Uggla never lost faith that he would pull out of his horrific slump.That is precisely what happened, in extraordinary fashion.Uggla homered and extended his career-best hitting streak to 25 games, Freddie Freeman had two hits and two RBIs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep. Uggla went 2 for 4, including a three-run drive that put the Braves up 6-0 in the fifth inning. His hitting streak is Atlanta's longest since Marquis Grissom put together a 28-game run in 1996.In his first 86 games, Uggla had 12 homers and 29 RBIs. During his streak, he's batting .354 with 11 home runs and 23 RBIs."The first couple months, I was hitting the ball hard but had some awful, awful luck," Uggla said. "You stay positive, keep grinding out some at-bats, get a couple to fall through, get a little confidence going and keep going from there."No one in the majors currently has a longer hitting streak."It's just a matter of time," he said. "There was a never a time that I believed what was going on the first couple of months was going to continue."Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez felt the same way about Uggla, who joined the Braves during the offseason after a successful five-year run with Florida."You don't explain it. You believe the back of the baseball card. You believe the history," Gonzalez said. "For whatever reason, who knows, we're all human, maybe the first two months there was some anxiety or pressure about coming over to a new organization. "Uggla isn't the only Atlanta player with a sizzling bat. Freeman has hit in 18 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors this season by a rookie."(Uggla) and Freeman are both hot as firecrackers," Gonzalez said.Jayson Werth homered and Ryan Zimmerman had two hits for the Nationals, whose four-game winning streak ended.Braves rookie Brandon Beachy (5-2) took a four-hit shutout into the sixth but failed to get another out. A walk, two singles, two wild pitches and a two-run homer by Werth pulled Washington to 6-4, and after reliever Anthony Varvaro walked Laynce Nix, rain delayed the game for 22 minutes."The rain didn't help us any," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said.Atlanta held on, remaining one of only two teams in the majors (with Philadelphia) that haven't been swept this season in a series of at least three games.Rookie Craig Kimbrel, the fourth Braves reliever, worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 37 triesWashington starter Chien-Ming Wang (0-2), making his second start in his return from a shoulder operation in July 2009, allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings. Four of the runs were unearned, the result of his own miscue in Atlanta's four-run fifth."Everything was a lot crisper. He looked stronger," Johnson said. "I thought his ball was moving more. I was pleased."Wang was better than in his debut, but not good enough."I didn't complete my job today," he said through an interpreter. "I didn't help the team to win the game."The fifth inning began with a throwing error by Wang, which enabled Beachy to reach second base. Beachy was eventually thrown out at the plate while trying to score on a one-out grounder to third. But Freeman followed with an RBI single and Uggla drove a 2-2 pitch into the left-field seats. It was his 23rd homer and third in two games."Just that one pitch changed the game," Wang said.Washington relievers pitched four perfect innings, but by then the damage had been done.The Braves jumped on top with a two-run first inning ignited by newcomer Michael Bourn, obtained Sunday in a five-player trade with Houston. After getting a leadoff single, Bourne notched his major-league leading 40th stolen base before scoring on a groundout by Freeman. Uggla then beat out a bouncer to third, advanced on a walk and came home on a two-out single by Alex GonzalezBeachy, who blanked Florida on two hits over 7 1/3 innings in his previous outing, extended his run of success until stumbling in the fifth. He allowed four runs and seven hits in five-plus innings.Game notes Zimmerman has hit in 12 straight games, the team's longest streak of the year. He has seven multi-hit games during that span. ... Freeman has reached base in 40 of his last 44 games. ... The Braves get Thursday off before opening a three-game road series against the New York Mets. ... After a 4-5 homestand, the Nationals send Ross Detwiler (1-0) to the mound Thursday night to open a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies. Detwiler, who is usually used out of the bullpen, will be making his first start since July 5.

CC nabs MLB-best 16th win as Yankees hold on

CHICAGO -- CC Sabathia has been on a roll for 2½ months now, racking up the innings and strikeouts while piling up the wins for the New York Yankees.The big left-hander gave up 10 hits Monday night, matching a season high, and it may have been one of his most impressive performances to date. Sabathia pitched eight strong innings to earn his major league-best 16th win and the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Monday for their fourth consecutive victory."I thought he had to gut it up because his stuff wasn't as sharp as we've seen it in the past," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's a true ace."Sabathia managed to wiggle out of trouble all night as the White Sox struggled to score without injured slugger Paul Konerko. They put the tying run in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh and came away with nothing each time."When a guy gets into scoring position off of CC Sabathia, he pumps it up," said Gordon Beckham, who finished with two hits for Chicago. "He was hitting 98 in the seventh or eighth inning. It's frustrating, yeah, but we battled against him and we just came up short."Sabathia (16-5) improved to 9-1 with a 1.76 ERA in his last 10 starts, burnishing his credentials for a second AL Cy Young Award. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his last 21 outings."I had to battle a little bit and just try to make pitches," he said. "They put some good at-bats together on me, hit some balls hard and me and Cervy (catcher Francisco Cervelli) were able to get out of some tough situations."Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances and second in as many days.Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run homer for Chicago, which has lost three straight games. Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski also had two hits apiece.White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy (4-5) settled down after a rough start and pitched seven effective innings. The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs and eight hits, but still dropped his fourth consecutive decision."Tonight I tried to pace myself and I felt a little bit better going deeper in the ballgame," Peavy said. "That's a great sign for me and I'm excited by it."Both teams were without their captains for the opener of the four-game series. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter rested with a bruised right middle finger and is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday, but Konerko could miss the next couple of days with a bruised left calf.Both All-Stars were injured when they were hit by a pitch on Sunday."I can't bear any weight," Konerko said. "That's probably the main thing. Just very weak. That's very normal where I got hit. Just keep working at it."The inconsistent White Sox trail AL Central-leading Detroit by 4½ games, and could lose more ground if they are without their best player for a prolonged stretch. Konerko leads Chicago regulars with a .305 batting average, 25 homers and 76 RBIs.His absence was felt almost immediately.Fill-in first baseman Adam Dunn made a nice diving stop on Brett Gardner's leadoff grounder in the first, but couldn't get the ball out of his glove in time to retire the speedy outfielder. Curtis Granderson followed with a run-scoring double into the right-field corner and came around to score when Robinson Cano's hard, one-out grounder skipped past Dunn for an RBI single.Dunn also struck out in each of his last three at-bats, including with a runner on to end the sixth and the eighth. He went 0 for 4 against Sabathia and is 3-for-77 with 35 strikeouts against lefties this year.The burly slugger, who signed with Chicago over the winter, once again heard more jeers from a frustrated crowd of 24,142 at U.S. Cellular Field.Granderson scored on Cano's double-play grounder to give New York a 3-0 lead in the third, but the Yankees struggled after their fast start. They recorded six of their eight hits in the first three innings.Game notes Girardi said 3B Alex Rodriguez (right knee surgery) is expected to resume baseball activities on Thursday at the team's spring facility in Florida. ... RHP Ivan Nova will start the series finale Thursday, giving New York a six-man rotation for at least the next week. The move provides some extra rest for aging starters Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, and likely sets up a competition between Phil Hughes and Nova for a starting spot. Hughes is scheduled to face LHP John Danks on Tuesday. ... Peavy threw a season-high 115 pitches.