Happ, Werth lift slumping Phillies over Jays 10-0
J.A. Happ pitched a five-hit shutout, Jayson Werth homered twice and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-0 …

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Wakefield outduels Vazquez as Bosox blank Braves 1-0
Tim Wakefield pitched six scoreless innings to win a duel with Javier Vazquez, and the Boston Red Sox blanked the punchless Atlanta …

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Pujols, Cardinals batter Twins, Slowey 5-3 (AP)

The Minnesota Twins successfully challenged Albert Pujols the night before. Then they tried it again. Pujols made them pay by lining two-run homers in his first two at-bats Sunday, doing most of the damage against Kevin Slowey in a 5-3 victory on Saturday. His crucial ninth-inning strikeout against Joe Nathan in a two-run loss the previous night was on his mind.

Burnett dominates as Yankees one-hit Mets in Subway Series
A.J. Burnett combined with two relievers on a one-hitter, Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada made Citi Field seem small with opposite-field …

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Slowey, Twins overheated at Busch
Slowey, Twins overheated at Busch Kevin Slowey gave up two home runs to Albert Pujols and lasted only three innings as the Twins fell to the Cardinals, 5-3, on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Tejada sparks Astros, helps snap Tigers‘ seven-game winning streak
Miguel Tejada had a double and drove in two runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-4 victory over Detroit on Friday night, snapping the Tigers‘ seven-game winning streak.

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Hamels ejected as Blue Jays shut down Phillies again
Ricky Romero held Philadelphia hitless for six innings and Aaron Hill hit a two-run double in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-1 victory over the slumping Phillies on Friday night.

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Fan falls from Busch Stadium upper deck prior to Cards-Twins game
A 34-year-old man fell headfirst from the upper deck at Busch Stadium on to the concourse below before the St. Louis Cardinals played the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

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Tigers grabbing AL Central by the tail
After finishing last in the American League Central last season, the Detroit Tigers were a team of question marks in spring training

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Perkins toasts Cards in dominant start
Perkins toasts Cards in dominant start Glen Perkins gave up one run in seven innings and the Twins scored two runs with two outs in the first inning as they held on to beat the Cardinals, 3-1, on Friday night.

Major league anxiety: Players more open to seek help
Khalil Greene endured such agony playing the game he loved, he had to get away from it.Dontrelle Willis lost control to such an extent, his team put him on the disabled list twice.Joey Votto found solace from his pain in baseball but was miserable elsewhere.

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Rain keeps Manny out of lineup; Class A expected next
Manny Ramirez went silent.Then, Manny left the building.

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A-Rod powers potent Yankees past Braves
Alex Rodriguez tied Reggie Jackson with his 563rd home run and Mariano Rivera earned his 499th career save in the New York Yankees‘ 11-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.

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Twins Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

R.A. Dickey insists there isn’t any additional pressure on him if the Twins continue to utilize him in close games rather than in a long-relief role. Maybe so, but Minnesota’s catchers might feel a little more pressure.

Dickey was told to warm up with the Twins clinging to a 4-3 lead Thursday, an indication that manager Ron Gardenhire has learned to trust the knuckleball to secure critical outs.

Securing Dickey’s knuckler isn’t easy, though. Joe Mauer, Mike Redmond and Jose Morales are gradually learning more about the unpredictable pitch, but now they might face situations where letting one get past them could affect the outcome of a game.

“It’s getting a little easier” to catch, Mauer said Thursday.

Off-duty officer shoots two in lot after Angels game
An off-duty police officer shot and wounded two men who had assaulted him in the crowded Angel Stadium parking lot after Wednesday night’s Colorado Rockies-Los Angeles Angels game, authorities said.

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Rangers defeat Diamondbacks 9-8 in 12 innings
Chris Davis and David Murphy hit back-to-back homers in the 12th inning, Andruw Jones also homered and the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-8 on Thursday night.

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Tigers win seventh straight thanks to Ordonez’s HR
Magglio Ordonez ended a career-long, 40-game drought without a home run by connecting for the go-ahead shot, leading the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago Cubs 6-5 Thursday for their seventh straight victory.

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Kendall’s wild dash home helps Brewers stun Twins (AP)
J.J. Hardy slid into home to tie the game when he saw Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn ready to throw. Blackburn's reaction told the Brewers shortstop what was about to happen next. Jason Kendall's two-out double in the eighth inning tied the game and the Milwaukee catcher hustled home on two throwing errors, the second by Blackburn, to give the Brewers a wild 4-3 victory over the Minnesota…

Smoltz gets second chance at first impression
Now pitching, No. 29 … wait a minute. If that’s John Smoltz on the mound, where’s Bobby Cox? Where’s Chipper Jones? Where’s the tomahawk chop? Sorry for the flashbacks to ancient history. Smoltz as an Atlanta Brave is so last year. Last century, for that matter.

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Rays even Series rematch with Phillies
Matt Garza shut down Philadelphia’s offense and ex-Phillies slugger Pat Burrell homered for the first time in over two months to help Tampa Bay beat his former team 7-1 on Wednesday night.

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El Duque activated by Rangers’ minor league team
The Oklahoma City RedHawks have activated former major league pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez.

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Phillies closer Lidge reinstated from DL
Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been reinstated from the 15-day disabled list.

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Kendall’s wild dash home helps Brewers stun Twins (AP)
J.J. Hardy slid into home to tie the game when he saw Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn ready to throw. Blackburn's reaction told the Brewers shortstop what was about to happen next. Jason Kendall's two-out double in the eighth inning tied the game and the Milwaukee catcher hustled home on two throwing errors, the second by Blackburn, to give the Brewers a wild 4-3 victory over the Minnesota…

Voters step to ballot box, make smart All-Star choices
With just more than a week remaining in All-Star balloting, are the fans getting it right? USA TODAY’s Paul White takes a look at the leaders and the deserving choices:

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Phillies snap skid, rout Rays in World Series rematch
Chase Utley homered and drove in four runs Tuesday night, helping the Philadelphia Phillies rout the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 in the first regular season meeting between the teams since last year’s World Series.

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Baseball union chief Fehr leaves a damaged game behind him
Now that baseball union chief Don Fehr is leaving, would it be too much to ask him to take baseball commissioner Bud Selig with him?

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Sandberg: Sosa doesn’t deserve Hall of Fame
Former Chicago Cubs star Ryne Sandberg says Sammy Sosa doesn’t belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Manny breaks his silence, cheered in Albuquerque
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez was welcomed back to baseball with rousing cheers. Ramirez, easing back into playing shape after a 50-game drug suspension, suited up for Tuesday night’s game with the Albuquerque Isotopes, wearing No. 99 for the Dodgers‘ top farm club.

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El Duque activated by Rangers’ minor league team
The Oklahoma City RedHawks have activated former major league pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez.

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Sandberg: Sosa doesn’t deserve Hall of Fame
Former Chicago Cubs star Ryne Sandberg says Sammy Sosa doesn’t belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel is Mr. Versatile, a…

Ron Gardenhire won’t have to labor over his lineup card today in Milwaukee, wondering how to play his hot-hitting designated hitter, worrying about losing a bat that just wrapped up a career-high hitting streak and has a .312 average and 12 home runs this season.

A’s end five-game skid to Giants in Bay Bridge Series
Bobby Crosby drove in three runs, rookie Trevor Cahill won his third straight decision and the Oakland Athletics ended a five-game losing streak in the Bay Bridge Series with a 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

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Fanalytics: To see pitchers’ futures, keep eyes on flies
Pitchers don’t have full control of what happens to a batted ball once it’s hit. What they do have some control over is whether a ball is hit on the ground or in the air. Research has shown that about one in 10 fly balls leaves the park on average.

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Phillies snap skid, rout Rays in World Series rematch
Chase Utley homered and drove in four runs Tuesday night, helping the Philadelphia Phillies rout the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 in the first regular season meeting between the teams since last year’s World Series.

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Chicago baseball writers to discuss steroids, Hall of Fame
The Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America is taking up the thorny question of what to do with “Steroid Era” players and the Hall of Fame. The writers plan to meet Friday to discuss whether there should be any guidelines for voting in light of the drug scandal that has tainted baseball over the last dozen years.

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Nevada prep baseball phenom: ‘I’m not LeBron yet’
Bryce Harper didn’t flinch with television cameras focused on him, even though his upper body was tangled in microphone wires.”Part of life, I guess,” the 16-year-old quipped Tuesday.

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Ailing Mets put OF Carlos Beltran on disabled list
Carlos Beltran is going on the disabled list because of a bone bruise on his right knee, an enormous blow to a struggling New York Mets team already decimated by key injuries.

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Manny breaks his silence, cheered in Albuquerque
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez was welcomed back to baseball with rousing cheers. Ramirez, easing back into playing shape after a 50-game drug suspension, suited up for Tuesday night’s game with the Albuquerque Isotopes, wearing No. 99 for the Dodgers‘ top farm club.

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