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Ramirez scratched from Red Sox lineup with sore hamstring

By Paul Sancya (AP)

Manny Ramirez's pursuit of his 500th home run will have to wait for at least another day. Ramirez, who has 497 career homers, was given Sunday night off against the Minnesota Twins because of a sore right hamstring.

Manager Terry Francona said he saw Ramirez come up a little gimpy while running out a grounder in Saturday night's 5-2 victory over the Twins. Ramirez called Francona on Sunday morning and told him the leg was a little sore.

"When he reached for first last night, I thought I saw him (grab) behind his right hamstring, kind of lower," Francona said. "It looked a...

By Jim Mone (AP)

So much for small ball. Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with two of light-hitting Minnesota's three home runs and four RBIs, and the Twins hung on for a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Joe Nathan gave up two runs in the ninth, but won a showdown with pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez by getting him to ground out to shortstop with the tying run on second base to pick up his 12th save in as many chances.

Monroe had his third career multihomer game and Adam Everett also went deep during an atypically brutal start for Tim Wakefield (3-2) in the Metrodome. Nick Blackburn...

By Jim Mone (AP)

So much for small ball.

Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with two of light-hitting Minnesota's three home runs and four RBIs, and the Twins hung on for a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Joe Nathan gave up two runs in the ninth, but won a showdown with pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez by getting him to ground out to shortstop with the tying run on second base to pick up his 12th save in as many chances.

Monroe had his third career multihomer game and Adam Everett also went deep during an atypically brutal start for Tim Wakefield (3-2) in the Metrodome. Nick...

By Ric Francis (AP)

Hiroki Kuroda took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers before the Houston Astros broke out for seven hits and six runs in the eighth inning to pull out an 8-5 victory Sunday.

Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence had RBI singles against reliever Jonathan Broxton (1-1), and Brad Ausmus added a two-run single against the right-hander as the Astros won for the eighth time in nine games. Houston also completed its first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 25-27, 1992.

Michael Bourn capped the rally with a sacrifice fly, giving...

By John Froschauer (AP)

Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer in the third inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki each went 3-for-4 for the Mariners, who finished with 13 hits. It was Seattle's most hits since it collected 10 in a 7-3 win over Texas last Monday. The Mariners went 2-5 on their seven-game homestand.

Seattle got to Gavin Floyd (3-2), who has been one of the toughest pitchers to hit so far this season, for five runs and nine hits over 3 2-3 innings.

Floyd entered with a major league-leading...

By Ric Francis (AP)

Hiroki Kuroda took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers before the Houston Astros broke out for seven hits and six runs in the eighth inning to pull out an 8-5 victory Sunday.

Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence had RBI singles against reliever Jonathan Broxton (1-1), and Brad Ausmus added a two-run single against the right-hander as the Astros won for the eighth time in nine games. Houston also completed its first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 25-27, 1992.

Michael Bourn capped the rally with a sacrifice fly, giving...

By John Froschauer (AP)

Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer in the third inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki each went 3-for-4 for the Mariners, who finished with 13 hits. It was Seattle's most hits since it collected 10 in a 7-3 win over Texas last Monday. The Mariners went 2-5 on their seven-game homestand.

...

By Marcio Jose Sanchez (AP)

Steve Holm entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher, then delivered the biggest hit of the day.

Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning for his first major league home run, and the San Francisco Giants held on for a 4-3 victory in the rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Holm homered in his first at-bat on the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero (3-1) after replacing Bengie Molina in the top of the seventh, sending the ball into the seats in left-center. Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and...

By Lenny Ignelzi (AP)

All it took for the San Diego Padres to suddenly look alive was to face a pitcher making his big league debut.

Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene homered to spoil Greg Reynolds' first start, leading the Padres to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and their first series win in nearly a month.

The Padres have been playing so poorly that their two consecutive wins match their season high, which they've managed only three times. After winning for just the sixth time in 24 games, the Padres (14-24) continue to have the worst record in the majors.

San Diego had...

By Lenny Ignelzi (AP)

All it took for the San Diego Padres to suddenly look alive was to face a pitcher making his big league debut.

Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene homered to spoil Greg Reynolds' first start, leading the Padres to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and their first series win in nearly a month.

The Padres have been playing so poorly that their two consecutive wins match their season high, which they've managed only three times. After winning for just the sixth time in 24 games, the Padres (14-24) continue to have the worst record in the majors.

San Diego had...

By Marcio Jose Sanchez (AP)

Steve Holm entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher, then delivered the biggest hit of the day.

Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning for his first major league home run, and the San Francisco Giants held on for a 4-3 victory in the rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Holm homered in his first at-bat on the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero (3-1) after replacing Bengie Molina in the top of the seventh, sending the ball into the seats in left-center. Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

The big matchup between Big Z and the Big Unit never materialized. Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied again to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Sunday after the anticipated showdown between Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson got wiped out.

Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save in 10 chances and finish off Chicago's three-game sweep of the NL West leaders.

Heavy rain and temperatures in the mid-40s delayed the start of the game by 58...

By Tim Sharp (AP)

Emil Brown hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to help the Oakland Athletics beat Texas 12-6, ending the Rangers' season-best five-game winning streak Sunday.

Frank Thomas drove in two runs to give him 1,695 RBIs, tying him with Cal Ripken for 21st all-time, and Mark Ellis had three hits for the A's.

Ian Kinsler had three hits for the Rangers, who had won nine of their previous 11.

With the game tied at 6, Bobby Crosby led off the seventh with a double, then stopped at third on Ellis' single. Rangers reliever Franklyn German's pickoff attempt had Ellis in a ru...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

The big matchup between Big Z and the Big Unit never materialized. Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied again to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Sunday after the anticipated showdown between Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson got wiped out.

Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save in 10 chances and finish off Chicago's three-game sweep of the NL West leaders.

Heavy rain and temperatures in the mid-40s delayed the start of the game by 58...

By Tim Sharp (AP)

Emil Brown hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to help the Oakland Athletics beat Texas 12-6, ending the Rangers' season-best five-game winning streak Sunday.

Frank Thomas drove in two runs to give him 1,695 RBIs, tying him with Cal Ripken for 21st all-time, and Mark Ellis had three hits for the A's.

Ian Kinsler had three hits for the Rangers, who had won nine of their previous 11.

Franklyn German (1-1) gave up two runs and three hits in 2-3 inning to suffer the loss.

Santiago Casilla (2-0) allowed two hits in 1 1-3 innings for the victory.

...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

The big matchup between Big Z and the Big Unit never materialized.

Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied again to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Sunday after the anticipated showdown between Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson got wiped out.

Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save in 10 chances and finish off Chicago's three-game sweep of the NL West leaders.

...

By Morry Gash (AP)

Ryan Braun hit a pair of solo home runs, Jeff Suppan pitched seven solid innings and the Milwaukee Brewers' new closer by committee held on for a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

With Eric Gagne out as the closer, the Brewers turned to Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse in the ninth. Torres allowed a leadoff double and a walk before giving way to Shouse with two outs. Shouse, a left-handed specialist, gave up an RBI single to Yadier Molina before finishing for his first save and fifth of his career.

The Brewers, who won for the second time in nine games, scored...

By Ed Betz (AP)

The Cincinnati Reds batted out of order in the ninth inning of Sunday's 8-3 loss to the New York Mets, resulting in a 10-minute delay as umpires and managers sorted out the confusion.

Backup catcher David Ross came to the plate to lead off the inning and lined out. But the batter in the No. 8 spot should have been outfielder Corey Patterson, with Ross hitting ninth after an earlier double switch.

Mets manager Willie Randolph came out to inform the umpiring crew of the mix-up. Patterson was charged with the out, which officially counts as a putout by the catcher, and Ross came...

By Ed Betz (AP)

The Cincinnati Reds batted out of order in the ninth inning of Sunday's 8-3 loss to the New York Mets, resulting in a 10-minute delay as umpires and managers sorted out the confusion.

Backup catcher David Ross came to the plate to lead off the inning and lined out. But the batter in the No. 8 spot should have been outfielder Corey Patterson, with Ross hitting ninth after an earlier double switch.

Mets manager Willie Randolph came out to inform the umpiring crew of the mix-up. Patterson was charged with the out, which officially counts as a putout by the catcher, and Ross came...

By Orlin Wagner (AP)

Brian Bannister allowed two singles in eight innings and the Kansas City Royals beat Baltimore 4-0 Sunday to end their 12-game skid against the Orioles.

It was Kansas City's first victory over Baltimore since July 25, 2006.

Bannister struck out five and walked two to end a personal four-game losing streak. He did not allow a runner to reach second. Joakim Soria tossed a perfect ninth to finish Kansas City's fourth shutout of the year.

Bannister was 0-4 with an 8.02 ERA and had allowed 33 hits in 21 1-3 innings over his previous four starts. He held the Orioles to one...

By Mike Carlson (AP)

Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Cliff Floyd added a pair of run-scoring singles, helping the Tampa Bay Rays stop Ervin Santana from becoming the AL's first seven-game winner with an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

Santana departed with a 5-4 lead with one runner on and two outs in the sixth inning, but the game quickly shifted when Justin Speier (0-3) entered and gave up a double to Akinori Iwamura and Crawford's third homer of the season.

B.J. Upton doubled for the third consecutive hit off the Angels reliever. He took third base on a wild pitch...

By Morry Gash (AP)

The Brewers yanked Eric Gagne from the closer's role on Sunday after the reliever called his latest performance embarrassing and said he didn't feel he deserved to pitch the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne's comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a "mental break."

"He's really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard," Yost said. "We'll probably just mix and match, I'm not going to do anything crazy."

Gagne, who signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the Brewe...

By Morry Gash (AP)

The Brewers yanked Eric Gagne from the closer's role on Sunday after the reliever called his latest performance embarrassing and said he didn't feel he deserved to pitch the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne's comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a "mental break."

"He's really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard," Yost said. "We'll probably just mix and match, I'm not going to do anything crazy."

Gagne, who signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the Brewe...

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Dan Uggla's second home run on Sunday was a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Florida Marlins to their seventh straight win, 5-4 over the Washington Nationals.

Uggla drove in two runs and has seven RBIs and three homers in two games; he hit a grand slam Saturday and has 11 homers this season.

The Marlins have won all six of their games at Nationals Park, which opened this season, and their seven-game win streak overall is their best run since winning nine straight in August 2006.

Washington's Aaron Boone had a homer, triple and single with two RBIs in...

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