Mulder masters meek Mets  —  With help from Izzy in 9th, Cards lefthander wins duel with Trachsel  —  ST. LOUIS — For eight innings, Mark Mulder toyed with the Mets as if he were controlling them by puppet strings.  They fished for his floating changeup, bounced into double plays …

Pavano Says Right Arm Is Troubling Him Again  —  It has become as predictable as Mariano Rivera throwing cutters or Jason Giambi taking walks.  When Carl Pavano pitches, he gets hurt.  For almost a year now, that has been a near certainty.  —  Pavano, who was supposed to be the Yankees' No. 3 starter …

Nationals go deep to down Cubs  —  Washington righty Ortiz notches first win of the season  —  CHICAGO — Whenever the Nationals win a game these days, manager Frank Robinson calls it big, because the victories have been few and far between.  Thursday's victory was, indeed …

Pujols on Bonds: 'He's probably made some mistakes'  —  ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols defended Barry Bonds on Wednesday, saying he respects the accomplishments of the San Francisco Giants' slugger.  —  Pujols was in the St. Louis lineup after a nasty slip and fall and felt good enough to discuss …

Notes: Kazmir blossoming into a No. 1  —  Leftie recorded four straight wins with one earned run or less  —  ST. PETERSBURG — By chalking up his sixth win Tuesday night, Scott Kazmir became the youngest Major League pitcher — at age 22 years, three months — to do so since 1989 …

Closure For The Cowboy  —  Millar Homers, Sox Streak Ends  —  BALTIMORE — The cord has been finally cut, perhaps. ...  OK, maybe.  —  Sooner or later, the Orioles were going to beat the Red Sox and Kevin Millar would contribute - which is what he did Wednesday night in a 4-3 victory …

Pirates place unhappy Duffy on restricted list  —  PITTSBURGH — Outfielder Chris Duffy, unhappy the Pittsburgh Pirates tried to alter his hitting approach after a successful rookie season, was placed on the minor league restricted list Thursday after failing to report to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Nationals to open series with O's  —  Baltimore (19-22) at Washington (14-27), 7:05 p.m. ET  —  After 11 days on the road, the Nationals return to Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to start a three-game Interleague series against the Orioles on Friday night.  —  It's the first "Battle of the Beltways" …

Barajas boosts Rangers with his bat  —  NEW YORK - Here's something you haven't been able to say often, if at all, this season: Rod Barajas' bat played a huge role in a Rangers win.  —  Barajas did it with a bunt and a blast Thursday.  —  Barajas, who leads the team with three sacrifice hits …

Nationals sale gets owners' approval  —  NEW YORK — The sale of the Washington Nationals to a group headed by Ted Lerner and his son Mark Lerner was approved unanimously at Thursday morning's quarterly owners' meeting, ending Major League Baseball's four-year role in owning and operating the franchise …

Notes: Ramirez sits with mild strain  —  Cubs third baseman likely to return for weekend series  —  CHICAGO — Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez was sidelined on Thursday with a mild strain in his lower back, but he is expected to play this weekend in the Interleague series against the White Sox.

Under The Knife  —  Comes a Little Chaos, and a Little Rain  —  Rain sucks.  I've been under clouds here in Indianapolis for what seems like the entire month and in May, that's a problem.  We'll try and get 33 cars qualified on Saturday in what should be a mad dash while Joe …

Thursday's MLB Transactions  —  MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL-Announced the unanimous approval of the sale of the Washington Nationals to a group led by Theodore N. Lerner.  —  American League  —  CLEVELAND INDIANS-Sent RHP Danny Graves outright to Buffalo of the IL.

News: Bannister Hurt Again  —  Hope its something minor.  We really need him in our rotation now.  —  Re: News: Bannister Hurt Again  —  This is unbelievable.  I realize that this horse has probably been beaten to death several times over, but still... the presumption during Spring Training …

RANGERS NOTES  —  Blalock swinging hot bat  —  NEW YORK — Third baseman Hank Blalock continues to have one of the best seasons of any major leaguer.  He entered Wednesday batting .345 (seventh in the American League) with 33 RBI (tied for sixth in the AL), and nearly as many walks (16) as strikeouts (18).