Shoulder pain forces Hamels to miss start  —  NEW YORK - Cole Hamels never sweats the small stuff.  —  Unless it has to do with his injury-plagued body.  —  Hamels, the Phillies' 22-year-old lefty phenom, felt a pop in his left shoulder while throwing in the outfield before last night's game.

Strand and deliver  —  Red Sox falter in clutch; Yankees come through  —  When you've pitched 2,356 2/3 innings and allowed 2,280 hits (303 of them home runs), and when you throw a pitch that floats like a butterfly and gets stung often, you gain some perspective and acceptance.

It's wild time on O's runway … With a staff of starters who all pitched fairly well last season and the game's most successful pitching coach on hand, the Orioles spoke of the mound as an area of strength, or at least reliability, this spring.  —  Seven weeks later, it seems more like a disaster zone.

Ortiz Provides a Good Start  —  Nats Right-Hander Gives Up Just One Run in Seven Innings : Nationals 4, Astros 1  —  He was the guy they turned to after all the prominent names — from Kevin Millwood to A.J. Burnett to Matt Morris — looked at the Washington Nationals, considered their ownerless status and went elsewhere.

A-Rod offers a powerful case  —  Blasts Bosox and then critics  —  BOSTON - Be fair, Yankee fans.  —  If you're going to hammer Alex Rodriguez every time he fails to deliver in the clutch, or even when he hits too-late-to-matter home runs, you have to give him his due for taking Tim Wakefield out of the ballpark last night.

Peavy strikes out 16 in loss to Braves, sets Padres record  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  SAN DIEGO — Jake Peavy needed only seven innings to set a Padres record with 16 strikeouts Monday night but lost because the only ball the Atlanta Braves hit out of the infield against him also happened to leave the yard.

Grounder past Doumit keys Pirates' 7-3 loss to Arizona  —  But Tracy, some players differ on play by inexperienced first baseman  —  PHOENIX — It would be easy to blame Ryan Doumit.  —  A ball was sliced right at him, it slipped under his glove, and it set the stage for three Arizona runs …

Beltran shot is sweet in 16  —  Carlos' HR sparks Mets in marathon  —  So many times it could've ended earlier, but the longest game in the majors this season - both in innings and time - was only just beginning at Shea.  —  Carlos Beltran over-slid second base in the 11th.

Granderson's double helps Tigers hand Royals 11th straight loss  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Even crusty old managers like Detroit's Jim Leyland can feel warm and fuzzy over wins like this.  —  Down 4- early to a Kansas City team desperate to snap …

Randolph's eager for Soler cycle to start  —  Willie Randolph watched Orlando Hernandez thrive from the moment he joined the Yankees after arriving from Cuba in 1998.  He also watched Jose Contreras crumble under the weight of pinstriped expectations, only to develop into a dominant starter after a trade to the White Sox.

Groin trouble ends Wright's night  —  BOSTON - Jaret Wright stood behind the mound, thinking, "No, not again" as his teammates crowded around him.  The first batter he faced, Kevin Youkilis, had hit him in the ribs with a line drive, a scary reminder of a bizarre stretch last season.

Prospectus Today  —  Flying High Again  —  Quick: who has the best record in the National League?  —  Once again, order has been restored in the senior circuit, where the St. Louis Cardinals have bounced back from mini-sweeps in Cincinnati and Houston at the start of the month to go 12-4 since …

Notes: Halladay to get extra day  —  Right-handed ace to switch starts with Taubenheim  —  TORONTO — Roy Halladay was on the mound for Toronto on Tuesday, but when exactly he'd be making his next start was still up in the air until he picked up his sixth win of the season.

'He's not welcome'  —  Report reignites feud between La Russa, Ozzie Smith  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Comments made in a newspaper interview have reopened an old rift between Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith and manager Tony La Russa.  —  In an article in Sunday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch …

Maddux perfect example  —  School will be in session for the Marlins' young pitching staff this afternoon when future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux takes the mound for the Cubs.  —  ''When it comes to pitching, he really knows what he's doing,'' Marlins manager Joe Girardi said of Maddux …

Scout who signed Pujols looks back, now stocks shelves at Wal-Mart  —  Dave Karaff misses the nomadic life of a baseball scout.  Instead of sitting behind home plate at dusty ball fields across the Midwest, aiming his stopwatch and speed gun at hot prospects, Karaff spends his days stocking …