Five-run fifth dooms Sox to defeat  —  Boston batters struggle to solve Oakland starter Blanton  —  BOSTON — Through four innings, Red Sox righty Kyle Snyder was looking like he could be the ace of any staff in baseball, and not the No. 5 starter that Boston called up from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Mariners tripped up by Jays in 11th  —  Betancourt ties game in ninth, but club falls in extra innings  —  TORONTO — As he tugged at his sweat-soaked undershirt on Sunday, Emiliano Fruto tried to describe how the humid conditions inside Rogers Centre made pitching so miserable.

No-hit Tracey's back  —  Pitcher says he's learned much from June incident  —  NEW YORK — Sean Tracey rejoined the White Sox on Sunday with three lessons learned.  —  "Protect your team, do your job, and, no offense to you guys, but watch what you say to the media, because it's going to be twisted and turned," Tracey said.

Mariners have strong interest in Soriano  —  The Mariners see an opportunity.  Few teams can afford to rent Nationals left fielder Alfonso Soriano, a potential free agent, for the final two months of the season.  And the Angels, the team for whom Soriano represents perhaps the best fit …

Astros need to plug leaks in bullpen  —  MIAMI — After his relievers had yet another bad day at the office Sunday, Phil Garner issued what sounded like a threat.  —  "I'm going to keep pitching 'em," he said.  —  You just choked on your cornflakes, didn't you?  —  Actually, Garner has no choice.

Martínez Was Tested at a Hospital Before Rejoining the Team  —  CHICAGO, July 15 — Pedro Martínez received intravenous fluids at a local hospital Friday after complaining of a fever, apparently the result of food poisoning.  Martínez also underwent testing …

Chipper ties extra-base streak record  —  Homer in fourth equals Waner's 79-year-old Major League mark  —  SAN DIEGO — Chipper Jones is one day away from possibly doing what no other Major Leaguer has ever done.  —  Jones' two-run fourth-inning homer off Jake Peavy in Sunday's 10-5 Braves win …

Mench seeing more bench  —  Outfielder loses playing time; club may consider using him in trade  —  BALTIMORE - The Rangers do not want to trade Kevin Mench.  His play, however, makes them consider the possibilities.  —  Mench went 1-for-11 in the first three games of the second half …

Shades of 1987 for Cards  —  The Cardinals on Sunday completed their first four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers here since July 7-8, 1987, when they won back-to-back twi-night doubleheaders.  The second game of both doubleheaders went 10 innings, with the first nightcap lasting almost until 3 a.m. …

Walker: You can pin game on me  —  Cubs' 2nd baseman takes blame for 2 costly errors in loss  —  Todd Walker was humbled by Sunday's experience at Wrigley Field, where the popular second baseman the Cubs tried to trade all winter was vociferously booed for his lackluster defense in the 13-7 loss to the New York Mets.

Game over  —  Rivera saves No. 400 as Yankees sweep White Sox  —  NEW YORK (AP) — With the souvenir ball from his 400th save nestled gently in the pocket of his mitt, Mariano Rivera got a warm hug from a grateful Joe Torre and flashed his proudest smile.  —  The closer by which all closers …

Stressed, but not fractured  —  A patchwork outfield excelled under pressure as the Twins beat Cleveland for the third game in a row.  They will need more of the same, because Torii Hunter has a stress fracture and will miss at least two weeks.  —  Michael Cuddyer homered.

The Future Is Now, or The Endy Of The Beginning  —  I told Mike, after he asked me what "Endy" is short for (the name of the Mets outfielder, and if you look at his baseball-reference.com entry, turns out it's not short for anything.  His full name is "Endy"), that I had to get "The Endy Of The Beginning" into this post somehow.

Reds rally to complete sweep of Rockies  —  CINCINNATI — With two late-game rallies, the Cincinnati Reds learned what it's like to be on the other side of those bullpen meltdowns.  —  Rich Aurilia's pinch-hit, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth inning rallied the Reds …

Littlefield: Pirates haven't moved to sign new Casey contract  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) -The Pittsburgh Pirates are not discussing a contract extension with first baseman Sean Casey, a sign they may be looking to trade their highest-paid player before the end of the month.

Notes: Rauch had a personal issue  —  Reliever was unexpectedly unavailable during Saturday's loss  —  PITTSBURGH — After Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Pirates, manager Frank Robinson was asked why he didn't pinch-hit for Roy Corcoran in the top of the ninth inning and use another pitcher in the bottom of the inning.