All signs point to Soriano's D.C. departure  —  The Nationals say they intend to re-sign left fielder Alfonso Soriano, but their actions will speak louder than their words.  —  Three significant obstacles likely will prevent the Nats from keeping Soriano, who is a free agent at the end of the season:

Club mark for errors threatened  —  MIAMI GARDENS - The young Marlins are making errors at a record pace.  —  Shortstop Hanley Ramirez muffed Rafael Furcal's grounder on the first play of the game in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  —  Two outs later, Scott Olsen's pitch got away from catcher Paul Hoover.

Nats' Trip Hurt by Inability to Get Players Home  —  It's hard to blame Micah Bowie for this one, because the left-hander has been so effective for the Washington Nationals, and by the 10th inning Sunday, he was trying to retire his seventh and eighth batters of the day.  —  It's hard, too, to blame Ryan Church.

Don's tweak helps make Abreu a hit  —  BALTIMORE - Don Mattingly watched video of Bobby Abreu's swing before the outfielder became a Yankee and thought he was jumping at pitches instead of "letting the ball just come to him."  —  So when Abreu arrived last week after a trade with the Phillies …

And Sometimes, Trades Do Work Out Best for Everybody  —  A PAIR of young first basemen forced their teams to make critical decisions last off-season, and neither the Philadelphia Phillies nor the Milwaukee Brewers have any reason to regret the decisions they made.

Long shots  —  Devil Rays cash in as Red Sox relievers fade at the finish  —  Winning pitcher Shawn Camp (left) was part of the welcoming party for Greg Norton (14), who ended things in the 10th with a one-out homer.  (AP Photo)  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This Torture at the Trop …

From Small Field to Major Leagues  —  JUAN BARÓN, Dominican Republic, Aug. 3 — The town's only baseball field sits at the back of a dead end.  Pigs, goats and chickens wander near a cement wall that surrounds the field.  Small trenches mark the basepaths on the field, and rocks and trash are strewn on the grass.

Mulder tosses five innings in rehab start  —  Cardinals southpaw pitches for first time since June 20  —  Mark Mulder took another step on his road back to the Major Leagues.  —  Pitching in a game for the first time since June 20, the tall left-hander allowed two runs on two hits …

Full of mojo, Saunders baffles Rangers  —  Rookie now 3-0, aided by Anderson, Guerrero three-run belts  —  ANAHEIM — The Angels gave Joe Saunders plenty of support, though, it's not as if the rookie needed it.  —  Saunders was masterful, allowing three hits in seven scoreless innings …

Cubs hoping to re-sign Pierre  —  The Cubs are desperately hoping to re-sign center fielder Juan Pierre, who has rebounded from a slow start to become the team's most consistent leadoff man since Kenny Lofton in 2003.  —  Whether they can is a question no one can answer.

Pavano looks good  —  BALTIMORE - In all the talk of the possible return dates of injured Yankees - such as Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield and Robinson Cano - Carl Pavano is hardly spoken of seriously as someone who could come back and help the team in September.