White Sox rally falls short  —  The White Sox received no firm reward for spoiling Randy Johnson's no-hit bid Wednesday night and coming within 90 feet of wiping out all of a seven-run deficit.  —  But despite a furious comeback, the Sox fell into third place in the American League Central …

NY Mets 4, San Diego 3  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Piazza hit the ball so well, he turned the cheers to boos.  He almost turned the game in the San Diego Padres' favor, too.  —  Piazza hit two more home runs off Pedro Martinez, receiving a rare curtain call on the road after the first shot …

No relief as Sox collapse in 9th  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Remember when Red Sox Nation was ready to panic in the streets?  It was premature.  But maybe now . . .  When you can no longer rely on Jonathan Papelbon to close out a one-run game; when you can no longer depend on Manny Ramírez …

Baker: Cubs are not out of it yet  —  Chicago manager won't talk about the future, just this season  —  MILWAUKEE — The Cubs are playing better, but it has nothing to do with the pressure being off and them conceding the season.  There may be 11 teams ahead of them in the National League Wild Card race …

Guillen Says He'll Be Back By the Spring  —  Washington Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen, who is recovering from recent elbow surgery, vows to be healthy by 2007 spring training despite the severity of his injury.  —  "I'll be hitting in three months," a smiling Guillen said before last night's game.

Report: Marlins top pick Allison has second overdose  —  Marlins pitching prospect Jeff Allison has reportedly suffered his second overdose in just over two years.  —  According to The Boston Globe, Medford, Mass., police found Allison unconscious Monday in an apartment building.

Awash in wildness, Willis plain woeful  —  WASHINGTON — The Marlins are supposedly battling for a wild-card spot.  —  Wednesday they lost a game that dropped them within two games of the National League East basement.  —  In the kind of game expected when last place is at stake, the Nationals survived with a 5-2 victory.

Calling for reinforcements  —  Struggles prompt a team meeting  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Red Sox conducted a closed-door meeting prior to last night's game, described by one uniformed member as ``reinforcement" the team can turn around its fortunes.  —  It didn't help: The Sox lost …

Pirates Notebook: Duffy upbeat despite drop to No. 8  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  HOUSTON — There are two ways, it would seem, that Chris Duffy can go from here:  —  1. All those sharply hit balls will start finding some holes.  —  2. He will dig another deep hole for himself.

Garcia bracing for Chicago exit  —  In other circumstances, he would wear the nickname ''Big Game'' like a badge of honor.  —  The problem is White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia knows his nickname also has a stigma attached to it that inevitably will lead to his being traded this offseason.

Finally 30  —  It took 19 years and at times the drought seemed like a lot longer than that, but the Twins finally have another 30-homer hitter.  Justin Morneau smacked his 30th homer of the season last night, becoming the first Twins batter to reach that mark since I was four years old.  Seriously.