Costly victory  —  Polanco separates shoulder as Tigers edge Red Sox  —  BOSTON (AP) — Placido Polanco's injury forced Ivan Rodriguez to play an unfamiliar position and left the Detroit Tigers wondering how the loss of their steady second baseman will affect their playoff run.

Patiently Pulling Away  —  Yankees Lead East By 3  —  NEW YORK — From his seat in the first base dugout at Yankee Stadium, Joe Torre has no choice but to stare at the out-of-town scoreboard in left field.  —  And as Erik Bedard was cutting down the Yankees Tuesday night, Torre could see that the Red Sox were beating the Tigers.

Young aims to even series vs. Giants  —  San Francisco (55-63) at San Diego (60-58) , 7:05 p.m. PT  —  After two consecutive games in which the Padres bats hummed along, they came to a halt on Monday night.  —  The Friars were shut out, 1-0, in the series opener with the Giants …

Notes: Bullpen leading A's charge  —  Oakland's relievers putting up impressive numbers  —  OAKLAND — In 2004, the A's bullpen received much of the blame for the team not reaching the playoffs.  In 2006, the 'pen might be the main reason the team does play in mid-October.

White Sox drop the ball  —  Defensive lapse, baffled bats end Sox's win streak at 5  —  The White Sox braced themselves for a sixth-inning drop-off from Javier Vazquez.  —  But they didn't envision a defensive letdown or a failure to solve Runelvys Hernandez.

Mariners Notebook: Lowe's velocity grows  —  Pitcher's fastball hitting 100 on some radar guns  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — When rookie right-hander Mark Lowe pitched two innings of shutout relief Monday, two radar guns had him clocked at 100 mph.  One clocking registered at 101 mph.

Nationals place Soriano on waivers  —  The Nationals placed left fielder Alfonso Soriano on waivers Tuesday, a routine step that nonetheless raises the question of whether the team is making one last attempt to trade Soriano before he becomes a free agent, FOXSports.com has learned.

LO DUCA TRIES SOME PHILLY  —  CHEESECAKE  —  ME '2,' SAYS BET-PARLOR TEEN  —  It looks like a whopping strike two for soon-to-be divorced Met Paul Lo Duca.  —  Just one week after a 19-year-old Long Island woman told The Post she's been having an affair with the Casanova catcher …

Mets awaiting Pedro's MRI results  —  Club spokesman: pitcher's prognosis to come Wednesday  —  PHILADELPHIA — Mystery and intrigue were added to the concern about Pedro Martinez on Tuesday night.  Some 24 hours after the Mets' primary ptcher was removed from his start against the Phillies …

Grimsley, D-Backs agree to donate salary to charity … Former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley, released after admitting to federal agents that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs, has reached a settlement with the Arizona Diamondbacks that will pay him all of his remaining salary for the season, ESPN.com has learned.

'Superb' Astacio Stymies Atlanta  —  Nationals' Starter Hurls Two-Hitter : Nationals 5, Braves 0  —  The Washington Nationals, losers of three straight and 7 of 10, glanced at the standings yesterday and saw that the only National League teams enduring poorer seasons, the Chicago Cubs …

Pirates' Sanchez defying the odds  —  Pittsburgh closer Mike Gonzalez made his contribution to team camaraderie in May when he bought a Ping-Pong table for the PNC Park home clubhouse.  To no one's surprise, the ultra-competitive Freddy Sanchez is now ranked No. 1 ahead of shortstop Jack Wilson …

A's winning despite offensive struggles  —  These aren't your grandfather's A's.  Heck, these aren't even Michael Lewis' A's, the high on-base, power-laden outfit that the author extolled in Moneyball.  —  In recent seasons, A's general manager Billy Beane has shifted to more of a pitching …