Marmol, bullpen blasted by Cardinals  —  Six St. Louis homers snap Cubs' four-game win streak  —  CHICAGO — Early on it looked like defense would be the culprit in Friday's 11-3 loss to the Cardinals, but the Cubs' old enemy, the home run, resurfaced as the game's main villain.

Notes: Rotation gets youthful injection  —  Volquez, Tejeda and Koronka to see action down the stretch  —  DETROIT — The Rangers weren't planning to start two rookies and one second-year pitcher during a crucial four-game series with the Detroit Tigers.  —  But that's the way it's …

A.J., Alomar clear up quote dispute  —  White Sox catchers have misunderstanding over article  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Since the title "Much Ado About Nothing" already was put into use long ago by William Shakespeare, file Friday's minor clubhouse quarrel between catchers A.J. Pierzynski …

Yankees 12, Red Sox 4, 1st game  —  BOSTON (AP) — Johnny Damon tripled into the Fenway Park triangle to start a rare five-game series, and later homered and drove in four runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Boston Red Sox 12-4 Friday in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

Eckstein will be out indefinitely  —  Shortstop David Eckstein will be lost for at least the rest of this weekend's series after suffering a strained muscle in his left side in a third-inning collision at the plate with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett.  —  The injury occurred …

9 and oh: Weaver's a perfect match  —  Rookie ties Ford's AL record for wins to start a career  —  ANAHEIM — Is there anything this kid can't do?  —  Jered Weaver won his ninth straight decision, becoming only the second American League rookie in history accomplish such a feat.

Diamondbacks-Padres Preview  —  Manager Bob Melvin believes the Arizona Diamondbacks have played well against San Diego this year because they caught the Padres at the right time.  —  If that's the case, the schedule has worked in his favor again.  —  The Diamondbacks look to solidify …

A rough ride for Teddy Roosevelt in this presidential race  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When I told my wife about the idea, she considered it for a moment, then expressed a sentiment I was sure would come from my editor: "Who's going to write your game story while you're running around like an idiot?"

Injury may put Phillips on DL  —  STAFF WRITER; Jim Baumbach contributed to this notebook.  —  Andy Phillips might be headed for at least 15 days of inactivity after injuring his rib cage on a swing in the ninth inning.  Phillips' playing time has dwindled to almost nothing since the acquisitions of Bobby Abreu and Craig Wilson.

56-65  —  I just realized that I don't know how to generate Win Expectancy charts, and Fangraphs doesn't have one up yet for today, and it wouldn't look like a game summary without one, so I just used yesterday's chart and added a new picture.  Do you think anyone will notice?

Soriano a 30-30 man for fourth time  —  Nats star one shy of record shared by Bobby, Barry Bonds  —  PHILADELPHIA — Left fielder Alfonso Soriano became the first member of the Nationals to reach 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season on Friday night.

'86 fete draws Straw  —  PHILADELPHIA - The reunion won't be short one Straw, after all.  —  After initially declining the invitation, Darryl Strawberry informed the Mets this week that he will attend Saturday's 20-year anniversary celebration of the Mets' 1986 World Series championship team before their game against Colorado.