Philadelphia Phillies  —  NEW YORK - The Phillies score runs these days.  This is something we know.  They'll probably be in the thick of the wild-card race down to late September.  This will surprise no one.  —  And while it's true the combination of both should keep things interesting …

Padres-Rockies Preview  —  The San Diego Padres are surging at the right time and so is right-hander Jake Peavy .  —  Peavy tries to lead the Padres (66-63) to their sixth win in seven games when they face the Colorado Rockies (60-69) on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series.

Tough love, then a tough loss  —  Sox storm back from 6-3 deficit only to fall to torrid Twins in 11  —  TWINS 8, WHITE SOX 7 (11)  —  The Twins took another big bite out of the White Sox's playoff chances Saturday night while chomping away at the Tigers' once-seemingly invincible lead in the AL Central.

Timlin lets it get away  —  Wells's effort wasted as Mariners rally late  —  SEATTLE — Where have you gone, Mike Timlin?  —  Over the last 22 games, the 40-year-old righthanded setup man has set up disasters.  He has allowed 18 earned runs in his last 21 1/3 innings …

Get ready ... aim ... fire  —  Which skippers' jobs are in the crosshairs  —  With Labor Day and the September stretch comes the second manager firing season - the first being right before the All-Star break - and so far all 30 Opening Day skippers are still on the job.

PAVANO SUFFERS SETBACK  —  ANAHEIM - Carl Pavano is running out of body parts to break down.  —  Following his rehab start for Columbus (Triple-A) Friday night, Pavano talked of a problem with an oblique muscle, and there is the possibility he will be shut down.

THEO  —  When I first sat down to write this article, I tried a systematic, reasoned evaluation of our GM.  I opened up transaction reports, Cot's Baseball Contracts, espn.com's stats page, baseball prospectus PECOTA cards... every resource I could think of to make my point.

Dodgers' Kent hits game-winning homer  —  PHOENIX —Jeff Kent homered to lead off the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 Saturday night.  —  Kent's towering shot to left on a 3-2 pitch from Luis Vizcaino (3-4) …

Iannetta finishes ride to bigs  —  Chris Iannetta's dream came true Friday night in Salt Lake City.  That's where he received word he was being called up from the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox to the Rockies.  —  The magnitude of the big- league dream kept him awake until the sun rose over the Wasatch Mountains.

Georgia riding high as US champs  —  Strong outing by Phillips works Columbus to title game  —  SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A jubilant heap players formed a recklessly joyful pile along the third-base line.  Their fans just feet away rowdily hugged.  The chorus of "Celebrate Good Times" blared from the Lamade Stadium speakers.

Questions linger for rotation free agents  —  Faced with four members of the starting staff pitching into their walk year, the Cardinals decided to buy time by not addressing any expiring contracts before or during the season.  They banked on the situation providing motivation for the players and time for evaluation by the club.