More important than just a win  —  A mix of magic and emotion made it simply one of the most memorable nights in Marlins history.  —  Florida continued to roar back in the NL wild-card chase with a 16-5 drubbing of the Mets that included a season-high 20 hits and a franchise-record five home runs — three by unsung Cody Ross.

For Nats, Similar Themes Give Different Result  —  It could develop into a full-scale battle between the pitchers and the hitters if the Washington Nationals were to let it go that far.  In a four-game series over the weekend in Colorado, they hit and ran and sent balls all over the park …

Notes: Hamstring idles Izturis again  —  Injury has caused him to sit out several recent contests  —  ANAHEIM — It's nothing serious, but Maicer Izturis' hamstring problems just don't seem to go away.  —  The third baseman, who has been an unsung hero in the Angels' offensive resurgence this season …

Have To Hand It To Yanks  —  As O's Get Sloppy, They Clean Up  —  BALTIMORE — The Yankees like to take what the opposition gives them - an approach that works out nicely against the Orioles.  —  Falling upon a seventh-inning feast of sloppy relief pitching and defense …

Notes: Halladay healing nicely  —  Jays ace says he's not experiencing stiffness in right elbow  —  SEATTLE — Breathe easy Blue Jays fans — Roy Halladay is on the mend.  Toronto's ace sat at his locker inside the visitor's clubhouse at Safeco Field, wearing an ice pack on his right elbow prior to Monday's game against Seattle.

RIZZUTO FIGHTS ON IN LATEST BATTLE  —  PHIL RIZZUTO always has been a battler, the little underdog who made it all the way to the Hall of Fame.  —  The Scooter will turn 89 later this month, and this has been a difficult year for him and Cora.  Rizzuto couldn't make it to Yankee Stadium for Old-Timer's Day.

Tigers tail off in scoring, winning as playoffs suddenly in doubt  —  The Detroit Tigers' extended cold spell has them on the verge of trying to avoid a collapse of historic proportions.  —  On Aug. 7, the Tigers were 40 games over .500 and cruising with a 10-game lead in the American League Central.

The Cubs GM tells Our Guy there have been few things to smile about this season  —  We played some bad baseball.  We had a bad stretch in May and June.  No excuses.  The loss of Derrek shouldn't have made the club go that bad.  You can spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, but we had a bad couple months.

A Stealth Swinger Rewrites the Script  —  The day after Freddy Sanchez had surgery to repair his deformed right foot, his mother pulled him through the hallway of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in a tiny wagon reserved for patients who could not walk.  —  Sanchez was 13 months old …

Beyond Moneyball  —  Why A's Beane succeeds where others have failed  —  It's the man, not the methodology.  —  Moneyball was a superbly written tale, and while the book got it right in that the stunning achievements of the Oakland A's should indeed be attributed to their great general manager Billy Beane …

Sox in own Futures Game: Play out string with eye toward next year  —  It is one of the oldest rules in baseball, and it goes something like this: You don't judge players during spring training, and you certainly do not judge them now, in September, assuming you are out of the playoff race.

Offensive Production Masks Solid Defense  —  Alfonso Soriano's first — and perhaps only — season for the Washington Nationals will be long remembered for the sheer offensive numbers.  He entered Monday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks needing just one stolen base to become …