Beckett, Tavarez start in doubleheader  —  Boston (78-68) at New York (89-56), 1:20 p.m. and 8:05 p.m. ET  —  The five-game sweep the Red Sox suffered at the hands of their biggest rivals in their own ballpark last month will likely be the defining moment of their season.

Cubs blanked, Zambrano to return  —  Back pain benches rookie Mateo after 3rd; vet Zambrano returning to rotation  —  One Cubs pitcher had to back out of a no-hitter Friday and another one most likely will be back Sunday.  —  As if you couldn't guess, the key word here is "back," …

Gonzo set to move on, would like to 'haunt' D-Backs  —  PHOENIX — Undisputedly the most popular player in the nine-year history of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Luis Gonzalez is saying goodbye.  —  One day after being told by the team's front office that he would not be back next season …

Ozzie likes Mackowiak in center  —  OAKLAND, Calif. —Rob Mackowiak started in center field for the third time in the last four games on Friday night, as Guillen obviously has shown which player he is most confident with in crunch time.  And it isn't Brian Anderson.

Gastall's secret, fatal flight … His last words came over the control tower radio at Dundalk's Harbor Field on Sept. 20, 1956: "75-Hotel.  I'm going into the water."  —  The voice belonged to Tom Gastall, a 24-year-old reserve catcher for the Orioles.  Married with a young son …

Notes: Short memory a must for LA  —  Dodgers undaunted by 3-11 season mark against Padres  —  LOS ANGELES — Baseball is a game in which you have to have many things, one of the most important of those being a short memory.  —  Coming into a four-game set with the Padres, the Dodgers will need to put that short memory to good use.

Conte indicates that Bonds knew about steroids … BALCO founder Victor Conte allegedly bragged to an associate that Barry Bonds had intimate knowledge of the designer steroids he received from the Bay Area company, and that the Giants slugger took an active interest in what those substances contained …

As Mets' champagne chills, it's only matter of time for the big clinch  —  PITTSBURGH - A few of the players brought goggles to the park, to protect their eyes from sprays of champagne.  Plastic was nearby, to save their clothing from stains.  Pedro Martinez had his towel, the handiest of all props …

Pirates Notebook: Perez rediscovers his heat  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  To glance at Oliver Perez's statistics before and after the Pirates traded him to New York, there is not much separation.  He was 2-10 with a 6.63 ERA beforehand and is 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA in four starts with the Mets.

Izzy case isn't closed  —  A degenerative hip condition afflicting Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen is not believed to be career-ending but will require surgery in upcoming weeks, several people familiar with the case confirmed Thursday.  —  "It's a fact that what he has can't be addressed without …