Pirates push Cubs off course  —  PITTSBURGH — After Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm shut down the Cubs' offense Friday night for an 8-4 victory, manager Lou Piniella repeated his call for another right-handed hitter.  —  "We talked about it before the ballgame," he said.

Nats drive a hard bargain for Young  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The Braves made a run at Nationals first baseman Dmitri Young, and the talks advanced to the point where Nats assistant GM Mike Rizzo scouted the Braves' Class AA club.  —  However, the discussions cooled due to the Nats' high asking price …

Pirates' McClatchy to step down as CEO later this year  —  Kevin McClatchy will step down as the Pirates' chief executive officer after the current baseball season, the team announced today, and the search for his replacement will begin immediately.  —  Mr. McClatchy, 44 …

Neifi Perez suspended for banned stimulant  —  Tigers infielder first to be penalized under program  —  DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers infielder Neifi Perez was suspended 25 games Friday, the first player penalized for testing positive for a stimulant under Major League Baseball's drug program.

Jeter's leadership, Bay's slump  —  Special to FOXSports.com, Updated 3 hours ago  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  Playing nine innings while waiting for Rafael Betancourt to throw the freakin' ball already . . .  1. Jeter as a leader  —  The Yankees, 40-42 and slumbering toward second-half irrelevance …

Beltre, Mariners pound A's Haren, 7-1  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Adrian Beltre went 5-for-5 with two homers and the Seattle Mariners took advantage of an AL record-tying four errors by Oakland third baseman Marco Scutaro to beat All-Star Dan Haren for the second time this season with a 7-1 victory over the Athletics on Friday night.

Braun homers twice in Brewers' win  —  Hart extends hit streak as Bush earns fourth victory in five tries  —  WASHINGTON — The Brewers did not excel in any phase of the game during their three straight losses in Pittsburgh, but got it together just in time for the start of a three-game series …

Wells powers Blue Jays over Indians 8-6  —  TORONTO (AP) — Vernon Wells homered and drove in three runs, Roy Halladay remained unbeaten against Cleveland, and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Indians 8-6 on Friday night.  —  Wells went 2-for-4 and was intentionally walked in the fifth.

Wishing for a Mercy Rule  —  The Twins now lead the White Sox 18-8 in the bottom of the seventh.  For every run the White Sox get in an attempt to come back, the Twins seem to score two.  It's been a sloppy game on top of that, with the White making four overt errors and a number of bad plays in the field.

Talking A Good Game  —  Hall of Famers Gwynn, Ripken huddle on hitting  —  Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn combined to play 5,441 regular season major-league games, none of which involved the two of them playing against one another.  Their lives and baseball careers ran parallel tracks all the way to Cooperstown.

Griffey ties Robinson on HR list  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  CINCINNATI (AP) - Ken Griffey Jr. tied Frank Robinson for sixth place on the home run list and Kyle Lohse pitched a four-hitter as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-1 on Friday night.

Penny might be limited in All-Star game  —  He's a possible starter in the contest at San Francisco, but team doesn't want blister on index finger aggravated.  —  Brad Penny's participation in Tuesday's All-Star game could be limited by the blister the pitcher developed on his right index finger …

Thames' slam helps Tigers rout BoSox 9-2  —  DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers dominated the Red Sox 9-2 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series that is Boston's only scheduled visit to the Motor City this year.  —  All-Star shortstop Carlos Guillen won't be surprised if the Red Sox are back for the AL championship series.

Morneau hits 3 homers  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Morneau hit three home runs Friday night in the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, becoming the fourth Minnesota Twins player to accomplish the feat.  —  The 2006 AL MVP hit a three-run drive in the first inning …

Smoltz goes on DL despite good news from MRI  —  San Diego — There was a collective sigh of relief from Braves officials Friday after an MRI exam of veteran pitcher John Smoltz's sore right pitching shoulder showed inflammation but no structural damage.  —  He was placed on the 15-day disabled list …

Guerrero, Ordonez join Derby field  —  Six sluggers set for Monday night's event in San Francisco  —  Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit's Magglio Ordonez have joined the field for the State Farm Home Run Derby, Major League Baseball officials confirmed Friday.