Padres' Maddux gets 1st win in Arizona  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Greg Maddux no longer has to explain his drought in the desert.  —  The future Hall of Famer won for the first time in Phoenix and extended his streak without a walk to 49 1-3 innings over seven starts in leading the San Diego Padres …

Pirates Notebook: Bullington caps long road back  —  ST. LOUIS — Bryan Bullington already had lost enough time.  —  He and his family were in Louisville, Ky., yesterday afternoon when he received the word he has been awaiting for two years: He was being called up by the Pirates …

Dodgers rip Zambrano, he rips Cubs fans  —  Carlos Zambrano bit the hand that feeds him Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field, ripping Cubs fans for booing him off the mound after another in a series of erratic outings.  —  As he walked to the dugout after being removed in the fifth inning …

Pedro leads Mets to win in season debut  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Working with a fastball that was past its prime, Pedro Martinez made a vintage comeback.  —  Back on the mound for the first time in almost a year, the right-hander got his 3,000th career strikeout Monday and led the resurgent …

Alex and Victor Rodriguez Are Worlds Apart  —  Very few people call him V-Rod.  Hardly anyone does, actually.  Those who use that nickname with Lt. Col. Victor M. Rodriguez do so cautiously.  —  "They do it in a very respectful way," Rodriguez said.  "They find the right occasion and the right context."

Indians beat Santana for 5th time in '07  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — If the Cleveland Indians avoid a colossal collapse and finish with the AL Central title at the end of this month, they can count their mastery of Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins as one of the reasons for the success.

Stretch Run  —  The dog days are behind us and we enter the stretch run.  The Yanks, as we all suspected, didn't and won't go away.  The kid twirls a no no and the rest of the kids contributed yesterday to another big win.  There are a few questions posed earlier I am planning to answer this week.

Dodgers GM Colletti: Luck and pluck  —  From a garage home in Franklin Park to the Dodgers' front office and a house with an ocean view, Ned Colletti sometimes can't believe his good fortune  —  LOS ANGELES — Outside, a baseball Sunday at Dodger Stadium emerges in a delightful cliché.

Mariners beat Yankees to end 9-game skid  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The video system wasn't working very well, so Ichiro Suzuki didn't get to study any of Roger Clemens' outings.  —  He still managed to do pretty well against a banged-up Rocket.  —  Suzuki had three hits off Clemens to equal another record …

Rocket sputters: Clemens to have MRI on elbow  —  NEW YORK — Roger Clemens got banged up by the Seattle Mariners, and then quickly left the clubhouse after the Yankees' 7-1 loss on Monday to get an MRI exam on his balky right elbow.  —  The 45-year-old Clemens, who allowed five runs …

How low can they go?  —  Orioles don't simply lose, but invent ways to look bad  —  When the Orioles were no-hit by Clay Buchholz on Saturday night, it was the first time since 1991 that a pitcher had thrown a no-hitter in one of his first two major league starts.