Disastrous ninth stings Rays  —  Pena goes deep twice, but Reyes stumbles vs. Sox again  —  ST. PETERSBURG — They're still the Red Sox.  —  On Saturday night, division-leading Boston allowed Tampa Bay to feel like kings for all of an inning before reminding all why the Red Sox are at the top …

Alou's hit streak up to 26, Mets win  —  MIAMI (AP) — The New York Mets made themselves at home in Miami — again.  —  Oliver Perez pitched eight innings, Moises Alou extended his hitting streak to a team record-tying 26 games and the Mets strengthened their hold on the NL East by beating the Florida Marlins 7-2 Saturday.

In Theory, Diamondbacks Are Winning Way Too Often  —  Mention the Pythagorean Theorem to a baseball statistician, and he will probably not even recall the grade-school equation relating the lengths of the sides of a right triangle.  Instead, he'll think of the formula derived by Bill James …

Fans in a Froth for the Mug in Which Bernie Brewer Bathed  —  The controversy over Bernie Brewer's beer mug has come to a head in Milwaukee.  —  Todd Achtner, a lifelong Brewers fan, is leading an online charge to bring back the beer barrel, mug and chalet belonging to Bernie Brewer.

Webb pitches Arizona past fading Dodgers  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Rookies Chris Young and Mark Reynolds homered for the second night in a row, and the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks beat the crumbling Los Angeles Dodgers again, 6-2 on Saturday night.  —  The Dodgers extended their losing streak …

Yankees May Bend Limits for Chamberlain in Playoffs  —  The Yankees' rules for using Joba Chamberlain mandate that he not pitch on consecutive days.  But there may be an amendment for the postseason.  Manager Joe Torre said the Yankees were reconsidering their October plans for Chamberlain.

C. Duncan: Sibling rivalry may have led to injury  —  ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan believes the sports hernia that ended his season a few weeks early may have been a result of a heated offseason sibling rivalry in the weight room.

Angels denied by Mariners  —  One win from clinching AL West title, LA falls to Seattle  —  ANAHEIM — Opportunity lost was the downbeat theme of the day for the Angels, who let a second chance to clinch the American League West title at home slip through their normally sure hands.

Soriano's 2 HRs, 5 RBIs help Cubs win  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Alfonso Soriano's slow start is long forgotten.  Now that summer is turning to fall, Soriano is where he expected to be — leading the Chicago Cubs as they make a serious postseason run.  —  Soriano hit two homers Saturday …

B&B In Extra Innings  —  Gallardo and Smoltz each pitch excellent games as starters, and the bullpens are holding each of the offenses scoreless as the Brewers and Braves go to the tenth inning tied at two.  Neither pen has allowed a hit yet.  —  Update: It's a good day for Har home runs …

Lasorda grateful for 80 amazing years  —  Dodgers icon most proud of leading U.S. to Gold medal  —  Saturday is a milestone for one of the most beloved figures in baseball.  Tommy Lasorda, baseball's grand ambassador and Hall of Famer, turned 80 years old.

Thome ties HOFer Murray with 504th homer  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chicago White Sox slugger Jim Thome hit career homer No. 504 Saturday, moving him into a tie with Eddie Murray for 22nd place on baseball's all-time list.  —  Facing Boof Bonser in the top of the third inning …

Dodgers' generation gap widens  —  Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garicaparra gets set to make a throw to first base to put out Arizona's Miguel Montero in the fourth inning Friday night.  The Diamondbacks routed the Dodgers, 12-3.  —  L.A.'s clubhouse rift appears to grow as young players fire back at Kent …

Rangers' rookie sweats first win  —  ccarlton@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - Rangers rookie pitcher Luis Mendoza spent an anxious ninth inning watching from the dugout Friday, waiting to see if five solid innings would translate into his first major league victory.

Milledge banned three games, appeals; Beltran hurts knee  —  MIAMI - Lastings Milledge received a three-game suspension for Thursday's confrontation with umpire Jim Joyce, which the outfielder complicated by returning from the dugout after being escorted away.  He appealed the decision and went 0-for-5 last night.