Yanks sweep Mariners on six-run third  —  Starting for Hughes, Rasner gets much support in season debut  —  NEW YORK — Darrell Rasner, unbowed by all of the chatter of potential young aces like Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, knows he has been given a golden opportunity.

Church's throw helps Mets top Diamondbacks  —  PHOENIX - With the Mets' Johan Santana, a two-time Cy Young winner, matched against Dan Haren, another of the Diamondbacks' elite starters, there was a good chance that one of those golden arms would decide yesterday's series finale at Chase Field.

Wise, Castro close to coming back  —  PHOENIX - Matt Wise and Ramon Castro both may be activated for next weekend's series against the Reds at Shea, assistant GM John Ricco said.  —  Wise, on the DL with a bruised right forearm, is expected to work back-to-back days this week with Single-A St. Lucie.

Roger Clemens says sorry for ‘mistakes’  —  On the eighth day, Roger Clemens. apologized.  —  Following a week in which the Daily News reported his affairs with several women, Clemens released a statement Sunday night apologizing for “mistakes in his personal life,” while again denying he ever used performance-enhancing drugs.

Royals' Bale diagnosed with broken hand after punching door  —  Royals left-hander John Bale won't be returning to active duty any time soon after breaking his pitching hand Friday night by punching a door at the team's downtown hotel.  —  Bale apparently was frustrated by his slow recovery from a fatigued left shoulder.

Next step for Pedro is facing hitters  —  Once righty gets past that point, Mets will draw up rehab sked  —  PHOENIX — Slowly, Pedro Martinez is pushing toward a return.  —  Having spent the past month rehabbing at the Mets' Spring Training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla. …

Twins rally from 6 down, beat Tigers 7-6  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—The Detroit Tigers left Yankee Stadium this week with the hope and momentum of a three-game sweep, but Jim Leyland was cautious.  —  Not over the hump yet, their seen-it-all manager said.  —  As usual, the boss was right.

!!?!This is beyond comprehension??!?  —  The Reds are not this bad.  What the heck is going on?  We need someone to blame.  Well, I blame Corey Patterson.  Get rid of him now and bring up Bruce.  —  Ryan Freel should never be allowed to steal.  He's just too dumb to know how to do it.

LaRoche is sent to Minors  —  Now healthy, third baseman finds there's no room on Dodgers  —  DENVER — The answer to what happens to Andy LaRoche when he's healthy came Saturday night.  —  He was officially sent to the Minor Leagues.  —  LaRoche, 24, who seemed to have the inside track …