Long balls hurt Garland, Padres vs. Giants  —  Venable cracks homer; NL West lead shaved to one game  —  SAN DIEGO — This was neither the time nor the place to marvel at the feats of others, but Padres second baseman David Eckstein couldn't help but watch with astonishment Thursday …

Given early lead, Jurrjens unravels in loss  —  In rare home letdown, righty allows seven runs to Cards  —  ATLANTA — Looking to regroup after another rough road trip and regain their first-place status, the Braves returned home with the hope that Jair Jurrjens would right the ship …

New York Yankees' Andy Pettitte began minor league rehabilitation start Thursday night by breezing through Double-A hitters as he works his way back from groin injury  —  TRENTON, N.J. — New York Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte began a minor league rehabilitation start Thursday night …

Johnson, Astros Beat Dodgers 3-2  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie Chris Johnson hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Houston Astros rallied to beat the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Thursday night.  —  Johnson, who struck out in his first two at-bats, drove a full-count pitch from Ted Lilly …

Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo explain skipping Walter Reed trip, Oliver Perez refuses to comment  —  WASHINGTON - Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran - three Mets who have already given management plenty of headaches this season - tried to explain Wednesday why they were the only Mets …

Sources: D-backs target Towers as GM  —  Fox Sports  —  The Diamondbacks are expressing significant interest in Kevin Towers becoming their next general manager, major-league sources say.  —  Towers, however, has yet to meet with club officials, and his salary desires represent …

An interview with Mike Matheny: when your head leads you  —  The pitch comes flying across home plate and the clean thud against his glove is heard by the umpire behind him.  His body doesn't flinch as his glove closes around the ball, steady and sure.  A strike is called because both the ball and the umpire were framed.

Matsui's days with Halos may be numbered  —  ANAHEIM — Hideki Matsui wants to stay in the Majors next season, saying he has no intent to return to pro ball in Japan.  For reasons both in and out of his control, his current team might have no intention of bringing him back.

Visual Baseball: A new look at the standings  —  Happy Friday.  Here's an attempt to look at the major league standings in a different way.  Features include teams plotted vertically by win percentage and team payroll depicted by circle size.  Within each division I've selected …

What a steal!  Rox run to seventh straight win  —  DENVER — Chris Nelson inched closer.  —  At third base in the eighth inning, the speedy pinch-runner peered over to Reds reliever Nick Masset, who focused his attention to the mound at his feet.  —  Nelson stepped toward home as Masset looked …

CYCLONES ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES  —  The Brooklyn Cyclones advanced to the New York-Penn League Championship Series with a 6-4 win over Jamestown in Game Three of the NYPL Semifinals on Thursday night.  After losing the first game of the best-of-three series, the Cyclones battled back to win both games at MCU Park.

Searching for a left fielder and finding one  —  When the 2010 season draws to a close, Robinson Cano's name will be in the mix for the AL Most Valuable Player award, and he's certainly deserved it.  Playing a stellar second base, Robbie is hitting .318/.380/.542 with career highs in home runs (26) and walks (50).

Arizona Diamondbacks' Chase Field could become pitchers' haven with humidor  —  The fine reputation Chase Field has enjoyed among major-league hitters could change with the flip of a climate-controlled switch.  —  The Diamondbacks are considering storing their baseballs in a humidor next season …

Lewis ends losing streak as Rangers beat Blue Jays  —  (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)  —  TORONTO—Colby Lewis won for the first time since mid-July, Mitch Moreland drove in three runs and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Thursday night.