Can Braves overcome sluggish start?  —  This can't be good for Fredi Gonzalez.  —  A week from now, if the Atlanta Braves win a few games, their 1-10 start in the Grapefruit League likely will be forgotten.  —  But at the moment, they're reprising the final weeks of last season, when they blew a 9½-game lead with 30 to play.

Blue Jays get to Twins starter  —  Francisco Liriano's fast start to the spring slowed Tuesday.  —  The streaky lefty got hit hard, giving up four runs in the third inning as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 8-2.  —  Coming off a season in which he went 9-10 with a 5.08 ERA …

Nova bounces back against Boston  —  Young righty erases spring trouble with four shutout innings  —  TAMPA, Fla. — It may have been just a Grapefruit League game, but the historic rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees got under way for 2012 with a 1-0 Boston win on Tuesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Valentine eager to see what rivalry brings  —  Once an observer, Red Sox manager intrigued by uncertainty  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Bobby Valentine didn't pour any gasoline on the proverbial fire Tuesday.  He didn't need to.  —  The Red Sox were at George M. Steinbrenner Field to play the Yankees …

Reaction to Terry Collins rant about recent injuries  —  Terry Collins talked quickly with reporters today and expressed frustration with the team's recent spat of injuries, saying, “I'm just getting tired of going in the training room where I've got to sweat to see who can walk out of there,” according to MetsBlog's Amit Badlani.

Haren returns to desert in midseason form  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The D-backs got a look at a familiar face Tuesday and it was not a pleasant experience for them.  —  Former Arizona right-hander Dan Haren helped lead the Angels past the D-backs, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd at Salt River Fields.

Rizzo belts huge homer against Giants  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Starlin Castro hit an RBI single, pinch-hitter Josh Vitters added an RBI triple and Anthony Rizzo clubbed a mammoth two-run homer to lift the Cubs to a 5-4 victory Tuesday over the Giants.  —  Chris Volstad, making …

Pitcher strikes deal over false identity  —  Dominican Republic prosecutors say Cleveland Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez has agreed to a deal to have false identity charges against him dropped in return for completing a work program in his Caribbean homeland.

No expanded replay for MLB in 2012  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Center fielder Curtis Granderson raising his glove, hoping to convince an umpire that he made the catch.  Jim Thome twisting his body, trying to coax a liner to kick up chalk.  —  Those tricky calls aren't being farmed out to technology quite yet.

Freese, Molina Homer, Cardinals Beat Mets 7-1  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Adam Wainwright pitched three scoreless innings in his second outing of the spring, and David Freese and Yadier Molina homered in the St. Louis Cardinals' 7-1 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday.

Hamels sharp, Brown homers in loss to Astros  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — KISSIMMEE, Fla. — On a day in which the Phillies and Astros both got strong efforts from their starters, the real firepower came late.  —  Domonic Brown hit a go-ahead homer for the Phillies in the top half of the 10th inning …

Will Cards' Beltran pay up on nose job?  —  JUPITER, FLA.  —  A casual conversation in the New York Mets clubhouse last year led to outfielder Carlos Beltran telling left-hander Jon Niese that he would pay for Niese's nose job.  —  Well, Niese had the surgery during the offseason and sent Beltran the bill — for around $10,000.