New arrival Allen's walkoff HR lifts Rays to sweep  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Allen hit a two-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 on Thursday.  —  Allen, recently acquired off waivers from Oakland, homered off closer Jordan Walden …

Schilling: Pineda could be back in less than year  —  Girardi: ‘We Were Counting on Him’  —  Yankees manager Joe Girardi discusses the loss of Michael Pineda for the 2012 season and how the team will move on without him.  —  NEW YORK — Nearly two decades after suffering the same torn anterior labrum …

Mets Rally in 9th, Hand Marlins 5th Loss in Row  —  NEW YORK (AP ) — Justin Turner drew a bases-loaded walk in a sensational 13-pitch at-bat and Kirk Niewenhuis hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Mets rallied past Heath Bell and Miami 3-2 Thursday, the Marlins' fifth straight loss.

Red Sox eke out a win  —  MINNEAPOLIS - The Red Sox converted Triple A starter Alex Wilson into a reliever this week to prepare him for the majors.  Veteran free agent Mike Gonzalez is under consideration and the possibility still exists that Daniel Bard could return to his old job in the late innings before too long.

Jones' RBI single in 9th helps Braves beat Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES—Chipper Jones singled home the go-ahead run in his final regular season at-bat at Dodger Stadium after Dan Uggla tied it with his second RBI single earlier in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves defeated Los Angeles 4-2 Wednesday night.

Crawford could miss three months  —  CHICAGO — Globe colleague Nick Cafardo is reporting that Carl Crawford could miss three months because of his elbow injury.  —  The Red Sox will be issuing a statement shortly, we're told.  —  Suffice it to say, that seven-year, $142 million deal is looking worse every day.

Rangers fan steals ball from kid, gets called out on TV  —  Ugh, it's that guy.  —  Mitch Moreland tosses a ball toward a kid in the Rangers Ballpark stands.  That guy snatches it away.  The kid starts crying.  That guy makes out with his girlfriend.  —  Someone tosses the kid a new ball.

Mike Pelfrey To Undergo Tommy John Surgery  —  Mets right-hander Mike Pelfrey is expected to miss the rest of the 2012 season to undergo and recover from Tommy John surgery.  Manager Terry Collins told reporters that Pelfrey will likely have ligament replacement surgery, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports (Twitter links).

Giants Let One Slip Away, Reds Rally for 4-2 Win  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Not even Barry Zito pitching at his best could end the San Francisco Giants' misery in Great American Ball Park.  —  Scott Rolen led off the seventh inning with a homer that ended Zito's shutout, and the Reds rallied …

Figgins Hits Tiebreaking Double for Mariners  —  DETROIT (AP) — Chone Figgins hit a two-out, tiebreaking double in the seventh inning that was misjudged by right fielder Brennan Boesch, and the Seattle Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 5-4 victory Thursday.

Fire Eric Wedge … Leaving aside how primitive it is to measure hitters by HRs and RBIs only, Miguel Olivo wasn't the best on the '11 Mariners.  He had the highest in raw totals, but he also had the second most — the second most! — plate appearances on the team.

Inbox: Is Darvish exceeding expectations?  —  Beat reporter T.R. Sullivan answers questions from fans  —  Is Yu Darvish making a faster transition to the big leagues than expected?  He looked completely unfazed by his surroundings on Tuesday night, and just dominated the great Yankees.