Garza K's 10, stymies Phils as Cubs cruise … Associated Press  —  PHILADELPHIA — Matt Garza pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and struck out 10 Sunday as the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1.  —  Garza (2-1) gave up a pop-fly single to Jimmy Rollins leading off the first and nothing more.

Kemp's HR in 10th Spoils Harper's Strong Debut  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Kemp homered leading off the 10th inning, spoiling Bryce Harper's major league debut and lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Bixler optioned to Triple-A  —  CINCINNATI — Brian Bixler's stay in the Major Leagues was brief.  The Astros infielder was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Sunday's starting pitcher, Jordan Lyles, who's filling a void in the rotation with Kyle Weiland on the disabled list.

Cardinals, Brewers face cloudy futures  —  The Chicago Cubs are coming.  —  Not this season, obviously.  Probably not next season, either.  But by 2014 or '15, the Cubs again should be a force in the National League Central.  —  What will the rest of the division do about it?

Yankees demote struggling Garcia to bullpen  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees have decided to put struggling starter Freddy Garcia in the bullpen with rookie David Phelps the favorite to assume the fifth starter role for the moment.  —  With a day off scheduled for May 7 …

Ramirez, Marlins top D-backs to end slide at 6  —  MIAMI—Hanley Ramirez hit a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Marlins over the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 Saturday night, snapping Miami's losing streak at six games.  —  Ramirez's line drive …

Pre-game notes from Chicago  —  CHICAGO — A few pre-game notes for you:  —  • The White Sox scratched Paul Konerko because of a stiff neck.  He's also 1 for 10 against Josh Beckett.  —  • Happy birthday to Kelly Shoppach (32) and pitching coach Bob McClure (60).

With Angel Stadium aging, team could drop the ‘of Anaheim’  —  As the Dodgers' and Angels' owners consider the options for their ballparks, the possibility arises for the Angels to move to downtown L.A. and for the Freeway Series to become the Surface Streets Series.  —  “Hey, I think I can see Angel Stadium from here.”

Older ballplayers showing a lot of life this season  —  Paul Konerko stroked his 400th career homer last Wednesday, but he doesn't think he'll make it to 500.  It's not that he feels incapable, he just doesn't know whether his body will hold up that long.  —  Yet Konerko, who is 36, is part of an old man's revival around baseball.

Carpenter's long wait drags on  —  Posted: Sunday, April 29, 2012 12:35 am |  (Loading...) comments.  —  Chris Carpenter celebrated his 37th birthday Friday by arriving at Busch Stadium, going through a workout designed to especially build up in his right shoulder and arm, and doing no throwing.