Axford on red alert with pregnant wife  —  LOS ANGELES — The Brewers optioned right-hander Mike McClendon back to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, but told him to remain in town after closer John Axford's pregnant wife had another false alarm.  —  Nicole Axford went to the hospital Monday …

Todd Frazier gives man Heimlich Maneuver at Pittsburgh restaurant  —  PITTSBURGH - Todd Frazier has played the hero on the baseball field.  He hit a walkoff home run in a 2-1 win over Atlanta a week ago.  —  Monday, he played a hero in real life.  —  Frazier and teammate Ryan Ludwick …

Who Gives a Shift?  —  Let's play a game called “Which one of these is not like the others?”  —  Culled from Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference, and yours truly, defensive ratings for Brett Lawrie:  —  Metric  —  DRS  —  UZR  —  TotalZone  —  So.  —  Let's say that UZR, TotalZone, and FRAA all give Lawrie credit for seven runs.

Red Sox top Tigers 6-3 to finally climb above .500  —  BOSTON - David Ortiz [stats] homered and hit two doubles, and the Boston Red Sox [team stats] moved above .500 for the first time this season, tagging Justin Verlander for 10 hits in a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

Rangers, Oswalt agree on one-year deal  —  Veteran right-hander has been sitting out as free agent  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers have signed free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt to a Minor League contract to help off-set the loss of pitcher Neftali Feliz.  —  The Rangers have not made an official announcement …

Powerful Angels blast Yankees for 8th straight win  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo homered, Dan Haren pitched into the eighth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels extended their longest winning streak in nearly three years to eight games with a 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.

Alderson will talk to Wright's agent this season  —  Mets GM reiterates position that he wants third baseman to stay  —  NEW YORK — Mets general manager Sandy Alderson vowed Tuesday to talk to David Wright's agent at some point this season, though he stopped short of saying he will negotiate or offer Wright a contract extension.

To Cheat or Not to Cheat … The 1994 Fort Myers Miracle, a Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, included four pitchers of similar attributes.  They each threw righthanded, with average velocity, and were either 23 or 24 years old and had been drafted out of four-year colleges in no higher than the fourth round.

Dear Terry Francona, Please Stop Emailing Photos Of Yourself Half-Naked In A Towel To My Girlfriend  —  A reader, whom we'll call Rob, emailed us Monday night with the photo you see above.  The photo came with this message: … Francona didn't need the luck, as Rob would soon learn.

Humber Wins for First Time Since Perfect Game  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Philip Humber won for the first time since throwing a perfect game in April, and the Chicago White Sox extended their winning streak to seven games by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Tuesday night.

Sanchez Pitches Marlins Past Nationals 3-1  —  MIAMI (AP) — Anibal Sanchez allowed only an unearned run in seven innings to remain unbeaten in 19 starts against Washington, and the Miami Marlins beat the Nationals 3-1 Tuesday night to break the franchise record for victories in a month.

Hefner homers in 1st MLB win, Mets beat Phillies  —  NEW YORK—Jeremy Hefner earned his first victory in the majors, highlighting the occasion by homering for his first big league hit as the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on a rainy Tuesday night.

Willingham's 3-run HR in 9th lifts Twins over A's  —  MINNEAPOLIS—Josh Willingham hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.  —  Justin Morneau added two doubles for the Twins, who trailed 2- heading …

Phillies put Halladay on DL with shoulder strain  —  NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay has been put on the disabled list because of a strained right shoulder and is expected to be out of the rotation for six to eight weeks.  —  Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock delivered …