As MLB trade deadline nears, buyers and sellers will be sorted out  —  After the chaos of the early part of the season, the Red Sox appear to be in an interesting spot, and one of strength in that they're a potential contender and could be both sellers and buyers by the trading deadline.

Astros End Skid With 5-3 Win Over Reds  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Jordan Lyles pitched seven strong innings and pinch-hitter Justin Maxwell had a two-run homer to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, snapping a season-worst eight-game skid.

Sale Pitches 1st Complete Game, Chisox Top Seattle  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Chris Sale pitched a five-hitter for his first major league complete game and the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 Sunday for their 10th win in 11 tries.  —  Sale (7-2) struck out eight and walked two.

B.J. Upton, Moore help Rays beat Baltimore  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—B.J. Upton hit a tiebreaking two-run double, Matt Moore won for the first time after losing four straight decisions and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 on Sunday.  —  Upton gave the Rays a 4-2 lead …

Diamond, Twins Top Indians 5-3 to Win Series  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Scott Diamond allowed three unearned runs over seven innings as the surging Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 5-3 Sunday.  —  Joe Mauer hit an RBI single in the first off Justin Masterson (2-5).

McCutchen, Jones homer, Pirates beat Brewers 6-5  —  MILWAUKEE—Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones hit consecutive homers and James McDonald struck out eight and won for the third time in four starts when the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Sunday.

Zito throws gem for win 150 as Giants nip Cubs 2-0  —  SAN FRANCISCO—Barry Zito pitched 8 1-3 scoreless innings for his 150th career win and Joaquin Arias snapped an 18 at-bat hitless stretch with an RBI single that led the San Francisco Giants to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Lawrie at Toronto mall during shooting spree  —  Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie was among the large group of patrons who frantically exited Toronto's Eaton Centre following a fatal shooting at the mall on Saturday.  —  Lawrie, who was in the mall after the Blue Jays' 7-4 defeat …

Bill Maher owns stake in Mets  —  NEW YORK — Political commentator Bill Maher, the host of HBO's “Real Time,” had VIP treatment Sunday night at Citi Field, including an escort from New York Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon during batting practice.  —  Maher  —  The access came with good reason.

Braves lose to Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals  —  WASHINGTON — A crowd of more than 41,000 came out in D.C. to watch their National treasure pitch Saturday afternoon, and Stephen Strasburg answered with his best work in four career starts against the Braves.

Zambrano does it all in Marlins' win  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Carlos Zambrano homered and pitched into the eighth inning, and Hanley Ramirez went deep, too, to lead the Miami Marlins to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.  —  Zambrano (4-3) allowed four hits …

Santana needs new equipment after Hall call  —  One day after the St. Louis Cardinals searched in vain for answers as Johan Santana fired the first no-hitter in Mets history, the ace was left to do some searching of his own.  —  With so much being set aside for the National Baseball Hall …

Dodgers' downward spiral hits five games with 13-3 loss to Rockies  —  Mounting injuries, patchwork lineup and on-field struggles appear to have pushed the Dodgers into crisis mode after crushing defeat in Colorado extends their season-worst losing streak to five.