Washington, La Russa round out All-Star staffs  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington, the skipper for the American League squad in the All-Star Game for the second consecutive season, announced Wednesday that Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics and Ned Yost …

Strasburg shuts down Blue Jays, improves to 8-1  —  TORONTO (AP) — Stephen Strasburg won his fifth straight start, Tyler Moore hit the first two home runs of his career and the Washington Nationals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Phillies break out “fake tough” t-shirts  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Have fun.  The Phillies have tried to beat that mantra into their brains during their recent struggles.  But they showed they still know how to laugh a little bit on Tuesday when several teammates sported red t-shirts with the Liberty Bell and …

A-Rod ties Gehrig for slams lead with No. 23  —  ATLANTA — There are times when Alex Rodriguez can be passive about events in his career, but not on Tuesday night, not when his 23rd career grand slam tied Lou Gehrig for the all-time lead in that category and helped send the Yankees to a 6-4 victory over the Braves at Turner Field.

Source: Three bidders for Padres left  —  The sale of the San Diego Padres is gaining momentum.  —  Three bidders remain, and Padres owner John Moores expects to select a buyer between Wednesday and Friday of next week, according to a source close to the sales process.

Bumgarner Homers in Giants' 6-3 Win  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner had a season-high 12 strikeouts and hit his first major league home run to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.  —  Bumgarner connected on a 2-1 pitch …

Utley booed after fifth at-bat ends in third strikeout  —  UPDATE FIVE  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — The crowd is thinning here at Bright House Field as the game heads to extra innings, but a few of the fans that remained booed Chase Utley after Tampa Yankees lefty Rigaberto Arrebato struck him out to end the bottom of the ninth inning.

Halos fortify 'pen with Pauley, option Calhoun  —  LOS ANGELES — In need of an extra reliever after their bullpen accounted for 11 innings over the last three games, the Angels went to 13 pitchers Tuesday by calling up right-hander David Pauley.  —  Outfielder Kole Calhoun was optioned …

Son Of Dominican Trainer Used False Age  —  A son of Enrique Soto, one of the most powerful trainers in the Dominican Republic over the last two decades, used a false age when he signed with the Mariners in 2007, according to multiple sources familiar with the case.

Guillen seeking more consistency from Hanley  —  MIAMI — A look at Hanley Ramirez's averages at home and on the road reflect the inconsistencies the third baseman has gone through.  —  At Marlins Park, Ramirez is batting .309 with five home runs and 20 RBIs.  On the road, he's hitting .195 with six home runs and 17 RBIs.

White Sox agree to deal with top pick Hawkins  —  ST. LOUIS — Courtney Hawkins, who was taken with the 13th overall selection in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, has agreed to terms with the White Sox, as confirmed by two sources to MLB.com.  —  The 18-year-old from Carroll High School in Corpus Christi …

Former VP Of Umpiring Mike Port Says Bobby Valentine Whines About Umpiring and is Skeptical of Using Technology for Accurate Balls and Strikes Calls  —  Bobby Valentine is at once again folks.  It wouldn't be a Major League Baseball game if there wasn't some sort of controversy …

Who should hit No. 3 for Cardinals?  —  TOWER GROVE  • Moments before first pitch Saturday evening against the Cleveland Indians, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had to scramble to change his lineup when word reached him that Matt Holliday could not shake the back spasms that had bothered him all day.

The numbers suggest he's developed some bad habits as his slump deepens  —  Adrian Gonzalez is 108th in the majors in OPS.  Right behind Willie Bloomquist and Juan Pierre.  —  Albert Pujols's struggles have sat under a microscope for the past 10 weeks.  Yet with a .757 OPS, he's had a better offensive season than Gonzalez (.720).

David Wright is leading All Star voting for NL 3B  —  David Wright leads all National League third basemen in voting for this year's All-Star Game, which will be played July 10 in Kansas City.  —  Wright, who has 1,358,992 votes, is followed by Pablo Sandoval (1,103,650), then David Freese (1,095,206) and Chipper Jones (1,054,586).