Oswalt Sharp in 1st Start of the Season  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Roy Oswalt pitched efficiently into the seventh inning in his first start of the season and the Texas Rangers won their seventh straight, beating the slumping Colorado Rockies 4-1 on Friday night.

Mets closer Francisco eggs on Subway rival by calling Yankees ‘chickens’  —  Mets on Twitter  —  At least somebody isn't afraid to talk trash about a cross-town rival.  —  “I can't wait to face those chickens,” Mets closer Frank Francisco told The Post when asked about playing the Yankees …

A big blast from Ortiz  —  Angry DH rips media scrutiny  —  David Ortiz is having one of the best seasons of his career and is sure to be an All-Star again.  But he's not having fun, and the media is to blame.  —  It's even to a point, the designated hitter said, where he is unsure about returning next season.

Two groups push to buy Padres, sale could be agreed to by All-Star break  —  Owner John Moores' asking price for the Padres is in the neighborhood of $800 million.  (US Presswire)  —  Is the O'Malley family close to returning to baseball ownership, a couple of hundred miles south …

Greinke, Brewers Beat White Sox 1-0 in 10  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Zack Greinke pitched three-hit ball over nine innings, Rickie Weeks drove in the lone run with a single in the 10th and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 on Friday night.  —  The Brewers finally pulled …

Burnett, Pirates shut down Tigers 4-1  —  PITTSBURGH—A.J. Burnett pitched six shutout innings to win his seventh consecutive start and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the fifth time in six games, 4-1 over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.  —  Burnett (8-2) allowed two hits and three walks …

Twins Ink Bard For $1,227,000  —  The Twins signed supplemental first-round pick Luke Bard for $1,227,000.  His bonus matches the assigned value for his No. 42 overall selection.  —  A righthander like his brother Daniel (Red Sox), Bard missed much of his junior season at Georgia Tech after tearing a lat muscle in late March.

Former Brewer Hall tweets Livan deal with Crew  —  MILWAUKEE — It's a brave, new, social media-dominated world when a former Brewers player breaks news about the newest member of the team via Twitter.  —  Bill Hall, a onetime Milwaukee utility man who is currently playing for the Orioles' Triple …

Paulino likely headed for Tommy John surgery  —  KANSAS CITY — Right-hander Felipe Paulino could be the fourth Royals pitchers to have Tommy John surgery this year.  —  Team doctors have diagnosed Paulino with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which usually leads to reconstructive elbow surgery.

Moreland lands on DL with strained hamstring  —  ARLINGTON — Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday due to a strained left hamstring, and an MRI exam indicated that he will be out four to six weeks.  —  Moreland suffered the injury while running …

2012 College Player Of The Year: Mike Zunino  —  Few players have had more of an impact on college baseball over the last three years than Florida catcher Mike Zunino.  —  Maybe Zunino's offensive numbers this spring weren't eye-popping, but they were plenty robust—he tied for fourth …

Tim Lincecum's struggles a Giant mystery  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum took the team bus back to his hotel room Tuesday night, called the 425 area code on his cellphone and undraped his soul for 1½ hours, not hanging up until nearly 2 in the morning.