Thome's Homer Lifts Phillies Over Rays 7-6  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pinch-hitter Jim Thome hit a home run leading off the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 on Saturday after Jonathan Papelbon blew his first save in 18 chances this season.

Source: Red Sox will trade Kevin Youkilis ‘sooner rather than later’  —  More than a month remains before the July 31 trade deadline, but a major league source suggested this morning that the Red Sox will jettison embattled third baseman Kevin Youkilis “sooner rather than later.”

Pitching has dried up in Colorado  —  Like the pre-humidor days, Coors Field once again a house of horrors for Rockies  —  Jeremy Guthrie went to the Colorado Rockies from Baltimore by trade in February with a mandate to eat innings and bring stability to a rotation short on proven commodities.

Astros Find Offense in 8-1 Win Over Indians  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie Dallas Keuchel pitched a complete game and J.D Martinez and Jordan Schafer hit consecutive homers in Houston's four-run fifth inning, leading the Astros to an 8-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

Rasmus hits grand slam in ninth to lift Blue Jays  —  MIAMI—Edwin Encarnacion hit a tiebreaking homer in the top of the ninth and Colby Rasmus had a grand slam later in the inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

Nationals beat Orioles 3-1  —  BALTIMORE—Edwin Jackson took a one-hitter into the seventh inning, Adam LaRoche homered, and the Washington Nationals beat rookie Wei-Yin Chen and the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 on Saturday night.  —  Michael Morse had two hits and scored a run for the NL East-leading Nationals …

Cueto Leads Reds Over Twins 6-0  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Johnny Cueto remained unbeaten in June by pitching seven innings and driving in a pair of runs with a squeeze bunt and a bases-loaded groundout on Saturday, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Clay Buchholz scratched from Sunday start  —  Clay Buchholz will miss his scheduled start Sunday with an illness, manager Bobby Valentine said.  —  A replacement has not yet been named.  Valentine said GM Ben Cherington is sorting through possible replacements.

Ruiz Nets $1.85 Million From Astros  —  The Astros have agreed to terms with fourth-round pick Rio Ruiz on a $1.85 million bonus.  —  That's the biggest bonus compared to assigned pick value thus far in the 2012 draft, coming in at $1,489,800 over the $360,200 allocated for the 129th overall pick.

Frank Francisco backs up his tough talk about Yankees with hold-your-breath save for NY Mets  —  Are the Mets on to something special?  Maybe, but Friday night they learned they have a closer who can take heat and throw some, too.  —  Frank Francisco shuts down the Yankees in the ninth for an edge-of-your-seats save.

Source: Sale of Padres is imminent  —  A deal for the San Diego Padres is imminent, and the franchise is the O'Malley group's “to lose,” according to a source with knowledge of the sale process.  —  Padres owner John Moores met on Friday with representatives from the two finalists …