Return of Rodriguez?  Amazin's could do worse  —  Mets on Twitter  —  The Mets want to upgrade their bullpen, and the Brewers' Francisco Rodriguez is on their list of targets, a person familiar with the club's thinking said yesterday.  —  Yes, Francisco Rodriguez.  As in “K-Rod.”

Blue Jays Sign Marcus Stroman  —  The Blue Jays and first round selection Marcus Stroman have signed a contract, the pitcher and the team announced today.  Stroman obtained a bonus of $1.8MM, ESPN.com's Keith Law tweets.  The Blue Jays selected Stroman 22nd overall and the recommended bonus for that slot is exactly $1.8MM.

Tampa Bay Rays: Jose Lobaton gets married at the Trop; James Shields acknowledges some urgency  —  Rays vs. Yankees  —  When/where: 7:10 tonight; Tropicana Field  —  TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)  —  Tickets: $17-$275, available at Tropicana Field box office, Ticketmaster …

Craig hits 2 homers, Cardinals rip Rockies 9-3  —  ST. LOUIS—Allen Craig hit a pair home runs, Carlos Beltran extended his RBI streak to a major league high nine games and Kyle Lohse worked into the eighth inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 9-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Final: Athletics 6, Red Sox 1  —  Game over: Athletics 6, Red Sox 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka set the wrong tone for the Red Sox getting bombarded for five runs in his one inning of work while Oakland's Jarrod Parker was outstanding over 6.2 innings.  There would have to be real concerns …

Twins Agree To Sign Australian Lefthander Lewis Thorpe  —  The Twins have agreed to sign Lewis Thorpe, a lefthander from Australia.  —  Several teams considered Thorpe, 16, the top prospect in Australia for July 2.  Thorpe pitched in the 16-and-under World Championship in Mexico last August …

Jones, Walker homer, Pirates beat Astros 11-2  —  PITTSBURGH—Garrett Jones and Neil Walker hit back-to-back homers off the right-field foul pole to ignite Pittsburgh's offense and the Pirates beat the Houston Astros 11-2 on Monday night.  —  James McDonald pitched seven effective innings for Pittsburgh …

Indians Stray From Consensus, Sign Hector Caro For $1.1 Million  —  The Indians have signed Dominican corner outfielder Hector Caro for $1.1 million.  —  Cleveland appears to have strayed significantly from the industry consensus in its evaluation of Caro, a player several teams did not consider …

NY Mets and Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in reversed roles as series at Citi Field opens  —  Phillies are no longer NL East division bullies as Amazin's may even have upper hand in matchup these days.  —  Mets starter Jonathon Niese looks to get them off on the right foot against the Phillies.

Rookies Mesoraco, Frazier Lead Reds Over Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rookies Devin Mesoraco and Todd Frazier each drove in three runs and the Cincinnati Reds came back after Zack Cozart was beaned to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2 Monday night.  —  Cozart sustained a concussion …

Yasmani Grandal continued his home run streak last night  —  Yasmani Grandal's debut on Saturday was historic, hitting home runs from both sides of the plate for his first two major league hits.  His Monday was pretty good too.  —  Grandal came up in the seventh after going 0 for 3 in his first three at bats.

Intentional balks not the best way to end game  —  MODESTO: A's hitting instructor banned by California League over balks  —  MODESTO — There were about 800 people left in the stands as the scoreboard clock approached midnight on June 23.  It had been a sellout of 4,781 at John Thurman Field …

Surgery to end season for Cubs' Stewart  —  ATLANTA - Whether Ian Stewart is the Cubs' third baseman next year, he won't be for the rest of this one.  —  Confirming what Stewart tweeted early Monday morning, the team says Stewart will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery next week …

Samardzija strikes out 11, Cubs beat Braves, 4-1  —  ATLANTA—Jeff Samardzija had a career-high 11 strikeouts, Luis Valbuena hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh and the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Monday night.  —  Anthony Rizzo connected for Chicago, which has won four straight and six of seven.