Big Papi notches 400th career homer  —  OAKLAND — Red Sox slugger David Ortiz reached a key milestone Wednesday afternoon, belting career home run No. 400 in the top of the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics.  —  His shot down the right-field line, which came against A's right-hander A.J. Griffin, tied the game at 1.

Marlins Acquire Carlos Lee  —  The Marlins have played to a 38-42 record since changing their name and logo, moving to a new stadium and spending aggressively on free agents, but the slow start will not stop them from adding midseason reinforcements before this year's trade deadline.

Harang plays well against former team, Dodgers beat Reds  —  LOS ANGELES — Aaron Harang pitched seven strong innings against his former team and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Wednesday night to win consecutive games for the first time since June 9-10.

Yankees End Nine-Game Slump at Tropicana Field  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It had been about 50 weeks since the Yankees last won a game at Tropicana Field.  Their last victory came on July 20, 2011 after nine consecutive losses, some of them coming in unusual fashion.

Hamels meets with Amaro Jr., mum on conversation  —  NEW YORK — Cole Hamels had changed out of his Phillies uniform and back into his street clothes when he headed toward the visitors' clubhouse doors late Tuesday night at Citi Field.  —  A clubhouse attendant stopped him before he reached the exit.

Ailing Haren makes Halos vulnerable with depth  —  CLEVELAND — One back ailment to Dan Haren, and suddenly the Angels — a team that has led the American League in staff ERA for most of the year — don't appear to have much starting pitching depth.  —  With Haren likely missing …

Cabrera blasts 2 HRs in Verlander's CG win  —  Recap  —  Box Score  —  Play-By-Play  —  Photos  —  Conversation  —  Miguel Cabrera homers twice as Justin Verlander baffles Twins … DETROIT — The Tigers' All-Star trio led took care of the Twins.

Dempster targeting Sunday for return to mound  —  ATLANTA — The Cubs' Ryan Dempster doesn't want to wait until after the All-Star break to pitch.  He may be ready to go Sunday.  —  After throwing his second bullpen session since going on the disabled list June 16, Dempster said Wednesday …

Villanueva brings the July 4 fireworks as Blue Jays beat Royals 4-1  —  Carlos Villanueva pitched six shutout innings and Yunel Escobar drove in two runs as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Wednesday.  —  Rajai Davis had a triple and a sacrifice fly …

Ramirez, Marlins beat Brewers 7-6 in 10  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) Hanley Ramirez hit an RBI single off reliever Manny Parra in the 10th inning, and the Miami Marlins went on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 Wednesday.  —  Ramirez's big hit came after the Marlins rallied from a one-run deficit in the ninth …

Nats Have a Hot 4th, Beat Bumgarner, Giants 9-4  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Ryan Zimmerman's line drive to right-center kept going — and going and going — until it landed in the first row, highlighting another big Fourth of July for the resurgent third baseman as the NL East-leading Washington Nationals beat …

Wainwright Leads Cards Over Rockies  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright pitched six strong innings and Matt Holliday had three hits to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night.  —  Wainwright (7-8) gave up one run, struck out seven …

Yankees Claim McDonald, Designate Schwinden  —  The Yankees acquired Darnell McDonald from the Red Sox, the outfielder announced on his personal Twitter account.  The Yankees claimed McDonald off of waivers, Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger tweets.  The team designated Chris Schwinden …

Tillman dazzles in 2012 debut as O's hold on  —  Recap  —  Box Score  —  Play-By-Play  —  Photos  —  Conversation  —  Chris Tillman dazzles in season debut as Orioles hold off Mariners … SEATTLE — Chris Tillman gave up just two hits in 8 1/3 innings in his first start of 2012 …