Cody Ransom's late grand slam leads Brewers by Pirates … MILWAUKEE — Cody Ransom hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.  —  Ryan Braun hit two home runs as Milwaukee improved …

Fister strong, Cabrera, Peralta homer as Tigers beat Orioles  —  BALTIMORE — Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta homered, Doug Fister pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory.

Final Score: Braves 7 Mets 5  —  The Mets (46-41) were defeated by the Braves (47-39) by the score of 7-5 tonight at Turner Field.  —  The Least You Should Know: … For a full recap and box score, check out SNY's In-Game Live.  —  Michael Baron: Basically, the Mets were stricken by poor pitching …

Ellis' Go-Ahead HR Helps Dodgers Beat Padres 2-1  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw pitched in and out of trouble for six innings, batterymate Mark Ellis hit his third homer of the season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated the return of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp to the lineup …

Midseason playoff projections  —  Resetting the playoff picture at the halfway point of the season  —  After an interminable two days without baseball, we finally got back into business with a full slate of games Friday.  The All-Star break is the traditional halfway point in baseball …

Youkilis Sac Fly Gives White Sox 9-8 Win in 14  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kevin Youkilis hit a sacrifice fly in the 14th inning, and the Chicago White Sox outlasted the Kansas City Royals 9-8 to win a game that stretched into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Ortiz, Ciriaco help Red Sox knock off Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — David Ortiz hit his 23rd homer and Pedro Ciriaco had three hits and drove in two runs Friday night, helping the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1.  —  Franklin Morales (2-2) allowed two hits over five scoreless innings …

Bumgarner, Posey lead Giants past Astros 5-1  —  SAN FRANCISCO—Madison Bumgarner pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Buster Posey homered and the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Friday night.  —  Bumgarner (11-5) retired 13 straight until Chris Snyder's solo shot …

Teixeira hits two home runs as Yankees overcome Angels  —  NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira homered twice and drove in five runs, Russell Martin hit a go-ahead single and the New York Yankees overcame yet another homer by Mark Trumbo to rally past the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 Friday night.

Soriano (2 HRs) helps Cubs take down D-backs  —  Recap  —  Box Score  —  Play-By-Play  —  Photos  —  Conversation  —  Alfonso Soriano slugs 2 home runs as Cubs drop D-backs … CHICAGO — Alfonso Soriano homered twice, doubled twice and had five RBIs on Friday as the Chicago Cubs beat …

Cody Ross bamboozled by Bobby Valentine's benching  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Bobby Valentine's first lineup card of the second half of the season resulted in a closed door meeting with outfielder Cody Ross, who wanted to know why he wasn't starting …

Josh Rutledge shines in big-league debut as Rockies defeat Phillies 6-2  —  Youth served the Rockies perfectly well Friday night at Coors Field.  —  Rookie left-hander Christian Friedrich pitched one of the best games of his infant career and rookie Josh Rutledge drove in two runs …