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 …

Ross homers and drives in four as Braves beat Mets  —  ATLANTA — David Ross homered and drove in four runs, Chipper Jones also connected and the Atlanta Braves survived a crisis at shortstop to beat the New York Mets 7-5 on Friday night.  —  The Braves started the day thin at shortstop.

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.

Brewers Prepared To Offer Greinke Extension  —  The Brewers are believed to be willing to offer Zack Greinke an extension worth close to $100MM over five years, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.  However, people close to the team aren't particularly hopeful that the right-hander …

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.

Mark Appel will stay at Stanford  —  NEW YORK — Highly touted pitcher Mark Appel spurned the Pittsburgh Pirates and decided to remain at Stanford for his senior season, the first big casualty of baseball's new restrictions on amateur signing bonuses.  —  Appel was the only unsigned player among 31 …

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 …

Zimmerman homers in 5-1 win over Marlins  —  MIAMI—Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run homer, Jesus Flores drove in two runs, and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 5-1 on Friday night in the first game after the All-Star break for both clubs.  —  Jordan Zimmermann (6-6) …

Dodgers activate Kemp, Ethier from disabled list  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated star outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier from the disabled list Friday, and they have optioned outfielders Elian Herrera and Scott Van Slyke to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Hafner homer leads Indians past Blue Jays  —  (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)  —  TORONTO—Justin Masterson pitched seven sharp innings, Travis Hafner homered and the Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 Friday night.  —  Vinnie Pestano worked the eighth …

Hensley agrees to terms with Yankees  —  OXFORD, Miss. — Ty Hensley has agreed to terms with the New York Yankees, the right-handed pitcher confirmed to RebelGrove.com on Thursday night.  —  Hensley, who signed with Ole Miss last November, was the No. 30 overall selection in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.