Laffey throws seven shutout inning, Rasmus drives in two as Jays pound BoSox  —  Aaron Laffey pitched seven shutout innings and Colby Rasmus drove in two runs, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.  —  The win snapped a three-game losing streak …

Verlander Leads Tigers Past White Sox 4-2  —  DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander shut down the White Sox after the third inning, and the Detroit Tigers backed their ace with timely hitting in a 4-2 victory over Chicago on Friday night in the opener of a big three-game series.

Reds hit 3 HRs, beat Brewers 3-1 behind Bailey  —  CINCINNATI—Homer Bailey pitched eight innings for his first career win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night, and Zack Cozart hit the first of Cincinnati's three solo homers for a 3-1 victory that kept the Reds in first place in the NL Central.

Crawford, Lincecum Lead Giants Over Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Crawford hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, Tim Lincecum threw seven sharp innings and the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 on Friday night.

Stark: The 10 best (potentially) available starting pitchers  —  Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke and Matt Garza highlight the arms who could get dealt  —  The world is full of mysteries, and here's one of them:  —  It's supposed to be The Year of the Pitcher, right?

Seven to 10 teams seeking Headley, interest high for Street, Denorfia  —  If there is fire where there is smoke, Chase Headley could burst into flames any day now.  —  At least seven teams have expressed interest in acquiring the Padres third baseman before the July 31 trading deadline.

Brewers offered Greinke $100M-plus but signs suggest he'll become a free agent  —  Greinke will most likely wind up a free agent.  (Getty Images)  —  The Brewers offered star righthanded pitcher Zack Greinke a $100-million-plus, five-year deal sometime within the past few weeks …

Rockies, Royals Swap Guthrie, Sanchez  —  The Rockies and Royals have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Jonathan Sanchez to Colorado for right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).  Both players have struggled in 2012 and are on track to hit free agency after the season.

Barry Larkin and the Hall's call  —  A writer who covered the Reds' shortstop reflects on his Cooperstown qualities  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The newspaper clips are yellowed and crinkly with the passage of two decades.  They've survived moves from Cincinnati to Denver to the Philadelphia suburbs …

Mets must push for long-term relief  —  Mets on Twitter  —  The Mets should push hard for a reliever — but not just for this year.  —  The Mets, even after their 9-5 victory yesterday over the Nationals, have about a 20-percent possibility to reach the one-game wild-card playoff.

Griffin shuts down Yankees as A's win 4-3  —  OAKLAND, Calif.—A.J. Griffin glanced into the visiting dugout and saw Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira among others.  Oakland's rookie right-hander felt some nerves all right.  —  Then, Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer …

Cubs Acquire Justin Germano; DFA Asencio  —  The Cubs have acquired Justin Germano from the Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations, according to a team press release.  The veteran right-hander was designated for assignment by Boston earlier this week to make room for Jacoby Ellsbury's return from the disabled list.