BALCO founder Victor Conte says Melky Cabrera's positive testosterone test not surprising, many more dopers are flying under radar  —  Conte calls synthetic testosterone, which is what San Francisco outfielder is believed to have tested positive for ‘biggest loophole in drug testing.’

Lucchino stands behind Bobby Valentine  —  Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino made clear today that he's “not going to walk away” from manager Bobby Valentine and that the embattled skipper would remain on the job for the rest of the season.  —  In addition, Lucchino pointed …

Thome impressed with Bundy's Double-A debut  —  BALTIMORE — Jim Thome has had more than 10,000 plate appearances in his 22-year Major League career, meaning he's seen his fair share of pitchers.  —  So when Thome throws around the type of praise he did after watching top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy's …

Reddick out of A's lineup with tooth issue  —  Melvin takes the opportunity to give his outfielder a needed day off  —  KANSAS CITY — Josh Reddick is down a tooth, and it meant the A's were down a middle-of-the-order hitter for Wednesday night's game against the Royals.

Reds hit three homers to back Leake over Mets  —  CINCINNATI, Ohio — Scott Rolen and Todd Frazier hit back-to-back home runs, and Mike Leake pitched his second complete game of the season, helping the Cincinnati Reds extend their win streak to five with a 6-1 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday night.

FUENTES LEAVES CARDINALS  —  The Cardinals do not expect lefty Brian Fuentes to return to the team this season after the pitcher notified club officials on Monday that he had to attend to a personal matter at home in California and would not be reporting to the ballpark.

Cardinals Beat Diamondbacks 5-2  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright allowed two runs in six innings and the St. Louis Cardinals got home runs from David Freese and Allen Craig in a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.  —  Rafael Furcal's two-run triple in the sixth gave the Cards a three-run lead.

Umpire Gibson exits after freak play at the plate  —  Greg Gibson needed stitches and went for precautionary X-rays after Torii Hunter rolled into the umpire with his cleat.  (Getty)  —  ANAHEIM — Home-plate umpire Greg Gibson was knocked out of Wednesday's game at Angel Stadium …

Owners' vote on Padres sale set for Thursday  —  DENVER — The sale of the Padres by majority owner John Moores to a group that will be headed by long-time San Diego businessman Ron Fowler is on the agenda for Thursday's quarterly ownership meeting and must receive 75 percent of the votes …

Gibson favors stricter penalties for PED use  —  ST. LOUIS — As soon as he heard the news about Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, D-backs manager Kirk Gibson went to his computer to look at the numbers.  —  In nine games against the D-backs …