Montero Gets 1st Career Win, Mets Beat Rockies 2-0  —  NEW YORK — Rafael Montero earned his first major league win, Eric Young Jr. went 3 for 3 with an RBI triple and the suddenly surging New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 2-0 Wednesday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

Red Sox chairman hints at free-agency spree … Calling this season a “nightmare,” Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner hinted Thursday that the team would not hesitate to go big in free agency this winter in an effort to get back into contention.  —  “I wouldn't say that we have limitless money …

Royals Today: 9/11/14.  —  Playoff Odds (ESPN/Fangraphs): 78.9% (62.3% Division, 16.6% Wild Card)  —  Playoff Odds (Baseball Prospectus): 77.9% (47.4% Division, 30.5% Wild Card)  —  Well, I hope all of you who criticized the Royals for making the James Shields trade are preparing your apologies.

Cueto Outlasts Lynn as Reds Beat Cardinals 1-0  —  CINCINNATI — Johnny Cueto pitched eight scoreless innings to beat Lance Lynn and send the St. Louis Cardinals to their third consecutive loss 1-0 Thursday.  —  Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 33rd save and third in the last three games.

Crawford, Garcia named 2014 Paul Owens Award winners  —  Shortstop J.P. Crawford and right-hander Luis Garcia have been named the recipients of the 2014 Paul Owens Awards as the best player and pitcher, respectively, in the Phillies minor league system, Joe Jordan, Director, Player Development announced today.

Sternberg: Rays' payroll likely to go down  —  NEW YORK — Stu Sternberg spoke to reporters prior to Wednesday night's game at Yankee Stadium, and the Rays' principal owner made it clear that he expects a payroll reduction for 2015.  —  “It's clearly going to be lower,” Sternberg said.

Konerko working toward return on road trip  —  Retiring captain expected to hit for first time on Saturday  —  9/10/14: Paul Konerko and Robin Ventura discuss the latter's impending retirement and career in Chicago  —  CHICAGO — Paul Konerko still plans on returning to action during …

Jaso, Gentry feeling effects of concussions  —  Catcher returns to Oakland; outfielder injured Tuesday night in collision  —  9/9/14: Craig Gentry collides with Carlos Sanchez at first base and, after a visit from the trainer, leaves the game under his own power

Hutchison Fans 10 as Blue Jays Beat Cubs 11-1  —  TORONTO — Drew Hutchison matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts in 6 1-3 innings, Dioner Navarro had two hits and two RBIs, and the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep with an 11-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

Haren's 13th gives Dodgers rare milestone  —  LOS ANGELES — Dan Haren tossed seven sharp innings to give the Dodgers four pitchers with 13 wins for the first time in 19 years, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 4-0 on Wednesday night.  —  Haren (13-10) allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one.

Mets fired me for being pregnant and unwed: exec  —  Leigh Castergine (inset) claims the Mets and COO Jeff Wilpon fired her for being pregnant out of wedlock, according to a lawsuit.  —  It's another beanball for the hapless Mets.  —  A former high-ranking franchise executive claims …

Diamondbacks can't decide sabermetrics philosophy  —  One of the most fascinating aspects of the post-Moneyball era is that while basically every team has increased its focus on advanced metrics, the degrees to which they adhere to them vary greatly, as do the teams' levels of success.