Rangers Acquire Will Venable, Designate Michael Choice  —  8:09pm: Venable did indeed clear waivers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  Rosenthal adds that teams were surprised to learn that the outfielder had gone unclaimed.  —  Meanwhile, via MLB.com's Corey Brock …

If Nationals want to shake up Mets, they should hire Wally Backman as manager  —  The Mets can only hope that Mike Rizzo is one stubborn GM, apparently determined to prove he wasn't wrong about hiring Matt Williams, no matter how much of a disaster the Nationals are these days.

Nationals still have time — and talent — to turn things around  —  FOX Sports  —  Don't give up on the Nationals.  —  I know that sounds nuts, considering that the Nats have lost six straight and 17 of 24, falling 4½ games behind the Mets in the NL East.

Rangers beat Mariners 4-3 after walk-off walk  —  The Texas Rangers were able to defeat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in a funky fashion as they won on a walk-off walk.  —  After back-to-back bunt singles from Ryan Strausborger and Delino DeShields and a hit-by-pitch for Shin-Soo Choo …

Pregame notes: “I knew that I was basically alive”  —  With dark bruises under his eyes and thin white bandages across the top of his nose, Bryan Mitchell reached into his locker and pulled out the cap he was wearing last night.  The right side of the bill was bent as if it had been squeezed in a vise.

Amaro: Utley ‘Very Likely’ To Stay This Season  —  PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Despite numerous trade rumors and reports swirling around Chase Utley, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted the all-star second baseman is probably not going anywhere.  —  “As I told you before …

Leake not quite ready, won't return Tuesday as planned  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Few injuries are more persistent than strains of the hamstring, and the one Mike Leake is dealing with will keep him from returning to the rotation Tuesday.  Leake will stay on the disabled list and continue …

Ichiro and what could have been  —  CJ Nitkowski  —  Ichiro Suzuki is in the record books, sort of.  —  On Friday night, the Miami Marlins outfielder (that feels so weird and kind of icky) recorded his 4,191st career hit, the same number Ty Cobb recorded in his big-league career.

METS' GRANDERSON TURNS BACK CLOCK  —  OW  —  Last weekend's four-game series in San Francisco between the Giants and Washington Nationals might be remembered as an important point in the playoff race for the teams fighting for the NL East crown.  After getting swept for their sixth straight loss …

THIS BASEBALL MUSEUM'S A PASSION PLAY  —  So here's a question for you: Let's say you've built a tremendous collection of baseball memorabilia, maybe filling your entire (spacious!) basement, and it's beginning to feel a little lonely down there sometimes.  It's a difficult thing …

Little League scandal sends Iowa team to playoff  —  A team of Iowa youth softball players won a Little League World Series game Monday, only to become part of a scandal involving another team.  —  The Central Iowa squad beat a Canadian team 7- to finish with a 3-1 record in pool play …

White Sox's David Robertson mum on dispute with Angels' Mike Scioscia  —  Chicago White Sox closer David Robertson flipped through a magazine before the start of another series with the Angels and danced around talk of his quarrel with Angels Manager Mike Scioscia last week.  —  Was he still angry?