Morton, Walker Lead Pirates Over Giants  —  PITTSBURGH — Charlie Morton combined with two relievers on a six-hitter and Neil Walker hit a two-run home run to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates over the San Francisco Giants 4-0 on Thursday night.  —  Morton (8-4) scattered four hits over 6 2/3 innings …

Red Sox's Dave Dombrowski dalliance more proof GM loyalty can be fleeting  —  Finally, after all of these years, baseball's general managers are experiencing the emotions long felt by their players.  —  The anger.  The heartache.  And that bitter resentment of being released, traded or demoted.

Indians' Shapiro a strong candidate to replace Blue Jays' Beeston  —  FOX Sports  —  Mark Shapiro has been with the Indians since 1992.  —  The Cleveland Indians elevated Mark Shapiro from general manager to club president in October 2010, expanding his duties to include business as well as baseball.

Giants Acquire Marlon Byrd  —  3:40pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Byrd had cleared waivers as opposed to being claimed by the Giants (Twitter link).  —  3:25pm: The Giants announced that they have acquired veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd and cash considerations from the Reds …

Tigers Acquire Randy Wolf From Blue Jays  —  The Blue Jays have traded veteran left-hander Randy Wolf, who had been with the team's Triple-A affiliate, to the Tigers in exchange for cash considerations, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link).  —  The 38-year-old Wolf has been excellent …

Ex-NFL QB Erik Kramer Wounded in Apparent Suicide Attempt  —  Ex-NFL quarterback Erik Kramer shot himself Tuesday night in a suicide attempt, but survived, law enforcement sources and his former wife said.  —  Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were called to a motel in Calabasas …

Steelers won't change contract policy for Antonio Brown  —  Like it or not, Antonio Brown is stuck with his current contract for the next two years - that's just the way the Steelers do business.  —  General manager Kevin Colbert told Trib Total Media on Thursday that there has been no change …

Robles and Torres couldn't protect lead against O's  —  In the bottom of the ninth and the score tied, Mets RH reliever Carlos Torres threw a high fastball to O's OF Henry Urrutia, who hit it the other way for a walk-off home run, the first homer in his major league career.

Yankee Stadium is a ‘joke,’ whiny Twins pitcher Ervin Santana says  —  Minnesota Twins pitcher Ervin Santana called Yankee Stadium a “joke” Wednesday.  (Alex Gallardo |  AP)  —  NEW YORK — Yankee Stadium is a “joke.”  —  That's according to Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Ervin Santana …

Cubs selling playoff tickets to season ticket holders  —  The Cubs contacted season ticket holders on Thursday, offering them the chance to buy postseason tickets.  —  Season ticket holders have until Sept. 8 to pay for a full slate of tickets, including a wild card game on Oct. 7 …

Yasmany Tomas struggling with aggressive approach  —  PITTSBURGH - When he came to the plate with the bases loaded on Tuesday night, Yasmany Tomas wasted little time trying to drive everyone home.  He swung at the first pitch he saw, then at the second pitch.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Derek Jeter in 2010 that he'd rather have Troy Tulowitzki at short: report  —  In the middle of contentious contract negotiations with Derek Jeter in 2010, Yankee GM Brian Cashman told the pinstriped icon that he would prefer to have Troy Tulowitzki playing shortstop …

'I Wouldn't Change It'  —  For the first time in detail, the Seattle coordinator discusses why the Seahawks chose to pass, what went wrong and how he handled the fallout  —  Richard Sherman: Seattle Seahawks' secondary will be great  —  The MMQB's Peter King caught up with Seahawks CB Richard Sherman in Renton, WA.