Sox See Duel Turn Cruel  —  Take Lead In 12th, Then Lose On Slam  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Johan Santana was piling up strikeouts at a rapid pace, using his dazzling array of pitches to baffle the Red Sox hitters.  It almost seemed too easy, even though sweat was dripping down his face.

Tom's bad location: Over the fences  —  PHILADELPHIA — Tom Glavine made his shortest outing of the season feel like the longest in last night's 9-7 win over the Phillies.  He gave up four solo home runs, including two to Jimmy Rollins, and seemed to labor through every one of the 110 pitches that he needed for only 4 1/3 innings.

Teixeira working on glitch in swing  —  ARLINGTON - With an assist from hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo, Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira said he's identified the mechanical issue in his swing that has caused a significant drop in run production.  —  Now comes the tough part: fixing it.

Dodgers-Padres Preview  —  Brad Penny looks to win his sixth straight decision for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they continue a three-game series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday.  —  Penny (7-1, 2.34 ERA) is 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA over seven starts since his lone loss of the season at Arizona on May 1.

Signing Top Draft Pick Will Be Much Easier  —  There will be no lengthy holdout for the Angels' first-round pick this year.  Hank Conger, the Huntington Beach High catcher who was the 25th overall pick in last week's draft, has agreed in principle to a bonus of about $1.35 million and is expected …

Patterson Will Get One More Rehab Start  —  Washington Nationals right-hander John Patterson, who hasn't pitched in the majors since April 21, will make one more rehabilitation start in the minors on Saturday for Class A Potomac, further delaying a return that has been put off time and again.

Rockies Finish Fast vs. Nationals  —  O'Connor Allows 5 Runs in Sixth: Rockies 9, Nationals 2  —  Several hours before his Washington Nationals hosted the Colorado Rockies last night at RFK Stadium, Manager Frank Robinson leaned back in a chair and explained why his club could shrug off …

Enough is enough  —  D'backs designate struggling Ortiz for assignment  —  PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks decided Tuesday they would rather eat the remaining $22 million of Russ Ortiz' contract than keep him on their roster.  —  The club designated the struggling right-hander for assignment …

Away from game, Manny connects  —  MINNEAPOLIS — These days, not many people get up-close-and-personal time with Manny Ramirez, outside of his family, friends and teammates.  That's simply how the Red Sox slugger prefers it.  —  A small glimpse inside his life yesterday morning, however …

Bartlett's back; Batista's out  —  The Twins gave their roster a jolt late Tuesday night, designating third baseman Tony Batista for assignment and promoting Jason Bartlett from Class AAA Rochester.  —  Bartlett will join the team tonight and replace Juan Castro as the team's starting shortstop.

Marmol to get another start; Santo in booth  —  Rookie Carlos Marmol's strong performance in his first major-league start Sunday will keep him in the Cubs' rotation for now, with left-hander Glendon Rusch getting skipped after Monday's day off.  —  Skipping Rusch will keep Greg Maddux …

Search continues for leadoff hitter  —  Devil Rays' Crawford among possibilities  —  Washington - The Rockies' problems start at the top.  General manager Dan O'Dowd knew this past winter, this spring and this season that the leadoff spot could become an issue.

Yanks' Youth Still Shines Amid Growing Power Shortage  —  As the Yankees approach the July 31 trading deadline, teams will surely ask for Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Canó.  They are young, inexpensive and productive — exactly the reasons the Yankees will not consider trading them.

Benitez has Giant issues to resolve Closer unhappy with negativity on team, comment by Miller  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Armando Benitez is unhappy with the Giants and fed up with what he perceives as excessive criticism from the club's broadcasters.  —  In an animated conversation with this newspaper …

Prior comes up big  —  Strikes out 10 in Triple-A tune-up  —  NEW ORLEANS — Mark Prior said he definitely believes he can compete at the major-league level with the stuff he had Tuesday night in his latest rehab start.  —  Prior said he felt strong after an impressive 90-pitch outing …