Wakefield will try to salvage finale  —  Boston (36-27) at Minnesota (30-34), 8:10 p.m. ET  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Red Sox manager Terry Francona is hoping Tim Wakefield, or any of his starters for that matter, can give him quality starts on a regular basis.  —  With Keith Foulke on the 15 …

Twins trade infielder Castro to Reds  —  Twins trade infielder Castro to Reds  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins traded infielder Juan Castro back to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday for minor league outfielder Brandon Roberts.  —  Castro was batting .231 with five doubles …

Report: Rookie to be demoted for missing Blalock  —  White Sox rookie pitcher Sean Tracey got into hot water with his manager Ozzie Guillen — for getting an out.  —  Tracey was summoned to start the seventh inning and got Hank Blalock to ground out, but getting an out might not have been the reason Tracey was brought into the game.

Magadan relieved of duties as hitting coach  —  With a batting average that ranks 12th in the 16-team National League, a team slugging average that's dead last and not one regular player hitting above .300, the Padres have been a disappointment offensively, referred to often as the Popgun Padres

Red Sox acquire lefthanded pitcher Javier Lopez from Chicago White Sox for righthander David Riske  —  BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox today acquired lefthanded pitcher Javier Lopez from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for righthanded pitcher David Riske.  Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein made the announcement.

June 15: In-game: Milledge out of step  —  Willie Randolph spent a lot of time this morning answering questions about Lastings Milledge getting thrown out at the plate Wednesday night.  Milledge held up on a ball hit to right-center Bobby Abreu should have caught but didn't.

Big Unit suspended suspended five games; Torre one  —  Randy Johnson was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at the Indians' Eduardo Perez on Wednesday night.  Yankees manager Joe Torre was also suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount …

Home Runs In A Minor Key  —  Ernie Young entered the season as the minor league home run leader, and when he connected with a Brian Slocum fastball in Charlotte Monday night for his 300th, he became that club's only active member.  —  Young, 36, had learned just this spring that the career mark is 484 …

Moore making his mark  —  Royals' new GM has taken low-key approach to reshaping team.  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. |  - ANAHEIM, Calif. |  It's been a week now since Dayton Moore took control as general manager of the Royals at that infamously contentious news conference at Kauffman Stadium.

Future Shock  —  With the 2006 draft finally over, and the bigger contract negotiations left to the scouting directors and upper management, many scouts step away from the amateur side of things for awhile to begin their pro coverage.  With that in mind, here's what some of the top talent evaluators …

Notes: Blake will go on disabled list  —  Outfielder strained oblique during Wednesday's batting practice  —  NEW YORK — A muscle strain in Casey Blake's left side will open the door for Franklin Gutierrez to join the Indians on Friday.  —  The Indians announced Thursday that Blake …

Best Pitch for Minor League Rox Isn't a Fastball.  It's an Oddball.  —  Players signing autographs during one of the Rox' tamer promotions, Family Funday.  On other days, the Rox have handed out bobble-ankle and bobble-arm dolls.  —  BROCKTON, Mass. — The first mascot …

Notes: Rotation for Interleague murky  —  La Russa won't reveal how off-day will affect rotation  —  PITTSBURGH — With an off-day on Monday and a rotation looking more fallible than it has in quite a long time, it's unclear how the Cardinals will arrange their starting pitchers for their upcoming American League road trip.

Fans to manage minor league team for second half … Now this is really fantasy sports.  —  The Schaumburg Flyers, an independent baseball team located 30 miles from Chicago, have agreed to turn over to fans the managerial decisions such as the batting lineup, fielding positions …