Bonds rips Bonds  —  SAN FRANCISCO& Remember the happy, playful Barry Bonds who welcomed one and all at the All-Star Game only five days ago?  —  He's buried under a 0 for 20 slump, including a humiliating series against the Los Angeles Dodgers that included three losses and a flurry of strikeouts …

Pirates Notebook: Maholm tilts starters' scale  —  ATLANTA — Look at Paul Maholm as the swing vote.  —  When he pitches as well as he has in his past nine starts, the Pirates' rotation goes from having two steady contributors in Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny to a majority of three.

Lee ends HR drought as Cubs sweep Astros  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Derrek Lee knows the reason why the Cubs are winning now.  —  Lee broke a streak of 126 at-bats without a home run with a three-run shot in the second inning to help the Chicago Cubs complete a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 7-6 win on Sunday.

Reyes homers, Perez pitches Mets by Reds  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Oliver Perez was back on the mound for the New York Mets, and for one afternoon at least, their offense showed signs of returning to form, too.  —  Jose Reyes homered, Perez won in his return from the disabled list …

M's lose Suzuki, fall 11-7 to Tigers  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Marcus Thames made certain Sunday wouldn't be a repeat of the World Series for Jeff Weaver.  —  Thames hit a two-out, three-run homer off Weaver in the fourth inning, Justin Verlander pitched seven solid innings in Detroit's 11-7 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Germano leads Padres over Diamondbacks  —  PHOENIX (AP) — The San Diego Padres gave rookie Justin Germano a big job Sunday — beat All-Star Brandon Webb and avert a three-game sweep by the Arizona Diamondbacks.  —  Germano responded by driving in a run and giving up none to help the Padres beat the Diamondbacks 4-0.

Angels get no relief in this loss  —  Rangers rally for a 5-4 victory in 11 innings as Shields' scoreless innings streak ends and Speier surrenders game-winning home run to Teixeira.  —  An Angels bullpen that seemed whole again with Friday's return of reliever Justin Speier was dinged up twice today …

Notes: Decision looming on Otsuka  —  Young looking for extra bases; Cruz swinging with confidence  —  ANAHEIM — The Rangers are facing a Tuesday deadline with reliever Akinori Otsuka, who is still feeling discomfort in his right elbow and remains unavailable.

Peterson's triangle helps Mets get a lot out of staff  —  NEW YORK — Rick Peterson is comfortable discussing everything from art to Fortune 500 companies.  Get him talking about baseball, though, and that's when he really gets going.  —  Go further, and ask the New York Mets' pitching coach …

Second time's the charm for O's Olson … Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson homered, rookie Garrett Olson earned his first major league win, and the Orioles handed Jose Contreras his AL-high 11th loss in a 5-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox today.  —  Aubrey Huff had two hits and two RBIs …

Torre's 12th is 'toughest'  —  Tells News of season's trials, but still manages  —  ST. PETERSBURG - Joe Torre's first year in pinstripes read like a Hollywood script, the story unfolding just the way he must have always imagined it could - veteran manager in the starring role …

Hafner helps Carmona, Tribe beat Royals  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Travis Hafner signed a long-term contract and rediscovered his home run swing — all in a few days.  —  Hafner had three hits, including a long two-run homer to help Fausto Carmona and the Cleveland Indians defeat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Sunday.

A Beck of a game  —  Josh Beckett is starting the second half of the season on the right foot, even if he's not getting any help from his offense.  The Red Sox trail 2-1 as we enter the bottom of the eighth, after a strong outing by Beckett, who threw 118 pitches — assuming he won't come out for the ninth.