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Associated Press:
Utley breaks right hand — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies All-Star second baseman Chase Utley broke his right hand when he was hit by a pitch during Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals. — Utley was hit in the fifth inning by Washington's John Lannan, who was making his major league debut.
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Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, Blogging Baseball, Phillies Nation, Associated Press and Mets Lifers
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Todd Zolecki / philly.com:
Utley breaks right hand — Chase Utley sounded like a confident man this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, but his optimism could not ease the troubled look on Charlie Manuel's face or the evident feeling in Philadelphia that this injury could cost the Phillies another shot at the postseason.
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Lannan ejected against Phils — Left-hander plunks Utley and Howard in big-league debut — PHILADELPHIA — Nationals left-hander John Lannan made his Major League debut against the Phillies on Thursday afternoon and it was an eventful one at that. Lannan was ejected by home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the fifth inning.
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Braves make tempting offer to Rangers — LIKE THIS STORY? — The game is now, "Can you top this?" — The Braves, major-league sources say, have made the Rangers a whopper of an offer for first baseman Mark Teixeira. — The Rangers evidently would receive three highly regarded young players …
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T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Teixeira trade watch continues in Texas — Angels, Braves now leading teams interested in first baseman — ARLINGTON — Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira could go to the Atlanta Braves or the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Or he could just stay in Texas.
Discussion:
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Can Braves afford Tex and Andruw? — We're 102 games into the season, 60 to go, and I honestly don't have a much better feel for the Andruw Jones situation than I did when we left spring training. Or when last season ended, for that matter. — If anything, I'd say his performance this season …
Discussion:
Chop-n-Change
Howard Fendrich / Associated Press:
Young, Nats close to $10M, 2-year deal — WASHINGTON (AP) — Dmitri Young and the Washington Nationals were on the verge of a $10 million, two-year contract extension Thursday. — Young would earn $5 million each in 2008 and 2009, and the contract also would contain a $6 million option …
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Barry Svrluga / Nationals Journal:Dmitri? — So there's a lot of whispering going on about Dmitri Young right now.
Discussion:
MLB.com
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Smith's Pitches Are Up, So the Mets Send Him Down — Joe Smith's career has followed the opposite trajectory of his best pitch, the sinker. A blindingly quick ascent from a college closer to a minor league stopper to a spring training phenom earned him a job in the Mets' bullpen without facing the downs to balance the ups.
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Steve Brisendine / Associated Press:
A-Rod's 499th homer could become No. 500 — KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Just in case his 499th homer turns out to be No. 500, Alex Rodriguez already has the ball. — The Yankees' third baseman, set to become the youngest member of the 500-homer club, hit an eighth-inning drive off Gil Meche …
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: Torres' grievance could affect trade — NEW YORK — A trade of reliever Salomon Torres might be a messy proposition. — The grievance he filed against the Pirates in March, one in which he complained that the team deceived him when negotiating his contract in the spring of 2006 …
Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers get win, another scare — One night after Lowe is hurt, Penny suffers abdominal cramp while running the bases. He still gets 13th win by beating Rockies, 5-4. — DENVER — Brad Penny reached base, then reached for his stomach. — But like the groin strain that Derek Lowe worsened …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Tom Withers / Associated Press:
Red Sox win 14-9 slugfest over Indians — CLEVELAND (AP) — Over the fence, over the bushes and into the trees. Manny Ramirez's homer was something to behold. — Ramirez hit the third-longest home run at Jacobs Field, a tree-clearing solo shot into a monument area …
David Andriesen / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Mariners slide hits 7 — Oakland ace Haren finally beats Seattle — With the Mariners struggling to score runs and one of the best pitchers in the game overdue to beat them, the result of Thursday night's game at Safeco Field — Athletics 6, Mariners 2 — doesn't exactly qualify as a shocker.
New Jersey Online:
Saltalamacchia-Teixeira deal in the works — PLAYER OF THE DAY JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA Catcher, Atlanta Braves — Long regarded as one of the top offensive prospects in the game, "Salty" could end up having been the key to the biggest deal of this year's trade deadline.
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