Pettitte stays hot as Yankees beat BoSox  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Pettitte proved reliable again for the New York Yankees, right after they lost faith in Mike Mussina.  —  Pettitte halted another Yankees slide by winning his sixth straight start, and Johnny Damon hit a tiebreaking homer …

Howard's HR in 10th lifts Phils by Mets  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Aaron Rowand's swinging bunt took three small hops until it trickled to a dead stop maybe 45 feet down the third-base line, the baseball's stitches kissing the chalk.  —  Ryan Howard's hefty cut went about 400 feet and sent the Phillies faithful into a frenzy.

Padres score 6 off Webb, now only 1 back  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — No team in the NL West has beaten Brandon Webb more than San Diego, and the Padres came up with a big one on Tuesday night.  —  Mike Cameron homered to start a four-run rally off the reigning NL Cy Young winner in the sixth inning …

Cooper takes over as Astros manager  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Cecil Cooper has never had a problem communicating with players individually.  It's the group settings Cooper is going to have to get used to as the new manager of the Houston Astros.  —  Cooper took over as manager after Phil Garner was fired Monday …

A's Loaiza auditions well in loss  —  Esteban Loaiza made his final start of August, and we'll know soon if it was his final start with the A's.  —  Contenders have until Friday, the final day of August, to add players to their rosters and make them eligible for the postseason.

Big lead, bigger loss for Mariners  —  Seattle scores five early; Weaver gives them all back  —  Ervin Santana did his best imitation of early-season Jeff Weaver on Tuesday night at Safeco Field.  —  Unfortunately, the real thing showed up later.  —  The Mariners jumped on Santana …

Sanchez's slam helps Bucs cool off Reds  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Freddy Sanchez kept his hot August going with a grand slam and five RBIs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended the Cincinnati Reds' six-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory Tuesday in a doubleheader opener.

Notes: Botts wants to get bat going  —  Designated hitter expects to contribute more at the plate  —  ARLINGTON — The temperature was 97 degrees at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington about four hours before game time on Tuesday, but Jason Botts was still among those out on the field for early batting practice.

Nats' power surge for naught  —  Young, Pena, Zimmerman go deep in loss to Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES — For the third game in a row, the Nationals had problems getting quality innings out of their starting pitcher and it ended up hurting them as they lost to the Dodgers, 5-4, at Dodger Stadium on Monday night.

Prospectus Hit and Run  —  Stars, Scrubs, and the Scooter  —  Last week, we looked at Replacement Level Killers as they pertained to contending teams.  We can also demonstrate just how replacement-level production can grind an entire offense to a halt.  —  We'll start with a look …

Mussina shows no progress in rout  —  Scuffling righty out after three innings as Yankees fall to Tigers  —  DETROIT — Mike Mussina's rhetorical question, in discussing previous struggles and a seemingly tenuous rotation spot, was to ask, "Who are they going to replace me with?"

Gonzalez wants to be an everyday player  —  The 39-year-old hasn't started in five of the Dodgers' last eight games, but he isn't becoming accustomed to sitting.  And he has no intention of doing so, meaning his time with the Dodgers could be up  —  For the second consecutive game …