Wang and Bullpen Shutout Rays  —  Manager Joe Girardi returned Sunday, and so did the Yankees' bats.  Or at least the bats returned just long enough with Chien-Ming Wang back on the mound to avoid a three-game losing streak and shut out the Tampa Bay Rays.  —  The Yankees also escaped losing …

Lee, Zambrano lift Cubs over Astros 3-2  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Derrek Lee had another big hit for the Chicago Cubs, and he was more interested in talking about teammate Alfonso Soriano's play in the field.  —  Lee hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh and Soriano threw out a runner at the plate …

VandenHurk optioned to Double-A  —  Nolasco, Badenhop and Volstad candidates to replace righty  —  MIAMI — Not able to work deeper than three innings in two straight starts, Rick VandenHurk was optioned to Double-A Carolina after the Marlins lost, 9-2, to the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Griffey hits 594th home run in Reds' win  —  CINCINNATI (AP)—Ken Griffey Jr. doesn't give much thought to his statistics— not even the big one that's fast approaching.  The day to talk about that one will come soon enough.  —  For the moment, he's more wrapped up in smoothing out his swing …

Lee pitches Indians past A's 2-1  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Cliff Lee is much happier with his start in 2008.  —  Lee sat out last April with an abdominal injury and spent most of the season in the minor leagues.  On Sunday, he won his first outing of the year by retiring 10 of his last 12 batters …

Beckett back from DL  —  TORONTO — The Boston Red Sox activated Josh Beckett off the 15-day disabled list before Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, allowing the right-hander to make his season debut against Toronto's Roy Halladay.  —  To make room on the roster, the Red Sox designated Kyle Snyder for assignment.

Shutout Sheets  —  Ben Sheets continued his scoreless start to the season with his first shutout since his rookie season of 2001.  He allowed just five hits while striking out eight batters.  He's allowed just seven hits and two walks in his first 15 2/3 innings pitched.

Pirates place Wilson on disabled list, promote Bixler  —  MIAMI — The Pirates this morning placed shortstop Jack Wilson on the 15-day disabled list, a first in his career, and promoted shortstop Brian Bixler from Class AAA Indianapolis.  —  Wilson's left calf was strained after a hard slide …

The Silly Season  —  Prognostication Perils  —  Opening week is a great time to watch baseball, but also one to read inane baseball predictions.  I'm as much of a sucker for idle stat-based pre-season speculations as the next guy, but there are limits.  Really, there are.

Is Jake Peavy a cheater?  —  An eagle-eyed viewer of the Dodgers/Padres game noticed something strange on Jake Peavy's fingers after he tossed a complete game, 2-hitter for the win yesterday:  —  Is he cheating?  Is it just a coincidence that the 3 fingers that grip the ball have a mysterious substance on them?

Sternberg: Payroll Will Remain Flexible  —  NEW YORK - The Rays' bank vault swung open again last week when the team locked up reliever Dan Wheeler through at least 2010 for a guaranteed $10.5 million.  —  Coming on the heels of an offseason that saw Carlos Pena and James Shields rewarded …

Baseball beat: Yankees' Hughes feels Pedro's pain  —  in focus, by peter abraham  —  When Pedro Martinez tore his left hamstring on Tuesday, the news spread quickly through the Yankees' clubhouse.  Phil Hughes winced and unconsciously rubbed the back of his own leg when he was told what transpired in Florida.

M's lose again; Bedard out Sunday  —  BALTIMORE — The idea to begin the season was for Seattle to get off to a good start against a relatively weak American League schedule.  —  Five games into the season, that's not happening.  —  And now Erik Bedard is injured.