Red Sox use depth to down Tigers  —  With Lowell out, Casey leads way with three RBIs in big win  —  BOSTON — There are early-season issues to be sure for the defending World Series champions.  David Ortiz (3-for-37, .083 average) isn't hitting.  Mike Lowell won't play until at least April 25 because of a sprained left thumb.

Pettitte, revamped lineup power Yanks  —  New No. 2 hitter Cabrera leads offensive charge in Kansas City  —  KANSAS CITY — It wasn't necessarily going to make or break the Yankees' season, but with the hype and drama of their first Fenway Park visit looming straight ahead, it sure beat the alternative.

Harden lands on disabled list  —  Oft-injured righty sidelined by strained muscle in shoulder  —  TORONTO — For the sixth time in less than four seasons Athletics starting pitcher Rich Harden has landed on the disabled list.  —  Oakland placed the hard-throwing right-hander on the 15 …

ROLLINS OUT, KLINE IN  —  1. Jimmy Rollins is watching batting practice with hitting coach Milt Thompson.  After doing some early stretching, he determined his sprained left ankle still isn't feeling better enough for him to resume playing.  So, for a second straight game, Rollins will watch from the dugout.

Mets Slide Past Phillies as Bullpen Holds Late  —  A good day for pitchers at Shea Stadium has been about as rare as a left-handed catcher lately.  But until about 9:30 p.m., Thursday seemed like one of those elusive days.  —  John Maine bounced back from his rough outing against the Atlanta Braves …

Phils lose wild one  —  It was a great ending to a game the Phillies will look back on and wonder what if.  —  Despite wasting scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity, not to mention another fine pitching performance by Adam Eaton, the Phils fell 4-3 on an RBI single by Angel Pagan in the bottom of the 12th.

Under The Knife  —  Injured Rays  —  Cliff Floyd (40 DXL)  —  If the Trop didn't have a dome, I think Joe Maddon might be looking to the heavens, waiting for frogs to fall from the sky.  The latest victim of the injury streak is Cliff Floyd.  Now, it's no stunner that Floyd is injured …

Digital Age brings challenges to players  —  Rise of Internet forces ballplayers to guard private lives  —  Most big league ballplayers, if not all of them, understand that they're public figures.  An increasingly high number of them, however, are being forced into an increasingly private existence.

Vargas accepts minor league contract with Mets  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Claudio Vargas and the Mets agreed to a minor league contract Thursday, giving New York another option for its injury-riddled rotation.  —  Vargas was released by Milwaukee late in spring training after going 11-6 with a 5.09 ERA …

Rangers take two from O's  —  Texas ends O's six-game winning streak; Orioles manage just three hits against Texas' Millwood in Game 1  —  ARLINGTON, Texas - Ian Kinsler hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Orioles 5-4 Thursday night to complete a doubleheader sweep.

Player spotlight: Mark Reynolds  —  As you may have noticed, Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks is off to a blistering start with a .344 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, five home runs, and a ridiculous 14.29 RC/27.  —  I've gotten a couple of questions from fantasy leaguers wondering how legit Reynolds is.

So many key players on the shelf … As far as we can tell, no team's superstar has gotten hurt in the last 30 seconds.  But never fear.  That'll probably change by the time you hit the pillow tonight.  —  The heck with Grady Sizemore's iron-man streak.  The 30 people in baseball …