Beckett pulled  —  Josh Beckett has been pulled from tonight's start because of a stiff neck.  Beckett had been fighting the same illness that has taken Jason Varitek out of the lineup for the past couple of days.  —  So the Red Sox, anticipating that there might be a problem, had pulled David Pauley from his start on Monday.

Cedeno's slam helps Cubs defeat Mets 8-1  —  CHICAGO (AP)—A day after Ronny Cedeno told reporters the Chicago Cubs are “thinking about the World Series,” he recanted.  —  “I'm going to take it back,” Cedeno said.  “I go too fast.”  —  Cedeno swung as if he wants to help the Cubs get there …

Gagne blows save, but Brewers win in 12  —  MILWAUKEE (AP)—Gabe Gross stole second and sped home with the game-winning run.  He might as well keep running to Tampa Bay.  —  Gross scored on Gabe Kapler's single with one out in the 12th inning in the Brewers' 9-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

Game 21: Yankees at White Sox  —  YANKEES  —  Chien-Ming Wang's history against the White Sox  —  Jose Contreras' history against the Yankees  —  Notes: Cynthia and Alex Rodriguez had a baby girl in Miami last night.  The as-yet-unnamed kiddo checked in at 7 lbs, 2 ounces.

Harper: Wags dogs Hank on Joba, thinks rook spells relief  —  CHICAGO - Behind closed doors Monday, the Mets had quite a chuckle over Hank Steinbrenner's latest outburst.  After all, it seemed obvious that his rant about moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation was driven …

Smoke-free Shea might dampen Cox's cigar ritual  —  ATLANTA — Puffing on his usual postgame cigar, Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox flashed a startled look when asked what he thought of Shea Stadium's total ban on smoking.  —  “You mean the new one?” he asked, referring to Citi Field …

Canseco meets with federal investigators  —  LOS ANGELES (AP)—Jose Canseco reaffirmed Tuesday that Roger Clemens did not attend a party at his house that has become a focal point of a federal investigation.  —  Canseco was interviewed by federal agents and answered a series of questions …

Huntington says Pirates will stick by Morris ... for now  —  Beleaguered starter roughed up in 10-4 loss to Florida  —  The Pirates' options with Matt Morris all are plenty unattractive.  —  Buy him out?  —  That would prevent further scenes like the four-inning, eight-run meltdown …

Munson: Age, name questions pose problems for Tejada … When ESPN's Tom Farrey confronted Miguel Tejada last week with his actual birth certificate and a two-year discrepancy in Tejada's claimed age, Tejada walked out of the interview.  The exchange will be shown on “E:60” Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

Smoltz joins 3,000- strikeout club against Nats  —  Starter, reliever, All-Star, likely Hall of Famer.  John Smoltz can likely add that last description to his resume after the Atlanta Braves pitcher picked up his 3,000th career strikeout on Tuesday night.  —  Smoltz whiffed Washington …

Sources: A's showing interest in signing Thomas … Frank Thomas finished fourth in the MVP balloting with the Oakland Athletics two seasons ago, and sources say the Athletics will have a discussion about whether to sign Thomas in the next 48 hours now that he's been cut by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Colorado's 'pen out of sync, out of gas  —  The Rockies blow two three-run leads, with lack of communication contributing to the Phillies' winning rally.  —  The Denver Post  —  It was one of the strangest pitching changes on record.  —  Manager Clint Hurdle left the dugout in the eighth inning …