Red Sox's Lester reveals father has cancer as well  —  Less than a week after Boston Red Sox pitcher and cancer survivor Jon Lester tossed a no-hitter, the left-hander told ESPN's Erin Andrews that his father has cancer.  —  Lester said his father John was diagnosed with lymphoma last month …

Shaky plays costly as Texas Rangers lose to Indians, 5-2  —  Rangers score early on Cleveland's ace  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  CLEVELAND - Maybe this is the sign of a maturing pitcher or of a maturing pitching staff: A Rangers starter gave the club six innings Saturday and wasn't the least bit satisfied with his outing.

Hurts just keep comin' for Rox  —  Matt Holliday strains a hamstring in the ninth inning; N.Y. has a field day against Jeff Francis.  —  The Denver Post  —  The Rockies are in a world of hurt — on the scoreboard, in the standings and in the training room.

Rays manager Maddon calls for stat to measure runs prevented  —  Evan Longoria's talent at the plate was obvious Saturday, as he homered in his first two at-bats.  But Longoria has been more impressive defensively, seemingly saving a run or logging an extra out almost every game.

Funnier things have happened  —  OAKLAND - By the sixth inning of a game in which he hadn't allowed a hit, it dawned on Justin Duchscherer: Before the game he kidded with infielder Donnie Murphy that he might “pull a Lester” and throw a no-hitter.  —  As it turned out, he didn't because David Ortiz stroked …

Shattering maple bats raise concerns  —  Maple bats don't simply break more often than the old ash variety; they come apart as treacherous shards, threatening players, coaches and even fans.  Major League Baseball says it is ‘very concerned.’  —  Every baseball player seems to have a story …

Whither Julian?  —  OAKLAND, Calif. - Bartolo Colon is a good friend of Julian Tavarez.  He said his old buddy wants to pitch for the Mets.  At least that would his first preference, but there's no indication yet whether the Mets or any other team are willing to sign the free agent righty.

Harper: Ax Randolph?  Omar deserves share of blame  —  DENVER - Some 12 hours after the Mets had fumbled their way to another exasperating loss, Willie Randolph was sitting in his office Saturday morning, joking with reporters that he'd just seen Omar Minaya sharpening a machete in a back room here at Coors Field.

Notes: Turnbow's woes multiply in minors  —  Brewers won't release still-struggling reliever  —  Washington - Even though Derrick Turnbow's control problems have gotten worse since he was demoted to Class AAA Nashville, Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said there are no plans to release the embattled reliever.

Mariners president backs his staff  —  Armstrong says McLaren, Bavasi not in danger of losing jobs  —  NEW YORK — Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said on Saturday that general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren are in no danger of losing their jobs.

Omar: Pedro getting rehab start  —  Despite Pedro Martinez's desire to rejoin the Mets' rotation right away, GM Omar Minaya said today the club is still going to require him to make one minor-league rehab assignment.  —  That start is expected to be Wednesday or Thursday.

Jones sits with back spasms  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Chipper Jones was not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Arizona due to back spasms, but said he would be available to pinch-hit.  —  Jones, hitting .417 to lead the major leagues, said he first felt the back pain below …

Ellis makes it clear - he likes team he's with  —  (05-24) 20:06 PDT — Mark Ellis has said several times dating back to last season, before his 2008 option was exercised, that he would like to stay in Oakland.  And the A's would like him back: General manager Billy Beane has spoken …

Andruw to have knee surgery  —  Dodgers outfielder will head to DL, miss four to six weeks  —  LOS ANGELES — After an unsuccessful pregame workout Saturday, Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones decided to undergo surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list.