Joba better, but Yanks' 'pen, pop win it  —  Giambi goes deep; Abreu drives in three against Royals  —  NEW YORK — This seemed like an ordinary jam in an ordinary inning, with a runner on second base and Joba Chamberlain on the mound.  But the fact that it was Chamberlain, and not someone else, made it different.

Texas vs. Tampa Bay  —  Rangers earn victory against squabbling Rays  —  CBSSports.com wire reports  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — David Murphy filled in aptly in the No. 3 spot of the Texas lineup with an early home run before German Duran and Ramon Vazquez also homered in the Rangers' 6-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Howard lifts Phillies to sweep of Braves  —  ATLANTA (AP)—The Philadelphia Phillies' three-game sweep of Atlanta left the Braves fearing they could be on the verge of being left out of the NL East race.  —  Ryan Howard drove in two runs in the ninth inning with his third double …

Bullpen salvages series finale win  —  Villanueva, Torres work out of jams to secure Brewers' victory  —  DENVER — It certainly was not easy.  Then again, nothing seems easy for the Brewers away from Miller Park.  —  An error by second baseman Joe Dillon in the seventh inning and another …

Cuban prospect defects to U.S. … MIAMI (AP) — One of Cuba's top baseball prospects has defected and settled in South Florida in hopes of playing in the major leagues.  —  Dayan Viciedo arrived in the United States at the end of May and is now living with friends and family, his agent, Jaime Torres, said Sunday.

Clark's homer gives Padres sweep of Mets  —  SAN DIEGO (AP)—Tony Clark took a smooth swing and let Billy Wagner supply the power.  —  Clark connected for a pinch-hit, three-run homer off Wagner with two outs in the eighth inning Sunday, sending the San Diego Padres to an 8-6 victory and a four-game sweep of the New York Mets.

White Sox rip Twins, win sixth straight  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Ozzie Guillen took his shots, and now, his hitters are taking theirs.  —  Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez homered, and Joe Crede had another big day at the plate as the Chicago White Sox routed the Minnesota Twins again, 12-2 on Sunday for their sixth straight win.

Bay's double lifts Pirates over Arizona  —  PITTSBURGH (AP)—Doug Davis didn't look the way Arizona pitchers Brandon Webb and Dan Haren did the two previous days.  Not surprisingly, the Diamondbacks didn't resemble the first-place team that finally appeared to be breaking out of a slide.

Ellis' slam in 12th lifts A's by Angels  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Mark Ellis figured his 12th-inning drive would stay fair, then thought again as it took a sharp hook to the left.  Everything turned out just fine for Oakland, though.  —  Ellis hit a two-out grand slam Sunday …

Pitcher Analysis: Justin Duchscherer  —  Before I start the analysis of Justin Duchscherer (hereafter called “The Duke"), I want to confess that The Duke is my favorite pitcher of all time.  He gets it done at the major league level without a 90+ mph fastball and throws five pitches for strikes …

Q & A with Austin Jackson  —  Last week in Norwich, Conn., while reporting a feature on the Class AA Trenton reliever Mark Melancon, I caught up with outfielder Austin Jackson.  —  In January, Baseball America rated Jackson the second-best prospect in the Yankees' organization, behind only Joba Chamberlain.

Cash: Hank's behind me  —  Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed yesterday that Hank Steinbrenner has officially expressed an interest in retaining his services beyond 2008, when his current contract expires.  There have been no official negotiations, but Cashman stressed that he isn't looking to leave the Bronx.