Matsui's slam helps Yankees beat A's 4-1  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Hideki Matsui had no use for the birthday cake he was given before the game, not wanting to add the extra calories to his waistline.  —  He found a much better way to celebrate his 34th birthday than eating a piece of cake.

Abandoned Playground  —  Something about the way the sun hits Shea in late afternoon when almost everybody's gone home appeals to me.  Probably because it reminds me of the playground at East School.  That's where I did most of my balling, if you could call it that, in my youth.

Pain finally subdues Martinez  —  Catcher to have surgery on right elbow, miss six to eight weeks  —  CLEVELAND — Victor Martinez had played through a left hamstring strain since Opening Day and right elbow inflammation for more than a month.  —  Finally, the pain got to be too much.

SNY talks fairly, quietly about Mets  —  Sure, baseball gets mocked here for its glacial pace and out-sized role in Big Town media.  —  But this week's operatic events in Flushing were a reminder of what the fuss is about — a sport whose melodrama unfolds daily over an insanely long season, starring a familiar cast of characters.

Throwing out some pitchers for Phillies to consider  —  THE JULY 31 trading deadline may seem to be little more than a chimera glistening on a faraway horizon.  In fact, it arrives in fewer than 7 weeks, 48 days that will pass in a blink.  —  So with Phillies president Dave Montgomery's …

Lowell hits slam, Red Sox beat O's 9-2  —  BOSTON (AP)—The differences between big David Ortiz and bland J.D. Drew are striking.  So are the similarities.  —  The streaking Drew kept filling the hole left by Boston's injured slugger on Thursday night when he hit a two-run homer and a double …

Albaladejo out for rest of year  —  The Yankees disclosed Thursday that injured reliever Jonathan Albaladejo has a stress fracture in his right elbow.  “He won't pitch the rest of the year,” Joe Girardi said.  Albaladejo went on the DL May 10 with a sprained right elbow.

You gotta believe, Regis says  —  TV personality has been Marlins' biggest fan this season  —  MIAMI — When others doubted, Regis believed.  —  Since the start of the 2008 season, TV icon Regis Philbin has stated that the Marlins are a team to watch.  —  The enthusiastic Philbin …

Phillies' Moyer goes to 9-0 vs. Marlins  —  MIAMI (AP)—By now, even Jamie Moyer doesn't understand why he has such mindboggling success against the Florida Marlins.  —  “Got any answers?” he asked.  —  The Marlins surely don't, not against the Phillies' veteran lefty.

Rash of injuries to key players torments teams  —  Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren can't help but wince each time his phone rings these days.  —  “This is unbelievable,” Wren said Thursday from his overactive cellphone.  “I've never seen anything like it.  It's been one thing after another.

Cubs Beat Braves on Hit Batsman  —  CHICAGO — Jeff Ridgway hit pinch-hitter Reed Johnson with the bases loaded in the 11th inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the reeling Atlanta Braves 3-2 Thursday.  —  The Braves have lost six straight and can't seem to win away from Turner Field.