RHP Harden joins Cubs from Athletics  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Rich Harden's baseball career took a major detour, and when he arrived at Wrigley Field a bit sleep deprived Wednesday he felt several emotions.  —  He'd gone from the West Coast to the Midwest, from the American League to the National …

Bullpen falters in loss to White Sox  —  Reliever Ramirez balks in go-ahead run in eighth inning  —  KANSAS CITY — The Royals are still 0-for-Chicago.  —  The first-place White Sox defeated the Royals for the fifth straight time this season, 7-6, on Wednesday night as 16,502 fans watched at Kauffman Stadium.

Sox spread the wealth  —  There are no AL leaders, just contributors galore  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  Eighteen runs and 23 hits from 11 players all wearing the same uniform.  So it went yesterday at Fenway Park [map], where the cookie-cutter Red Sox …

Bob Sheppard not able to be at All-Star Game  —  Bob Sheppard, whose deep and unmistakable voice has announced the action at Yankee Stadium for 57 years, said yesterday that he is not feeling well enough to announce the upcoming All-Star Game in the Bronx.  —  “I am not going to be physically able …

Byrnes may avoid hamstring surgery  —  Gonzalez also considering going with non-surgical approach  —  WASHINGTON — Outfielder Eric Byrnes is leaning towards taking a non-surgical approach to recovering from his torn left hamstring, but even if that were to be successful he would still likely miss the rest of the 2008 season.

K-Rod lets it slip away as Texas stuns Angels  —  Leading by two runs with one out to go, Angel relief ace gives up a run-scoring single to Young and a game-winning home run to Hamilton.  —  Josh Hamilton hit a two-run home run with two out in the ninth inning, lifting the Texas Rangers over the Angels, 5-4, Wednesday night.

Cardinals starter Mulder leaves game  —  Cardinals left-hander Mark Mulder left his comeback start against the Philadelphia Phillies after throwing only 16 pitches and recording one out in the first inning on Wednesday night.  Mulder, coming back from two shoulder operations …

M's need a bidding war  —  The one thing yesterday's trade of Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs did was establish Erik Bedard as one of the top remaining options for contenders on the pitching front when it comes to trades.  In fact, I'd say Bedard is the best option right now.

postGame: Mets 5 Giants 0  —  The Mets (47-44) defeated the Giants (39-52) by the score of 5 to 0 in Shea Stadium.  —  The Mets have won five games in a row, which matches their longest winning streak of the year.  —  For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.

Dodgers will change hitting coach again  —  Mike Easler will be replaced by Don Mattingly after the All-Star break.  —  With the Dodgers' offense ranking among the worst in the league, the club is expected to change hitting coaches at the All-Star break by replacing Mike Easler with Don Mattingly …

Rockies juggle their lineup to face new Brewer Sabathia  —  Old faces, new places.  A funky Rockies lineup greeted CC Sabathia in his Brewers debut.  Garrett Atkins shifted to first, Jayson Nix returned to second, Clint Barmes played third and Ryan Spilborghs moved to right.