Mariners release first baseman Richie Sexson  —  OAKLAND — Seattle Mariners Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Lee Pelekoudas announced today that the Mariners have released first baseman Richie Sexson.  —  “We felt that at this time it was in the best interest of the ballclub …

Game 92: Yankees at Pirates  —  YANKEES (49-42)  —  PIRATES (42-48)  —  Mike Mussina (11-6, 3.64) vs. the Pittsburgh hitters.  —  Paul Maholm (5-5, 4.05) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: This will be the seventh game Posada has played at least some first base. ...

Longoria, Hart are fans' final All-Stars  —  Rays rookie, Brewers outfielder win voting to join rosters  —  Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria and Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart have won the 32nd and final roster spots for the 79th All-Star Game on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium …

Howard homers twice to lift Phillies over Cards  —  Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins lands after the Cardinals' Chris Duncan plowed into him on a double play chance in the seventh inning of Thursday afternoon's game in Philadelphia.  Pinch-hitter Joe Mather, batting for starting pitcher Braden Looper, was safe at first.

Alou could need surgery on torn hammy  —  Outfielder might miss rest of Mets' season after rehab injury  —  NEW YORK — Just shy of five months ago, Moises Alou marched into Spring Training and declared that he was in the best shape of his life.  Three months later, Alou called it …

Morneau's 5 Hits Help Twins Edge Tigers  —  DETROIT — Justin Morneau hit an 11th-inning home run, tying a career-high with his fifth hit, and the Minnesota Twins overcame a four-run deficit to beat the Detroit Tigers 7-6 Thursday.  —  Minnesota, which stopped a three-game losing streak …

Ziegel: Barry who?  It's Tatis' town now  —  The 42-year-old outfielder is one of the best hitters in the game, but he can't put the ball in play from an MRI tube.  And now it's a torn hamstring that will “probably” keep Moises Alou from playing for the rest of the season, the Mets tell us.

Pirates promote Munoz: Bullington lost to Cleveland  —  The Pirates today promoted starter Luis Munoz from Class AA Altoona to fill the roster spot left by the optioning of John Van Benschoten last night.  —  Munoz, 26, was 3-3 with a 5.45 ERA for Class AAA Indianapolis before being demoted to Altoona …

Ideas on how to make the All-Star Game even better  —  Complaining about the All-Star Game sure is fashionable these days.  Maybe not as fashionable as hanging out with Lenny Kravitz.  Or hugging the nearest Wimbledon runner-up.  But in serious vogue nonetheless.

Dodgers' Rafael Furcal says he'll return this season  —  The shortstop feels much better since back surgery.  —  Speaking to reporters for the first time since he underwent surgery to repair a bulging disk in his back on July 3, Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal said Thursday he was sure he would play again this season.

Zito factored tabloids into choice of team  —  (07-10) 04:00 PDT New York —  All week, the tabloids here have gone cuckoo over the impending divorce of Alex Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, as well as their alleged love quadrangle with rockers Madonna and Lenny Kravitz.