Manny's HR, 3 RBIs power Dodgers to win  —  LOS ANGELES (AP)—Manny Ramirez continued to swing a hot bat in his first series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, going 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs in a 9-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  —  The Dodgers salvaged a split of the four …

Twins in First  —  The Minnesota Twins bring up Francisco Liriano and move into first place on the same day.  Liriano's six shutout innings lead to a 6-2 victory over the Indians.  Span and Harris hit solo homers to help the cause, and Span, with a .403 OBA is emerging as the leadoff hitter the Twins needed.

Mets promote closer Eddie Kunz  —  More youth is on the way.  Surfing the Mets has learned that Binghamton closer Eddie Kunz has been promoted the Mets, joining a sudden youth movement with Nick Evans, Argenis Reyes and Daniel Murphy.  Kunz, the Mets' top pick (42nd overall) …

Maine put on DL; Wagner out with stiff forearm  —  Ton of info, and not positive:  —  John Maine is going to the DL.  Jerry Manuel said he didn't have a setback, but could use more time.  The Mets needed an extra bullpen arm anyway because Billy Wagner is injured and unavailable.

Slumping Reds hold players-only meeting  —  WASHINGTON (AP)—The Cincinnati Reds, mired in last place in the NL Central, held a players-only meeting before their game against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.  —  The Reds had lost seven of eight and were a season-high 15 games out of first entering play Sunday.

Back-to-back homers by Johnson, Soriano lift Cubs  —  Reed Johnson and Alfonso Soriano hit back-to-back homers in the eighth, and the Chicago Cubs escaped with an 8-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday after blowing a three-run lead in the top half of the inning.

postGame: Astros 4 Mets 0  —  The Mets (58-53) lost to the Astros (53-57) by the score of 4 to 0 in Houston this afternoon.  —  For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.  — Oliver Perez let up a home run to Ty Wigginton for the game's first run, followed by a double from Wigginton …

Cubs closer Wood pitches to batters; blister still worrisome  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs closer Kerry Wood faced batters on Sunday but probably will not return from a pesky blister on his right index finger until later this week.  —  Sidelined since July 11, Wood had hoped to return …

Zito looks like $126 million man  —  (08-03) 04:00 PDT San Diego —  When manager Bruce Bochy jogged to the mound with two outs in the eighth inning, he didn't want to pull Barry Zito even though the Padres' scariest hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, was coming up with two runners aboard.

Lupica: Beltran is New York baseball's biggest offensive disappointment  —  Two years ago, Derek Jeter hit .343 and had 214 hits and scored 118 runs and was nearly the MVP of his league.  Now, at 34, two years from the end of his Yankee contract, two years from what will be the most interesting …

Chipper plans return to Braves lineup  —  Chipper Jones is expected to resume his pursuit of the National League batting title Friday at Arizona, the first day the Braves third baseman is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list.  —  Jones, the major-league batting leader at .369 …

Griffey apologizes for gesture … CINCINNATI (AP) — Ken Griffey Jr. thanked Cincinnati Reds fans on Saturday for their support during his nine seasons in his hometown, and apologized to them for his throat-slash gesture last weekend.  —  The Reds traded Griffey to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, when the team was in Washington.