Game 121: Yankees at Twins  —  YANKEES (64-56)  —  TWINS (66-53)  —  Darrell Rasner (5-8, 5.28) vs. the Minnesota hitters.  —  Kevin Slowey (8-8, 4.07) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: The lineup was delayed as the Yankees were waiting to see if Derek Jeter (bruised left foot) could play.

After blunders, Marlins fix signs  —  No one is sure what Dan Uggla saw Monday night when he thought he had been given the steal sign in the ninth inning of a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals.  Uggla was thrown out, and then handled every question about his mistake, taking all the blame.

Sox pull it out as things run amok at Fenway  —  Youkilis after wild win  —  Kevin Youkilis talks about his three-run home run in the eighth inning that helped the Red Sox top the Texas Rangers, 19-17, in a slugfest Tuesday night.  —  There was still hope in the frayed voices of the Fenway faithful.

Nationals, Crow far from closing deal  —  Club has until Friday to sign 2008 first-round Draft pick  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals and pitcher Aaron Crow, the team's first-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, are not close to agreeing to terms on a contract.

Quentin, Morneau Alone Fit Criteria for AL MVP  —  By this point in a season, nothing is easier to predict than a race for the Most Valuable Player award, which goes not to the best player but to the best player who fulfills a variety of arbitrary criteria.  Once you admit that the award …

Source: Owings to be dealt to Reds  —  Righty, along with another player, would complete Dunn trade  —  PITTSBURGH — The return on the trade that sent outfielder Adam Dunn from the Reds to the Diamondbacks may soon become clearer.  —  There were indications on Tuesday …

Sickness and the Miracle Mets  —  I don't think of myself as a sickly person.  I've probably not missed three days of work in my entire life, and in some box in a spare room of my parents home I should have a couple of perfect attendance certificates from school*, and the only nights …

Josh Hamilton ready to help Jeff Allison  —  Having waged his own successful and ongoing battle against drug dependency, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton wants to reach out to other baseball players now walking in his shoes.  —  To that end, he plans to contact Peabody native Jeff Allison …

Crawford to have surgery on hand  —  Two-time All-Star outfielder expected to be out 6-8 weeks  —  OAKLAND — Carl Crawford will have surgery on Thursday to repair the subluxation of his right middle finger tendon and is scheduled to be out 6-8 weeks.  —  “After going through …

Kazmar gets unexpected call  —  Padres summon shortstop from Double-A  —  SAN DIEGO — Sean Kazmar was preparing to take a six-game road trip to Missouri and Arkansas with Double-A San Antonio on Monday when he was informed he was headed somewhere else — San Diego.

Texas Rangers sign Ahn Tae-Kyong  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  BOSTON - The Rangers confirmed Tuesday the signing of 18-year-old right hander Ahn Tae-Kyong to a free-agent contract.  —  It's the first significant signing of an Asian player since Jim Colborn (currently the Rangers bullpen coach) …

Kauffman renovations progressing  —  Project to update Royals' home ahead of schedule  —  KANSAS CITY — On Monday morning, they took away the seats.  —  About 15 hours before, people had sat there, on the first-base line and in the upper deck on the left-field side, and watched Tony Pena Jr. hit a walk-off single against the Twins.

Character references  —  “Just look at the guys we added: Character guys, winners.  We anticipate they're good clubhouse guys, guys with an edge which is something we needed a bit more of.”  —Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi  —  “If I stood for anything while I'm here in Toronto …

Red Sox, with pitching concerns, acquire Byrd from Indians  —  BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox acquired pitcher Paul Byrd from Cleveland on Tuesday, hoping to boost a rotation hurt by an injury to Tim Wakefield and the struggles of Clay Buchholz.  —  The Red Sox will send either a player to be named or cash to the Indians.