News: Mets acquire Ayala from Nats  —  The Mets have acquired RHP Luis Ayala from the Nationals in exchange for 2B Anderson Hernandez.  —  Ayala is expected to join the team in Pittsburgh tomorrow.  —  Ayala had a 5.77 ERA this season with Washington.  —  The Daily News reported earlier …

Batting practice doesn't tax Zambrano  —  Rothschild says no link to pitching struggles  —  MIAMI - Carlos Zambrano spends so much time working on his hitting that some wonder if it has had a negative effect on his pitching.  —  But Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild believes that theory …

Girardi: Yanks' Matsui on track to return Tuesday  —  NEW YORK — Injured slugger Hideki Matsui is back with the Yankees and is likely to be activated Tuesday, when the club begins a six-game trip at Toronto.  —  Matsui had 15 at-bats during a simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, facing left- and right-handed pitching.

Pedro's season-best 7 innings lift Mets  —  PITTSBURGH (AP)—On a day when he got bad news about his closer and watched his bullpen struggle again, New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel preferred to talk about something positive.  —  “Pedro was outstanding tonight,” he said.

Rockies extend Nationals' skid to 10  —  WASHINGTON (AP)—Ian Stewart and Seth Smith hit three-run homers, Aaron Cook struggled through five innings for his 15th victory and the Colorado Rockies beat Washington 7-2 on Sunday, handing the Nationals their season-high 10th straight loss.

Joe Saunders, Angels stumble in Cleveland  —  Left-hander struggles through five innings and Angels can't push tying run across in ninth inning as they lose a series for the first time since June.  —  CLEVELAND — It was bound to happen sometime, and better now than in October, the Angels figure.

Glavine: ligament surgery would signal end to career  —  Braves? pitcher indicates desire to pitch, but not endure long rehab  —  While Tom Glavine's future in baseball is up in the air, this much seemed clear to him Saturday: His season is over and he's likely headed for surgery.

ANOTHER DEREKTION  —  JETER MAY NOT BE YANKEE LIFER AFTER ALL  —  THE divorce rate in sports is getting higher and uglier, and we are not talking Alex Rodriguez and Cynthia.  —  Happily ever after has become tougher to find.  In the last year, Joe Torre, Shaquille O'Neal …

We're talking pivotal figures  —  Contenders will be counting on these 10  —  The 10 key players for the stretch run, and a comment from a top American League executive:  —  1. John Lackey, Angels: It's great that the Angels have bolstered their offense with Mark Teixeira, but Lackey is their ace …

Standard lineup for now, but Matsui near?  —  Mostly the same starters as yesterday, except for Jose Molina catching, as usual for Mike Mussina.  —  But there could be a big addition as early as Tuesday.  Hideki Matsui played in a simulated game itoday and showed no ill effects …

No walks, no problems for Texas Rangers in win  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - Before entertaining a question Saturday night, Matt Harrison had an impromptu statement for the gathered media.  —  “I just want to say that I'm happy I didn't walk anybody tonight,” Harrison said.

Reliever Jones is placed on DL  —  DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have placed reliever Todd Jones on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore right shoulder.  —  The right-hander is 4-1 with a 4.97 ERA and 18 saves in 21 chances.  He started the season as Detroit's closer, but was removed from that role July 26.