Cano's homer gives Yanks sweep of O's  —  BALTIMORE — With the game three hours in and the score deadlocked at 7, Robinson Cano took things into his own hands.  In the second inning, the second baseman had hit an RBI double that helped propel the Yankees to a five-run lead over the Orioles.

Springing leaks in late summer  —  A sinking feeling about the playoffs  —  Reliever Chris Smith couldn't stop the bleeding in yesterday's lopsided loss at Toronto.  (Frank gunn/canadian Press)  —  TORONTO - Your starting shortstop, third baseman, right fielder, and No. 1 pitcher are out with injuries.

The reappearance of Gary Matthews Jr. leads to Angels' victory  —  Reduced by injury and ineffectiveness to a bit role since early July, the Angels outfielder reappeared in a big way for the Angels, hitting a run-scoring triple to key a three-run eighth inning.

Thrown a curve, kindness is my buoy  —  I've always thought the real lesson in Jim Bouton's classic book, “Ball Four” was found in its final passage, when he wrote, “you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.”

SERBY'S SUNDAY Q&A WITH DANIEL MURPHY  —  The Post's Steve Serby chatted with the 23-year-old rookie who has gone from off-the-radar minor leaguer to key contributor to the Mets' late-season surge.  —  Q: Tell me the story about when you arrived at Jacksonville University and they asked each player for his name, hometown and position.

Don't expect Pavano to be consistent help  —  Carl Pavano is still a colossal disappointment, the appropriate butt of countless jokes and hands down the most overpaid athlete in Yankees history.  Heck, he's probably the most overpaid athlete in New York sports history, too.

Joba ‘looks great’ after throwing off the mound … BALTIMORE (AP) — Joba Chamberlain threw 35 pitches off the mound Saturday, giving the New York Yankees hope the right-hander will soon recover from the rotator cuff tendinitis that put him on the 15-day disabled list earlier this month.

Fukudome struggles again, so Piniella plans a talk  —  Lou Piniella plans on having a conversation about hitting mechanics Sunday with struggling right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Saturday's 9-2 victory over Washington.  —  “See how we can help the young man,” Piniella said.

Is CC Sabathia a prize Dodgers have their eye on?  —  Left-hander has California roots, and former Indians teammate Casey Blake thinks Dodgers would make sense for him.  But as the top free-agent pitcher he'll command a huge contract.  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Dodgers might be more likely …

Moose moving closer to upstate New York  —  Everyone from stat-literate writers like Rob Neyer to members of the blogosphere to the mainstream media agrees: If Mike Mussina wins four more games this season, he's punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame.  —  This unanimous sentiment comes with Mussina sitting on 16 wins.

Bloomquist unlikely to play again in '08  —  Free-agent-to-be would like to return to Mariners next season  —  SEATTLE — Willie Bloomquist walked into the home clubhouse at Safeco Field on Saturday afternoon with a noticeable limp.  —  It has been two weeks since the Mariners …