Instant replay goes off without a hitch  —  Solomon calls two-minute, 15-second process ‘flawless’  —  Instant replay was used in Major League Baseball for the first time on Wednesday night on the seventh day and in the 81st game since it became available to determine a contested home run.

Sheppard hopes to return for Yankee Stadium finale  —  Everyone knows the only fitting way to close Yankee Stadium is with Bob Sheppard returning to be the public-address announcer for the final game.  His health has kept him from doing a single Yankees game this season - which would have been his 58th …

JASON LOSES BOUT WITH BATHROOM DOOR  —  ST. PETERSBURG - Jason Giambi wishes he had a sexier story to explain the gash on the corner of his right eyelid that cause discoloring and swelling.  —  “I would like to have something to tell you, something like a fight or anything else,” Giambi said.

Angels cut AL West magic number to 6  —  DETROIT (AP)—The Los Angeles Angels showed the Detroit Tigers what playoff teams look like.  —  Torii Hunter homered to back Ervin Santana, and the Angels beat the Tigers 7-1 Thursday to cut their magic number to six for clinching their fourth AL West title in five seasons.

RELIEF!  WAGS PAIN-FREE  —  PASSES TEST, EYES REHAB START  —  MILWAUKEE - The Mets said they got good news on the Billy Wagner front yesterday when their veteran closer threw 20 pitches without incident off the mound at Shea Stadium.  —  Wagner, sidelined since early August by a swollen left elbow …

Andruw Jones has written off the season  —  With his knee still bothering him, he doesn't expect to break up the Dodgers' starting outfield.  —  With the Dodgers' outfield set, the regular season winding down and his knee swollen again, Andruw Jones said he had already started looking forward to next year.

Former Orioles INF Todd Cruz dead at 52  —  BALTIMORE (AP)—Todd Cruz, an infielder with the 1983 world champion Baltimore Orioles, has died.  He was 52.  —  Cruz died Tuesday while swimming at the apartment complex in which he lived in Bullhead City, Ariz. The cause of death is pending results …

Church's first-inning slam keys Mets' sweep  —  MILWAUKEE - For Team Tightrope, as Jerry Manuel has dubbed the Mets, completing a sweep of the Brewers yesterday at Miller Park had all the drama of a pleasant stroll along Lake Michigan.  —  After a week of heart-stopping twists and turns …

Shoulder issue pains Rays' Upton  —  ST. PETERSBURG — One by one, players have disappeared from the lineup.  A broken bone, a bum knee, a sore elbow.  In a season that stretches from spring to fall, the accumulation of injuries is inevitable.  —  And, yet, B.J. Upton plays on.

After further review, why stop with HR calls?  —  Now that baseball's glorious era of instant replay is one whole week old, we'd like to let our good friend Bud Selig know exactly what we think of his latest innovation:  —  Bud, it's great.  It's long overdue.  We're grateful to you for making it happen.

Game 140: Yankees at Rays  —  YANKEES (75-64)  —  RAYS (84-53)  —  Darrell Rasner (5-9, 5.08) vs. the Tampa Bay hitters.  —  Scott Kazmir (10-6, 3.13) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: The Yankees have won three straight and 5 of 7 overall. ...  Yankees are 9-5 against the Rays, 5-2 at the Trop.

Elias Ranking Update: NL Starters  —  By Tim Dierkes [September 4 at 1:36pm CST]  —  Once again we turn to Eddie Bajek at Detroit Tigers Thoughts, who has cracked the Elias formula.  Today, National League starters have been added.  Thoughts:  — Four starters project to have Type A status …

Finding Meaning in a Pointless Yankees September  —  The New York Yankees entered September seven games behind the Boston Red Sox for the wild card spot, and 12.5 games behind division-leading Tampa Bay.  The last time the New York Yankees entered September more than the seven games …

Dunn's double caps D-backs' comeback  —  Drew ignites ninth-inning rally against Cardinals with triple  —  PHOENIX — As he watched his team look listless in falling behind to the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon, D-backs manager Bob Melvin sat in the dugout and began to jot down some notes.