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.

Ex-O's infielder Cruz dead at 52  —  Member of 1983 world championship team died while swimming Tuesday  —  Former Orioles infielder Todd Cruz died on Sept. 2, 2008, in Bullhead City, Ariz., while swimming at the apartment complex in which he lived.  He was a member of the 1983 World Series champions.

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 …

Brewers suffer fourth straight loss  —  Milwaukee's lead in NL Wild Card standings cut to four games  —  MILWAUKEE — After an awesome August, the Brewers are sputtering in September.  —  On the heels of a 20-7 August, the Brewers have dropped four in a row to start the final month …

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.

Passing on Garza, Scouting Director Is Left to Wonder  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When Damon Oppenheimer watched Matt Garza pitch for Tampa Bay on Tuesday, he could not help wondering what might have been.  It is a natural feeling for a scouting director, whose job it is to predict how amateurs will play as pros.

Sympathy for the Slugger  —  I don't like Barry Bonds.  I don't like his insouciance and swagger and surliness, his general contempt for anybody who doesn't share the familial intimacy of his last name.  I prayed that he would not break the single-season record for home runs in 2001 …

Red Sox poised to set sellout streak record  —  BOSTON—David Ortiz remembers visiting Fenway Park with Minnesota and seeing empty seats.  —  “The only sellout was when Pedro was pitching,” he said.  “Otherwise, it was a regular crowd.”  —  Pedro Martinez is long gone from the Boston Red Sox …

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.

Braves rookie Parr shuts down Nats 2-0  —  ATLANTA (AP)—James Parr pitched well in his last three starts with Triple-A Richmond and carried it over to his major league debut Thursday night.  —  Parr tossed six sharp innings and combined with three relievers for a five-hitter …

Jays' Litsch shuts out slumping Twins  —  TORONTO (AP)—The Minnesota Twins would have been a lot happier if this marathon road trip had ended one city sooner.  —  Jesse Litsch threw a four-hit shutout and the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep with a 9-0 victory over the Twins on Thursday night.

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.

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 …