Yankees Stop Their Slide in Seattle  —  SEATTLE — With their chances for the playoffs looking bleak, a startling reality confronted the Yankees at Safeco Field on Saturday.  A loss to the Seattle Mariners would have dropped them to fourth place in the American League East.

Dodgers overtake first place  —  Ramirez drives in five runs to back gem from Billingsley  —  LOS ANGELES — Eight days ago in Arizona, the Dodgers had lost eight in a row, trailed the D-backs by 4 1/2 games and were on the verge of being knocked out of the division race by Arizona's one-two punch of Dan Haren and Brandon Webb.

Nothing like a slugfest to shatter a skid  —  Soriano's three home runs help put Cubs in win column again  —  CINCINNATI — The Cubs scored 14 runs during their six-game losing streak.  On Saturday night, they matched that.  —  Alfonso Soriano belted three home runs …

Hernandez tests positive for PEDs  —  Right-hander will be suspended for 50 games next season  —  DENVER — Runelvys Hernandez, who made four starts for the Astros this year and most recently pitched for Triple-A Round Rock, was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine …

Texas Rangers find answers in 15-8 win over Red Sox  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The Texas Rangers spend another September with a spring training mentality.  They are looking for answers.  —  They need to know if Josh Hamilton will be able to withstand the rigors of a 162-game schedule.

Oswalt tosses one-hitter vs. Rockies  —  Astros ace extends scoreless streak to 23 1/3 innings  —  DENVER — This one-hitter sparked no controversy, no anger, no demands for league intervention or official scorers to be reprimanded or better yet, dismissed.

Wakefield out, Sox in trouble  —  Tim Wakefield recorded five outs in his first 12 pitches tonight.  Then he threw 37 more and stalked off the mound having made zero more outs and allowing the game to spiral.  The Rangers scored seven runs like this: double, walk, walk, single, single, hit by pitch, walk, walk.

Flores could be back at backstop soon  —  Washington (55-88) at Atlanta (62-81), Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET  —  ATLANTA — It looks as though catcher Jesus Flores' left ankle is getting better.  He was seen walking without his ankle brace on Saturday afternoon, and it appears that he could be back behind the plate soon.

Keep hands off souvenirs at stadiums  —  It's the one souvenir fans want to avoid in their final visits to Yankee and Shea stadiums - an official pair of NYPD handcuffs.  —  With both the Yankees and the Mets set for their final regular season home stands this month, security and scrutiny …

Sox walk off on Thome's milestone shot  —  Slugger sinks Angels in 15th, passing Mantle for 14th all-time  —  CHICAGO — At approximately the same time Gavin Floyd was throwing his first pitch against the Angels on Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field, Justin Morneau was lining out to second base …

Giants bring up 2008 Draft pick Gillaspie  —  Third baseman gets quick taste of Majors after 24 pro games  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants accelerated their youth movement toward warp speed Saturday by purchasing the contract of third baseman Conor Gillaspie, who completed the fastest ascent …