Rays have lost fighting spirit  —  BOSTON — Understand, there is no shame in being caught from behind by the Red Sox.  —  Boston has the bigger payroll and the greater pedigree, and most of the world has probably assumed the defending World Series champions would eventually end up on top of the American League East.

Wagner to have Tommy John surgery  —  Mets closer has tear in MCL, expected to miss one year  —  NEW YORK — The pitcher the Mets put in charge of happy endings 2 1/2 years ago has come to an unhappy and premature ending for this season — perhaps for his career.

Girardi will return in '09  —  Steinbrenner: Manager will be back for second season  —  ANAHEIM — The Yankees appear likely to miss the postseason for the first time in more than a decade, but the club plans to retain Joe Girardi as manager for the 2009 season.

New home run apple at core of Mets' new ballpark  —  It looks like it will be a fresh apple rising after the Mets belt home runs at Citi Field.  —  The Mets had hoped to keep their intentions quiet for now about whether they would transfer the apple from Shea to their new stadium or commission a new one.

Pudge, Hunter fight in Yankees loss to Angels  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - One veteran Yankee wondered aloud before Monday's game against the Angels if players had given up on the season.  —  But at least one player showed some fight - literally - in the Yankees' lopsided 12-1 loss to the Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim last night.

Phils prevail, trim Mets' NL East lead  —  Offense gives Blanton needed lift; Philly 1 1/2 games back  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies' bats bailed out pitcher Joe Blanton after a rocky start, lifting Philadelphia to an 8-6 win over the Marlins on Monday night.

Giants' Lincecum pitches another gem to sink struggling D'backs  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tim Lincecum struck out nine, Bengie Molina hit a three-run homer and San Francisco sent the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks to their fourth straight defeat with a 6-2 victory Monday night.

Pujols leaning toward elbow surgery  —  Slugger dealing with ligament tear since 2003  —  ST. LOUIS — Slugger Albert Pujols told a local television station on Monday that he may be leaning toward undergoing Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow after the season ends.

Torres has rough ninth in loss to Reds  —  Kendall, Hardy go deep; Bush solid in eight innings  —  MILWAUKEE — If Brewers manager Ned Yost did not feel comfortable with his team's hold of the National League Wild Card going into Monday's game, imagine how he felt afterward.

Rain postpones Blue-Jays-White Sox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Rain forced the postponement of Monday night's Toronto Blue Jays at Chicago White Sox's game.  It will be made up as part of a split doubleheader beginning at 1:05 Tuesday.  —  The four-game series that was to have started at U.S. Cellular …

Sheffield hits Majors' 250,000th homer  —  Milestone dinger a grand slam against Athletics' Gonzalez  —  DETROIT — Gary Sheffield still needs a few home runs to get to his career milestone.  In getting closer on Monday, however, his two-homer game reached a Major League mark that has been 133 years in the making.

Oswalt, Ethier share NL's weekly honors  —  Astros starter, Dodgers outfielder recognized for performance  —  Baseball season has entered the September home stretch, and the Dodgers and Astros both find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt with three weeks to go.