Game 160: Yankees at Red Sox  —  YANKEES (87-72)  —  RED SOX (94-65)  —  Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 1.38) has never faced any of the Boston hitters.  —  Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-2, 2.80) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: The Yankees have won seven of eight and 10 of their last 12. ...

Sheets will toe mound for Brewers against Cubs  —  MILWAUKEE — Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets will start Saturday against the Cubs despite a sore elbow that forced him to leave his last appearance on Sept. 17 against Chicago.  —  Sheets says he's ready to pitch and he feels like his arm is ready to let him return to the mound.

Marlins put Mets' playoff hopes in peril  —  NEW YORK (AP)—It's all slipping away for the New York Mets again.  —  With a listless loss to the Florida Marlins on Friday night, New York relinquished control of its playoff fate.  Now, the desperate Mets will start ace Johan Santana …

Howard goes deep, Phillies edge closer to NL East title  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Howard hit his major league-leading 48th homer, Joe Blanton pitched six effective innings and the Philadelphia Phillies moved closer to clinching the NL East title with an 8-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

ChiSox lose fourth straight, stay in 2nd  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Ryan Garko and the Cleveland Indians kept the struggling Chicago White Sox in second place.  —  Garko homered twice, including a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning, and had five RBIs to help the Indians send the White Sox to their fourth straight loss, 11-8 Friday night.

Bedard: no labrum tear, could start season on-time  —  It looks like Erik Bedard is not as bad off as had initially been feared.  He underwent surgery today to remove a cyst in his shoulder area and also to have “a minor labral debridement.”  —  But a medical update issued by the team …

M's respond to clubhouse anger toward Ichiro  —  Ichiro reached base on...  Another loss Thursday night for the Mariners at Safeco Field began the way so many other contests have this season.  —  Ichiro reached base on his 176th single of the season and the 1,800th hit of his career.

Tiebreakers loom after walk-off wins  —  Races in AL Central and NL Wild Card remain tight  —  The regular season is supposed to end on Sunday, but with the way things are going, it might take until Tuesday to determine the three remaining playoff spots.  —  Minnesota's walk-off win …

Mariners hint they may hire woman as next GM  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said his team is vetting a wide range of general manager candidates, pointedly leaving open the possibility of Seattle hiring the first female general manager in major league history.

Brackman Kicks Off HWB  —  2007 first-rounder makes pro debut, finally  —  Out in Hawaii Winter Baseball, Yankees' 2007 first-round draft pick Andrew Brackman already has his eyes on grabbing a surfboard and hanging 10.  —  Well, that and finally launching his pro career come Saturday night.

Percival impresses Rays, Maddon in return  —  DETROIT — The Rays liked what they saw in RHP Troy Percival's return to the mound Thursday, and if the veteran closer handles his next outing as well, they could be seeing a lot of him in the playoffs.  —  “It was better,” manager Joe Maddon said.

Giambi wants to re-sign with Yankees  —  TORONTO - Jason Giambi's seven seasons in pinstripes have run the gamut.  He had 40-homer, 100-RBI seasons his first two years before being diagnosed with an intestinal parasite and a benign tumor and testifying to a grand jury that he had used steroids.