Stopping Dodgers may prove costly  —  Astros' Valverde pulls calf muscle when hit by line drive  —  HOUSTON — On paper, Tuesday night's matchup was overwhelmingly in the favor of the visiting Dodgers.  Their heralded 21-year-old left-hander, Clayton Kershaw, had a 1.50 ERA …

Pettitte, Mo tie record as Yanks top A's  —  Defense lends big hand to help duo reach win-save mark  —  NEW YORK — Shaking hands as Frank Sinatra's “New York, New York” rained down on the infield, Mariano Rivera approached Andy Pettitte, offering his long-time teammate a milestone baseball.

Rocky start, solid victory  —  Four-run sixth negates fielding miscues, pitching woes  —  PHOENIX — Brad Hawpe and the Rockies proved Tuesday night that looking bad is not a permanent condition.  —  Hawpe has been the Rockies' most consistent hitter during a difficult start.

Revived Bullpen Helps Nationals Win Second Straight  —  To take a lead last night, the Washington Nationals relied on the most methodical component of their team.  To hold the lead, they relied on madness.  Last night's 4-3 win against the Atlanta Braves compressed the work of a patient offense with a pins-and-needles ninth.

Pounding the pavement  —  Pedro, Big Hurt, Edmonds among the free agents still looking for work  —  As Major League Baseball continues its love affair with players so young they don't even need a Red Bull to get up for a game, a corresponding fraternity of veterans is feeling unloved, unwanted and — let's be frank — unemployed.

A's Holliday is open to playing in New York  —  There are certain requirements that come with this job, and one is this: Whenever you're interviewing an big-name, impending free agent, you must ask him whether he would consider playing in New York.  —  “Yeah, I would play here,” …

Bloggin' baseball: The Hardball Times, for hardcore fans  —  Founded in 2004, The Hardball Times (hardballtimes.com) has 30 regular writers and several freelancers to offer major league analysis, provide fantasy advice and dissect statistics.  Site editor Bryan Tsao describes the site's average reader …

Is This Seat Taken?  In Front Rows of New Ballparks, No  —  Odd patterns have been forming inside New York's two shiny new baseball stadiums, ones not seen in years.  Clumps of empty blue and green seats are painfully obvious because many of them are in the best sections or right behind home plate …

New start beneficial to Harvey, Drillers  —  Ryan Harvey understands new beginnings.  —  The Tulsa Drillers right fielder was the sixth overall pick of the 2003 draft by the Chicago Cubs.  However, the Cubs released Harvey last month after six seasons.  —  Harvey then got a second chance this spring when Colorado signed him.

Wood is here, now play him  —  So the Angels finally come to their senses and start calling around, finding out what free-agent pitchers might be available.  Better yet, they recall Brandon Wood from Salt Lake.  —  Except in Wood's case, they don't plan to play him.  They plan to sit him.

Want privacy?  Pay for it  —  How far does the class warfare extend in Yankee Stadium?  All the way to the men's room.  —  According to the charmingly titled Fack Youk blog, there are dividers between the urinals in the field level bathrooms but not in the bathrooms elsewhere in the stadium.

Faces of the franchise: Young stars cast as leading men  —  WASHINGTON — It was one of those brief conversations between opponents in the middle of a baseball game.  Hanley Ramirez stood on the base next to Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman last May.

A New Era For Dodgertown  —  MILB To Lease Historic Facility  —  Move over Daytona Beach and Panama City.  The sleepy, old town of Vero Beach is looking to become a spring break destination.  —  By agreeing with Vero officials on a five-year lease to rent Dodgertown …

Wang to start in extended spring, no surgery for X  —  Anyway, Brian Cashman put Nady's rehab time at 4-6 weeks.  As for Wang, Cash is not ruling out the fact that a physical ailment - his foot, or something else - might be the cause of his command woes.  “Sure, it's a concern,” Cash said of Wang.