Grand slams by Howard, Ibanez fuel Phillies' rally over Nationals  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez each hit a grand slam, rallying the Philadelphia Phillies to a wild 13-11 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

Fowler, Rockies run wild over Padres  —  Leadoff man swipes five bags but Hawpe injured in victory  —  DENVER — Garrett Atkins had seen too many improving swings, too many hard-hit balls to believe the Rockies' recent offensive slump was permanent.  —  Monday night proved he was right.

Ailing Delgado sits out, goes for hip check  —  Carlos Delgado will be examined by a doctor today after discomfort in his right hip forced him out of the lineup Monday night for the first time this season.  —  Delgado, who experienced the discomfort after sliding into third with a triple on Sunday …

Herd's Garcia shoulders the blame  —  Aching starter runs into trouble in fifth inning  —  A broken-down pitcher.  A broken-down offense.  Another embarrassment for the Buffalo Bisons.  —  That's the capsule summary of the latest sorry affair in Coca-Cola Field as the Syracuse Chiefs rumbled past …

Close isn't good enough  —  Jim Leyland, as he often does, put it well.  —  “Sabathia pitched very well,” he said.  “Verlander just pitched better.”  —  For what it's worth, the cagey old skipper of the Tigers likes what he sees from the Yankees.  —  “He's a great pitcher,” Leyland said of Sabathia.

Barry Bonds: “I just haven't retired”  —  Barry Bonds is here at AT&T Park to watch a rivalry game with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He was in town attending a charity function with the Dalai Lama (more on that later) and decided to attend the game.  They introduced him to a standing ovation just prior to the second inning.

Braves edged by Cardinals  —  When Braves first baseman Casey Kotchman out-hit St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols Monday, the Braves had to figure it was their night.  —  And they would be wrong.  —  Despite holding the league's most feared hitter to a mortal 1-for-5 evening …

Brian Wilson defends character, quits Twitter  —  Everyone's all aTwitter about Brian Wilson at the ballpark today.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)  —  Here are the lean facts:  —  Twitter is an instablogging thing the kids do nowadays.  Wilson likes to Twitter a lot.

Rollins predicts a .400 month  —  After saying in spring training that he had retired from the prediction business, Jimmy Rollins unretired yesterday afternoon.  —  Well, sort of.  —  Mired in an early-season slump that has resulted in his not being in the starting lineup on each of the last two Sundays …

Glavine holding out hope of returning  —  Retirement still possibility, but lefty's shoulder in less pain  —  ATLANTA — Tom Glavine realizes that his troublesome left shoulder may force him to retire within the next few weeks.  But because he's experienced some recent relief …

Don't expect Joba to bail out Yanks 'pen yet  —  Joba Chamberlain could certainly help the Yanks' bullpen.  But will it happen?  Ken Rosenthal has the answer and much more.

Q&A With The New York Times' Tyler Kepner  —  I recently had a chance to do a quick Q&A with Yankees beat reporter Tyler Kepner of The New York Times.  —  To me, Tyler Kepner is the Peter La Fleur of Yankees beat writers/media bloggers.  I do not ever recall seeing a blogger …

Dodgers can't hold on after late rally  —  Belisario touched for two runs in eighth inning  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Dodgers racked up a season-high of should-haves Monday night.  —  From fly balls they should have caught to runners they should have thrown out to a game they should have won but lost to the Giants, 5-4.

Bay, Wake hand Red Sox 11th straight  —  Knuckleballer one-hits Tribe, three-run homer in ninth seals it  —  CLEVELAND — Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield can't pitch much better.  No way.  Impossible.  Well, maybe he could pitch a no-hitter or a perfect game.

Greinke to appear on this week's cover of Sports Illustrated  —  Zack Greinke will have to battle more than the Toronto Blue Jays when he looks to extend his streak of innings without an earned run Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.  —  There now will be the added weight — and alleged jinx …