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.

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 …

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.

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.

Ryan Braun tells Pirates to watch backs, tips off tonight's umps  —  I'd usually say that a late April series between the Brewers and Pirates doesn't really bear much watching if you're not a fan of either team — or a Prince Fielder or Nyjer Morgan fantasy owner.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Assessing Wakamatsu  —  When you have a rookie manager, your expectations have to be toned down, because what a manager says he's going to do and what he actually does are often quite different.  Wakamatu said a lot of intelligent stuff during spring training, and he impressed a lot of smart people …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.