Pitching Coach St. Claire Fired  —  The Nationals today fired pitching coach Randy St. Claire, the longest-tenured member of their coaching staff, and have replaced him with Class AAA pitching coach Steve McCatty.  St. Claire, in his seventh year with the organization, was responsible …

Yankees spank Rangers in battle of AL's top teams  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Teixeira sparked the Yankees with a takeout slide at second base after being hit with pitches twice, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada hit three-run homers and New York beat the Texas Rangers 12-3 Tuesday night to take over best record in the American League.

Matsuzaka earns first win, helps Francona reach 500 career victories  —  DETROIT (AP) — Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched five strong innings to win for the first time this season and manager Terry Francona earned his 500th victory as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 on Tuesday night.

THE SPORTS GUY  —  When great ones go, it might hurt us more than it does them.  —  Stephen Dunn/Getty Images  —  In the academy award-winning classic Cocktail, Coughlin tells young Flanagan, “Everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn't end.”  It's the single greatest yearbook quote ever.

Braves send Schafer down to Gwinnett  —  Braves stuggling center fielder Jordan Schafer has been sent to Triple-A Gwinnett to regain his form, and the Braves have called up Gregor Blanco from Gwinnett.  —  Schafer was hitting .204 (34-for-167) with a whopping 63 strikeouts, which was the fourth-highest totals in the major leagues.

Flores Out At Least Three Months, Maybe For Season  —  Just got the word on catcher Jesus Flores's status.  It'll be a long time before the Nats' first-string catcher — and a big part of the future — is back on the field.  —  Flores has a stress fracture in his right shoulder.

Riske to have surgery  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Miami - The Brewers need relief help but it won't be coming from David Riske.  —  Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash reports that Riske will undergo elbow surgery today by specialist Lewis Yocum.

Duke outduels Santana, Jaramillo homers as Pirates top Mets  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Zach Duke pitched seven effective innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Johan Santana and the New York Mets 3-1 on Tuesday night.  —  Jason Jaramillo hit his first major league homer for the Pirates, who have won three of four.

Blue Jays 6, Angels 4  —  TORONTO (AP) — Roy Halladay struck out a career-high 14 to win his major league-leading ninth game, Alex Rios backed him with a home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-4 on Tuesday night.  —  Halladay (9-1) threw his second complete game of the season …

Yankees set new errorless record in 5-2 win  —  Buzz up!  —  CLEVELAND (AP)—The midges didn't affect Joba Chamberlain  —  in his first start in Cleveland—and neither did the Indians' hitters.  —  Chamberlain allowed two runs in a career-high eight innings and the New York Yankees set …

With two months in the books, it's time for certain teams to sell … Welcome to June.  This is your wake up call.  —  Think your team that stumbled through the first two months can still make the playoffs?  Think again.  While we all might easily remember the comeback of the 2005 Astros …

Viewpoint: Angelos doesn't deserve the bad rap  —  Sports Illustrated recently named Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, as the worst owner in the game.  Having played for the Orioles for 14 seasons, nine during the Angelos era, I feel I am qualified to speak about the topic.

Marlins 10, Brewers 3  —  MIAMI (AP) — Cody Ross hit a grand slam and Dan Uggla belted a milestone home run to help the Florida Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-3 Tuesday night.  —  Uggla became the fastest second baseman to reach 100 career homers with a two-run shot in the second.

Austin Jackson: A Star Under Construction  —  MOOSIC, Pa. — Albert Jackson builds 18-wheel trucks for Peterbilt Motors, a job with skills that helped him raise an athletic prodigy.  Before the Yankees started grooming his son Austin to be their next star, it was Albert's handiwork that charted his course.

Future for Dodgers' Kuo still uncertain  —  Oft-injured reliever hopes to regain arm strength, command  —  LOS ANGELES — Last year, to the utter shock of anybody who has seen an MRI of his left elbow, Hong-Chih Kuo stayed healthy enough to finally showcase that star-crossed arm, winning MLB.com's Setup Man of the Year Award.

Torrealba Heads Home  —  Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba flew home to Venezuela to deal with personal matters on Tuesday.  Edwin Bellorin was called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs to take Torrealba's spot.  —  Bellorin will share catching duties with Paul Phillips …

Julio released; Burns summoned  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Miami - Jorge Julio pitched his way off the Brewers' roster by failing to retire a batter Monday night.  —  The Brewers have released Julio and called up journeyman reliever Mike Burns from Class AAA Nashville.

New Stadium Is Tough for Autograph Hounds  —  Outside the old Yankee Stadium, fans young and old would gather along barricades near the players' entrance, waiting for a chance to get the most coveted of baseball keepsakes — an autograph.  —  Players had to walk from their parking lot across a small street …