Yanks bench slumping A-Rod for two days  —  MIAMI - The Yankees had trouble beating the Nationals with Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.  How will they fare against the Marlins without A-Rod's bat?  —  Rodriguez was yanked from the lineup this afternoon as Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman decided …

Brotherly love: Weavers set to match up  —  Sibling rivalry won't play into pitching story of Halos-Dodgers  —  ANAHEIM — Gail Weaver would like to make one point perfectly clear as her sons prepare to share the pitching mound at Angel Stadium on Saturday evening.  —  This is not Jered Weaver vs. Jeff Weaver.

Tigers give Leyland two-year extension  —  Manager has navigated injuries, slumps into first place  —  DETROIT — Jim Leyland's future will remain in a Tiger uniform.  The team and the manager agreed Friday to a two-year contract extension, ending speculation while rewarding the veteran skipper …

Interview: Roger Clemens  —  Photo by Flickr user presson_on.  —  Let's play a word association game.  Roger Clemens.  What comes to mind?  University of Texas Longhorn.  Fastball.  Burnt orange Hummer.  4,672 strikeouts.  Houston resident.  Major league pitcher.

Sources: Evans promoted to the Mets  —  Sources tell the Daily News that Nick Evans will be promoted to the Mets.  It wasn't immediately clear whose place Evans would take, but perhaps the Mets have decided to demote Fernando Martinez with Gary Sheffield returning to the outfield.

Miller Park to be OK after flooding  —  Situation to be resolved by the time team returns Tuesday  —  DETROIT — A severe storm in Milwaukee early Friday morning knocked out power at Miller Park and caused what a Brewers official termed “moderate” flooding in parts of the ballpark's service level, including the clubhouses.

Eighth-inning homer off Mota lifts Angels over Dodgers  —  Guillermo Mota came up big for the Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh inning, extending his scoreless streak to 13 innings by inducing a 6-4-3 double play from Vladimir Guerrero to preserve a 4-4 tie between the Dodgers and the Angels.

Dodgers recall righty McDonald  —  Club sends reliever Schlichting to Triple-A Albuquerque  —  ANAHEIM — With long reliever Jeff Weaver starting Saturday night, the Dodgers recalled James McDonald from Triple-A Albuquerque to be a long reliever and sent right-handed reliever Travis Schlichting to Albuquerque.

For Sox, could there be a Plan F?  —  This gets a little complicated, but there may be a way for the Red Sox to squeeze six starters into five spots for the balance of this season while benefiting every Boston starter over the long-term.  —  Let's call it Plan F (here are options A through E from an earlier column).

Shawn Estes retires  —  Shawn Estes, a former 19-game winner with the Giants, has apparently retired after 13 major league seasons.  Estes, 36, went 3-4 with a 3.07 ERA pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque in his attempt to continue his career with the Dodgers.

Ibanez on Injury  —  In case you missed it, here are some excerpts from Raul Ibanez's interview on Daily News Live, where I tried to get a clearer picture of the status of his strained groin.  —  Neither Ibanez nor the Phillies will guesstimate the length of his absence, but both said an MRI revealed nothing serious.

Hill pitches, hits Orioles to 7-2 win over Phils  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rich Hill pitched into the seventh inning and singled in the go-ahead run, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-2 victory over the slumping Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.  —  FINAL: Orioles 7, Phillies 2

Roster moves: Marires claim Josh Wilson off waivers, activate Johnson  —  * Catcher Rob Johnson reinstated from the bereavement list.  —  * Catcher Guillermo Quiroz designated for assignment.  —  * Infielder Josh Wilson claimed off waiver from San Diego.

Quote of the Day: 'I suck.  For real.  I'm getting old.'  —  sports, athletics, quote-of-the-day, orlando-cabrera  —  Orlando Cabrera, after making two defensive mistakes yesterday: … Normally I'd say that Cabrera is being overly hard on himself, but that's a tough argument …

Bugging Harold Reynolds  —  I like Harold Reynolds.  I mean, I don't really know the guy, but he seems to be a likable guy on television.  And friends who do know him tell me he's a very likable guy.  And one of my favorite baseball images is that of Harold Reynolds in the moments …

Stammen steamrolls Yankees for first win  —  Kearns, Harris contribute stellar defense behind Nats rookie  —  NEW YORK — Nationals right-hander Craig Stammen had to wait five hours and 26 minutes to pitch in Thursday's game against the Yankees because of a rain delay.