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 …

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 …

Webb could require surgery on shoulder  —  Profile: Brandon Webb  —  SEATTLE - Brandon Webb's troublesome shoulder will require more tests and maybe even surgery, and the possibility exists that the organization's most accomplished homegrown player has thrown his last pitch for the Diamondbacks.

Red Sox want rotation depth, will keep Penny  —  Be realistic.  Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1.  Drayton McLane is not moving Roy Oswalt.  Jarrod Washburn could probably be had, and would be a good pickup for a National League team with a big ballpark (cue Dodgers, Mets and Giants).

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.

Corpas likely headed to DL  —  The Rockies' bullpen got rocked Friday night before the first pitch was thrown against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  —  Setup reliever Manuel Corpas has bone chips in his right elbow and likely will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, a source close to Corpas confirmed.

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.

Don't count on any help, Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg says  —  NEW YORK — The Rays were unlikely to spend any money on in-season acquisitions anyway.  The cost of replacing injured players such as 2B Akinori Iwamura and RHP Troy Percival make it even less likely.

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.

Trade talks?  Brewers' Groch in town with Melvin  —  Ah, to be a fly on the wall in the lobby of the Brewers' hotel in Detroit on Friday morning, when manager Ken Macha met with GM Doug Melvin and Dick Groch, head of the team's pro scouting operation.  The men talked over coffee for nearly two hours …

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

Brace yourselves, but Braves should put Chipper on the market  —  OK, now it's the Braves' turn.  After all those seasons of shoring up their roster with blockbuster trades in mid-season, at the expense of raiding the farm system, consider this: (Are you sitting down?)

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.

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.

Please Everyone, Stop Using Catcher ERA  —  More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP  —  Non-defensive catcher.  —  Browse more photos »  —  The Nichols Law of catcher defense states the inverse relationship that exists between offensive abilities and perceived defensive performance.

Road sweet road  —  Those who think the skewed dimensions of the new Yankee Stadium aren't a factor should ask Andy Pettitte what he thinks.  The lefty has a 5.77 ERA at Yankee Stadium in nine starts.  In six starts on the road, it's 2.35.  He has allowed nine home runs in the Bronx, two elsewhere.