Julio Lugo: ‘I wanted it to work out’  —  Julio Lugo has been designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox [team stats], ending a relationship that never quite clicked the way either party would have liked.  —  Lugo, reached at the airport in Toronto, where he was leaving the Red Sox to return to Boston …

Dodgers enter race for Halladay; Jays freezing out Yankees, Red Sox … While the Phillies remain almost everyone's favorite to land superstar pitcher Roy Halladay, and the best-in-baseball Dodgers are now believed to be showing interest, two big-market contenders for the summer's big pitching prize …

Game 89: Tigers at Yankees  —  YANKEES (51-37)  —  TIGERS (48-39)  —  Pitching: LHP Lucas French (1-0, 1.93).  —  TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES.  —  STATE OF THE STRIPES: The Yankees have had four days off since since being swept by the Los Angeles Angels last weekend.

Jurrjens, McCann help Braves blast Mets 11-0  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Brian McCann drove in four runs in the first three innings, Jair Jurrjens combined with three relievers on a two-hitter and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 11-0 on Friday night.  —  Jurrjens (8-7) gave up both hits …

Cardinals 6, Diamondbacks 1  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols hit two homers to add to his major league-leading total and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 on Friday night.  —  The multi home run game was the eighth for Pujols, who has 34 homers and 89 RBIs, which also leads the majors.

Future Shock  —  Signing Situations  —  The signing period for the 2009 draft is, as expected, a complete mess.  As of today, teams have just one month remaining to sign their 2009 draft picks, yet 20 of 32 first-round picks remain unsigned, including 13 of the first 16 selections.

Rays 8, Royals 7  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Evan Longoria and Pat Burrell hit two-run homers in consecutive innings to help the Tampa Bay Rays rally for an 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.  —  Longoria, who missed Tuesday night's All-Star Game with an infected finger …

White Sox 12, Orioles 8  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Jim Thome hit a grand slam and a three-run homer for a career-high seven RBIs Friday night, carrying the Chicago White Sox to a 12-8 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.  —  With 14 RBIs in the last three games, Thome increased his career total …

Mitre becomes Yankees' No. 5 with Wang on DL … NEW YORK (AP) — Sergio Mitre will become the Yankees' No. 5 starter while Chien-Ming Wang is on the disabled list.  —  Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the team plans to bring up Mitre and start the 28-year-old right-hander against Baltimore on Tuesday night.

Starters make Braves contenders for playoff spot  —  Ready to write off the Braves?  Not so fast.  With a strong starting rotation they can't be counted out of the race yet, Ken Rosenthal says.

Banner Day, 2009  —  The Mets' last Banner Day was staged years ago but it was revived by The New York Times over the past week and produced some pretty clever results.  —  Close to 100 people used words and images to comment on the 2009 season, which, for the Mets, has been a succession of minor calamities.

Prospect Hot Sheet: July 17  —  The Futures Game as well as the Triple-A, Eastern and Southern league all-star games cut into our player pool for this week's Hot Sheet.  No big deal.  We managed to find plenty of worth candidates from among the leftovers.  —  Remember as always …

Arroyo, Encarnacion help Reds shut out Brewers  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Bronson Arroyo gave his second straight scoreless performance, using his vast array of pitches to full effect for seven innings, and the Cincinnati Reds took advantage of Edwin Encarnacion's four hits and two Milwaukee errors to beat the Brewers 4-0 on Friday night.