Cardinals acquire Holliday from A's  —  Prospects Wallace, Mortensen, Peterson shipped to Oakland  —  ST. LOUIS — A Major League source has confirmed that a deal is in place for the Cardinals to acquire Matt Holliday from the A's in exchange for Brett Wallace and two other Minor Leaguers …

Sox waive Kotsay  —  With the Red Sox needing to clear a spot on the 25-man roster for newly acquired Adam LaRoche, Mark Kotsay is the odd man out.  —  The Red Sox have placed the veteran outfielder/first baseman on waivers this afternoon.  If he is not claimed within 48 hours …

Source: Maine could miss rest of season  —  Mets pitcher John Maine will seek a second opinion on his injured right shoulder, multiple sources confirmed Thursday.  Maine, who went on the disabled list June 12 with a pinched nerve in the shoulder, is expected to visit Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham …

Mariano, meet your successor  —  I've already gone on record saying that I believe Phil Hughes should be the Yankees' next closer.  What I saw tonight did nothing but confirm that belief.  —  Hughes picked up his first big-league save with a pair of scoreless innings …

Chien-Ming Wang is worried he may need surgey  —  Chien-Ming Wang's season has been nothing short of a disaster.  The righthander was hoping to return for the final two months to salvage the year, but after going for a second opinion on his injured right shoulder, Wang is fearful that his season might be over.

HoJo says his sluggers ‘just not good enough’  —  HOUSTON - Howard Johnson has experienced the high of winning a World Series with the ‘86 Mets.  As for lows, the Mets’ current plight tops the hitting coach's list.  —  As the Mets try to regroup Friday night against the Astros after an off-day …

As trade deadline nears, talks for Halladay heat up  —  TORONTO - Scott Rolen spotted a Philadelphia reporter in the Toronto Blue Jays' clubhouse yesterday, and an I-know-why-you're-here smile spread across his face.  —  “He's the best pitcher in baseball,” Rolen said of teammate Roy Halladay …

Umpire Cooper has a full plate of no-hitters  —  Some umpires can work their entire careers and never find themselves behind the plate for a no-hitter.  Eric Cooper has been the plate umpire for three of them, including two by White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who pitched a perfect game Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sano will be partially cleared  —  Major League Baseball's investigation will partially clear Miguel Angel Sano, of his identity but not his age, a source just confirmed.  The identity will come back “regular,” and the age will come back “undetermined.”  —  Details to come.

Mustached Wainwright remains red-hot  —  Tosses de facto complete game at Nats for fifth July win  —  WASHINGTON — Nothing can stop a mustached Adam Wainwright.  Not a heavy rainstorm complete with unbridled thunder and lightning, or the ensuing one-hour, 16-minute rain delay in the fourth inning …

Comeback Kings: Napoli, Kendrick rally Angels past Twins  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Howie Kendrick's (FSY) single ricocheted off second base in the ninth inning to drive in Los Angeles' tying run, and Mike Napoli's (FSY) run-scoring double in the 10th capped the Angels' 31st comeback victory …

My Morning in Exile: My wife drives me nuts edition  —  So my wife — who is not a baseball fan by any stretch of the imagination — goes to the Columbus Clippers-Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees game last night.  It was a work function and the beer was free.  You know how that goes.

How do O's trade chips stack up?  —  As deadline nears, a closer look at five that may garner interest  —  NEW YORK - One week before Friday's nonwaiver trade deadline, the Orioles are in their usual position as sellers, looking to move a couple of their veterans to augment their young nucleus.

Dodgers' top homers leave previous memories  —  Kurt Gibson, left, celebrates after hitting a game-winning, two-run home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.  Steve Finley reacts after hitting a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning …

Tigers DFA Josh Anderson  —  The Tigers designated outfielder Josh Anderson for assignment to make room for Carlos Guillen, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.  Anderson, 26, hit .242/.282/.315 with no homers in 74 games with the Tigers.  He played all three outfield positions for the Tigers, and defended well in limited innings.