Game 118: Yankees at Mariners  —  YANKEES (74-43)  —  Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-2, 3.85).  —  MARINERS (60-57)  —  Suzuki RF  —  Branyan 1B  —  Lopez 2B  —  Griffey DH  —  Gutierrez CF  —  Hannahan 3B  —  Johjima C  —  Langerhans LF  —  Wilson SS

Stare Down  —  Nats, Potential Ace Strasburg Enter Final Day to Show Hands  —  Peel away the excess — the tangled story lines that have turned a single pitcher into a referendum on an organization's competence and an agent's ingenuity — and Stephen Strasburg is simply a 21-year-old with a decision to make.

Angels' Torii Hunter enjoys happy return from DL  —  BALTIMORE — After missing 32 games, Torii Hunter is ready to get back in the pennant race.  —  The Los Angeles Angels center fielder was activated from the 15-day disabled list late Saturday night and inserted in the starting lineup Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles.

Harper: Omar listens to doc's orders … You can't say the Mets got this one wrong, anyway.  —  But let's face it, if they hadn't figured out that David Wright should at least go on the 15-day disabled list, as he sat at home Sunday with “post-concussion symptoms,” all hope for this franchise would have been lost.

Cubs' Carlos Zambrano: 'I've been lazy'  —  Cubs ace says he'll get ‘serious’ about ab work to help back problems  —  Admitting “my problem is I've been lazy” about between-start workouts, Carlos Zambrano vowed to “be serious” about a prescribed routine that will strengthen his stomach muscles.

Howard's two homers power Phillies past Braves 4-1  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Ryan Howard (FSY) likes what he's seen so far from J.A. Happ (FSY).  “He's not a rookie any more,” Howard said.  “He's proven himself to be a very poised pitcher.”  —  GAME REPORT: Phillies 4, Braves 1

Yankees Sign Cotham For $675,000  —  The Yankees have signed Vanderbilt righthander Caleb Cotham for $675,000.  His bonus is $5,000 short of the highest in the fifth round this year (Jeff Malm, Rays) and is more than four times MLB's $149,400 recommendation for his draft slot (No. 165).

Witnesses confirm Myers wasn't in altercation  —  ATLANTA - Phillies pitcher Brett Myers said he was not involved in an altercation that occurred early Saturday morning while he was at a bar in Jacksonville, Fla., and multiple eyewitnesses confirmed his account.

Haeger to make Dodgers debut vs. Cards  —  Los Angeles (70-48) vs. St. Louis (67-52), 7:10 p.m. PT  —  PHOENIX — Charlie Haeger said he loves a challenge, so he should be one happy guy on Monday night.  —  Haeger makes his Dodgers debut as the starting pitcher against the St. Louis Cardinals …

Pence's homer overturned vs. Brewers  —  Ball ruled foul after replay review at Miller Park  —  MILWAUKEE — For the third time this season at Miller Park, Major League Baseball's instant replay system negated a called home run.  —  This time it was Houston's Hunter Pence …

Davis deal probably in place  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Here's what I'm hearing is going on with the Brewers' negotiations with Tennessee outfielder Kentrail Davis, a supplemental first-round pick in the June draft.  —  I'm hearing the Brewers already have an agreement …

Castillo gets first 2009 homer — into second deck!  —  long drought Sunday, hitting his first home run of the season.  And it was memorable not only for being his first but for how far it traveled.  —  With the Mets trailing by a run in the fifth, Angel Pagan hit a two-out double that bounced …

Measuring the umpire's effect on the game  —  We all know umpires make mistakes, especially when calling balls and strikes.  While some people will argue that those mistakes are part of the game, there are few who are able to make a convincing argument to support that.