Heroes abound in Sox's win over Rays  —  While Lester shines, Ellsbury, Papelbon steal show late  —  ST. PETERSBURG — It looked like it might have been slipping away, this game that the Red Sox once led by five runs.  At Tropicana Field, where manager Terry Francona and his team …

Senate hopeful of the day: Curt Schilling  —  Add another name to the growing list of pols and would-be pols eyeing a run for Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat: former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling.  —  That's right, Mr. Bloody Sock himself told NECN's Brad Puffer in an interview today that he has been …

Ned Colletti wants to return to the Dodgers  —  The general manager, a day after acquiring Jim Thome and Jon Garland, says he'd love to be back next season.  —  Ned Colletti's contract as Dodgers' general manager includes a mutual option for 2010.  (Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times)  —  On The Dodgers

Joe Nathan blows it for Twins in 4-2 loss to White Sox  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Nathan gave up back-to-back home runs to Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Chicago White Sox got to Minnesota's four-time All-Star closer to win 4-2 on Wednesday.

Brad Penny joins the Dodger haters  —  PHILADELPHIA — A reporter started to ask Brad Penny about pitching in front of 42,000 crazed, Dodger-hating fans when the Giants' new No. 5 starter interrupted him.  —  “42,001,” said Penny, grinning.  —  It remains to be seen how much Penny …

Toy plane takes off at Dodger Stadium  —  Remote-control flier stops play briefly in sixth inning  —  LOS ANGELES — It's not rare to see an occasional beach ball fall onto the field during a game at Dodger Stadium.  —  A remote-control airplane?  That definitely could be filed under unusual.

Lilly shines for Cubs, blanks Astros 2-0  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Ted Lilly (FSY) pitched eight shutout innings to reach the 10-win mark for the seventh consecutive season and Derrek Lee (FSY) hit a two-run homer Wednesday, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory over Aaron Boone (FSY) and the Houston Astros.

Swisher baffled by homers on the road  —  New York (84-48) at Baltimore (54-79), 7:05 p.m. ET  —  BALTIMORE — Maybe Nick Swisher really just loves eating meals off a room-service tray?  It's as good an explanation as anyone has been able to come up with for his bizarre home run stats in 2009.

A-Rod's doctor optimistic about hip  —  Slugger may not need another surgery after season  —  Alex Rodriguez's recovery from a March right hip surgery has progressed so well that the doctor who performed the procedure is hopeful that the Yankees slugger won't need another surgery after the season.

Giants will purchase Buster Posey's contract today  —  The Giants are calling up top catching prospect Buster Posey and he'll join the team today, sources confirmed to me.  —  Now it's clear why Posey wasn't in the lineup for Triple-A Fresno last night.  GM Brian Sabean had said repeatedly …

Look for September to be Ken Griffey Jr.'s final bow  —  Can't go anywhere these days without getting asked the question.  No, not whether the Mariners can still win the wild-card.  That one seems to have stopped.  Now, as the Mariners head into their final 4 1/2 weeks …

Old is the New New?  —  Tyler Kepner tossed out that Betances had a procedure similar to Mariano Rivera today, but with that aside, he outed something that I had never heard before.  Mark Newman of the Yankees told the press that Betances' procedure was an “overlay TJ,” …

A-Rod gives anti-steroid talk to area students  —  Yankees star makes surprise appearance at Milford Mill Academy, addressing athletes in effort to ‘turn a negative into a positive’  —  New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez made an unexpected visit to 500 students at a Baltimore County school …

Nats acquire LHP Garate from Dodgers  —  The Nationals acquired left-handed pitcher Victor Garate off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, completing the deal that sent Ronnie Belliard to LA.  —  “He's effective against left-handed and right-handed hitters,” GM Mike Rizzo said during MASN2's game with the Padres this afternoon.

Yankees go Bird-bashing in Baltimore  —  Robinson Cano gets props from Eric Hinske hitting a home run in the second inning.  Hinske goes deep later as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 9-6, Tuesday night.  —  BALTIMORE - Much has been made of A.J. Burnett's up-and-down season …