Manny sparks Dodgers against D-backs  —  LA homers thrice as NL West lead stays at 3 1/2 games  —  PHOENIX — Manny Ramirez didn't mind talking about his third-inning ejection on Monday, but he cut off questioning about his second-inning home run.  —  “I don't want to talk about that,” he said.

How to make the Yankees perfect  —  It might be too late.  But I wonder if the Yankees should send Phil Hughes to their secret compound in Tampa and retrain him to throw six innings at a pop. Because lately the Yankees seem to have only three starters, and these days you need four in October.

Fair ball: Just clean hits for Jeter  —  was Mark Teixeira, whose first of two home runs in Game 2 landed just in front of the Iron Horse's granite block in Monument Park.  —  But no matter.  —  Rooting for Derek Jeter to break the record?  Follow LIJeterFans on and be the first to know when he breaks the record.Twitter

Carpenter throws one-hitter at Brewers  —  SEPT. 7, 2009 — Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter gets a hug from catcher Yadier Molina after the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 in Milwaukee.  Carpenter threw a one-hitter.  (AP)  —  ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Surfing The Mets  —  Righthander Tobi Stoner is expected to join the Mets on Tuesday with the completion of Triple-A Buffalo's season.  The 24-year-old Stoner, a 16th-round pick in 2006 out of Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia, went 7-7 with a 3.96 ERA in 16 starts for the Bisons.

Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran set for return after rehab stint  —  The Mets are expecting good news Tuesday.  It may be too late to change their ultimate fate, but the return of Carlos Beltran is plenty welcome for a club that's suffered one misfortune after another.

MASSIVE TIE SCENARIO  —  In the National League yesterday, the Phillies lost, which helped the massive tie scenario, but the Dodgers won, which didn't.  The Marlins and Braves didn't play, but Colorado and San Francisco kept pace with wins as well.  —  The following outcomes result in a six …

Giants irked by homer celebrations  —  Brewers' display, Padres' Gonzalez stoke emotions  —  SAN FRANCISCO — For the second day in a row, an opponent's home run prompted complaints from the Giants about unprofessional behavior.  —  While several Giants — and a few players around the Major Leagues …

Carlos Pena Is Done for Season  —  C.C. Sabathia's 94-mile-per-hour fastball roared inside on Rays first baseman Carlos Pena, who started to swing at it before the ball struck his left hand and his bat Monday.  After a trainer for Tampa Bay examined him for a few minutes, Pena took two limp swings before striking out.

Nationals to promote five players  —  Shortstop Desmond, four pitchers and coach coming up  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals have decided to promote pitchers Ross Detwiler, Marco Estrada, Logan Kensing and Zack Segovia and shortstop Ian Desmond to the big leagues.

Gaston should have done better  —  A season that got off to a magical start has left us with the nagging old questions about the Blue Jays' manager  — Weather - Video - Blogs - RSS Feeds - Globe Books - TV listings - Globe on Twitter - Columnists - TIFF 2009

Give Chase His Due  —  In all likelihood, the National League MVP is going to Albert Pujols for the second consecutive season, and probably rightly so.  He's at or near the top in many of the traditional and non-traditional stats and is 2nd behind Tim Lincecum in wins above replacement with 7.5.

Mets assistant GM Ricco not after the boss' job  —  John Ricco's baseball playing career ended after his sophomore year at Cresskill High School, when he decided golf and the student newspaper suited his undersized frame better than a spot on the pitcher's mound.

Nick Johnson's Odd 2009  —  Nick Johnson  —  #20 / First Base / Florida Marlins  —  Nick Johnson's career has become one of the major oddities of professional baseball over the last decade.  Johnson debuted in 2001 with the New York Yankees, and after mediocre seasons in 2001 and 2002, Johnson broke out in 2003.

Manuel fumes after Phillies fall again  —  HOUSTON - Yes, the Phillies proved their talent by winning the World Series last year.  And yes, they still hold a comfortable lead in their division.  —  But none of that soothed manager Charlie Manuel after yesterday's 4-3 loss to Houston sealed a four-game sweep by a mediocre team.