Pedro's gem gives Phils twin-bill sweep  —  Righty shows Cy Young form with eight scoreless frames  —  PHILADELPHIA — He had already thrown 128 pitches.  The potential tying run was on second base.  —  So when Pedro Martinez saw Phillies manager Charlie Manuel leave the dugout with two outs …

Yanks lose A-Rod, Girardi to ejections  —  Disputed third-strike call leads Foster to toss both from finale  —  NEW YORK — Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and manager Joe Girardi were both ejected in the fifth inning of Sunday's 13-3 win over the Orioles, the result of a heated exchange with home-plate umpire Marty Foster.

Sox complete turnaround  —  Seal Rays' fate with DH sweep  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  It was only the start of August when the Tampa Bay Rays put the Red Sox [team stats]' season on the ropes.  —  Tampa Bay swept a two-game set at Tropicana Field …

No truth to report of Halladay offer  —  Though the Toronto Sun reported that the Sox offered a package of six pitchers to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay (Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Felix Doubront, and Nick Hagadone), that report is apparently not correct.

Lilly, Lee lead Cubs over Reds, 5-2  —  Ted Lilly pitched six scoreless innings and Derrek Lee homered and singled twice Sunday, helping the Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.  —  Andres Blanco had three hits and two RBIs for the Cubs, who won the season series 10-5.

Method to this Maddux  —  Coach's guiding hand polished Ranger arms  —  Mike Maddux was always on that list of players you figured would one day be a pitching coach or manager.  His talent didn't measure up to that of his more famous brother, future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.

Seattle's Ichiro sets record with ninth straight 200-hit season  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Soaked in beer, Ichiro Suzuki (FSY) smiled after a long day.  —  After he reached 200 hits for the ninth straight season during the second game of a doubleheader, Ken Griffey Jr. picked up his slight teammate …

Sometimes, Sports Really Are Just Fun and Games  —  I've been asked to write a blog for the New England Sports Network.  This is my first blog.  —  As some of you know, this summer, I began Tweeting after Jack Welch convinced me that it could be entertaining and fun — for me, not for my readers!

Hoffman hopes to return to Brewers  —  All-time saves leader has enjoyed his first season in Milwaukee  —  PHOENIX — Trevor Hoffman has been comfortable in his first season with the Brewers, so comfortable that he'd like a return engagement in Milwaukee next year for what would be his 18th Major League season.

Laird, Inge help Tigers snap losing streak  —  DETROIT (AP) — Gerald Laird (FSY) and Brandon Inge (FSY) each had two RBIs, helping the Detroit Tigers snap a season-worst five-game skid with a 7-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.  —  Rick Porcello (FSY) won a matchup with fellow rookie Ricky Romero (FSY).