Red Sox rally for 7th straight win, beat L.A. in walk-off fashion  —  BOSTON — One after another, Boston Red Sox players acknowledged the obvious: This felt like a playoff game.  —  Every at-bat a battle.  Every close call full of meaning.  A tense crowd on its feet.  And eventually, a Red Sox victory.

Francoeur a fan of ex-teammate Hanson  —  Mets outfielder has high opinion of Braves' rookie righty  —  ATLANTA — When Tommy Hanson made the first seven starts of his career, Jeff Francoeur served as his right fielder.  —  While Hanson was limiting the Mets to seven scoreless innings …

Harwell says thanks to baseball friends  —  Fans, players show admiration for broadcaster in cheers  —  DETROIT — Ernie Harwell said thank you to thousands of his friends at Comerica Park on Wednesday night, and many more watching on television.  Fans, players, baseball people, media and officials thanked him back with their cheers.

Game 147: Blue Jays at Yankees (Update: Posada suspended three games)  —  YANKEES (93-53)  —  Pitching: RHP Chad Gaudin (1-0, 3.42 with Yankees).  —  BLUE JAYS (66-79)  —  Scutaro SS  —  Hill 2B  —  Lind DH  —  Wells CF  —  Overbay 1B  —  Encarnacion 3B  —  Barajas C  —  Bautista RF

Nats struggle in loss to Phillies  —  Batting, defense falter despite Hernandez's effort  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals couldn't do anything right on Wednesday night and they ended up getting beaten by the Phillies for the second consecutive day, this time by the score of 6-1.

Tampa, Staten Island win championships  —  Affiliates take Florida State, New York-Penn League titles  —  Trent Lare ended the season in Tampa, nearly three months after starting it on Staten Island.  He proved a good luck charm for both teams as the Yankees captured championships …

Attanasio gives full support to Melvin  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Chicago - Brewers owner Mark Attanasio just said that any speculation that general manager Doug Melvin's job is in jeopardy is “ridiculous.”  —  Attanasio also said it will be completely up to Melvin …

Should admitted cocaine users enter the Hall?  —  As a Hall of Fame voter, Midweek Insider has wrestled  —  greatly with the issue of illegal performance-enhancing drugs like steroids and human growth hormone.  Should it be a disqualifying factor for candidates, even if no legitimate ban against these drugs existed at the time?

Rockies beat Giants to extend wild-card lead  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jorge De La Rosa (FSY) pitched eight scoreless innings to win his sixth straight start against San Francisco and Troy Tulowitzki (FSY) homered to help the Colorado Rockies avoid a three-game sweep against the Giants with a 4-3 victory Wednesday night.

Parnell's future likely to be in the bullpen  —  Parnell Experiment continued last night after a lengthy rain delay at Turner Field.  For the most part, however, his transition to a starting role with the Mets has blown up in their face.  —  Moved into the rotation out of desperation last month …

Cubs 7th Inning Stretch Jumps the Shark with Richard Dreyfuss  —  The Cubs “7th inning stretch” officially jumped the shark last night.  —  Ironically, it took Richard Dreyfuss—he of “Jaws” fame—to send it overboard.  —  The guy admitted he had not watched a game since 1988.

Kansas City Royals close to signing top pick Aaron Crow, sources say  —  The Kansas City Royals are on the verge of an agreement with their No. 1 draft pick, pitcher Aaron Crow, for a major league deal that will pay him between $3 million and $4.5 million, sources said.