Red Sox rally for seventh straight win, beat L.A.  —  BOSTON (AP) — Alex Gonzalez (FSY) hit a bases-loaded blooper down the left-field line with two outs in the ninth inning on Wednesday night to give the Boston Red Sox a 9-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

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 …

Mets raising prices in 2010?  —  ATLANTA — The Mets remained suspiciously coy today when asked if they plan to raise ticket prices at Citi Field for the 2010 season.  —  The club would only release a statement that said: “The Mets in the weeks ahead will be in direct communication …

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.

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?

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.

Unraveling the Batter's Brain  —  [Editor's Note: Dave Baldwin is a former MLB pitcher.  He pitched for the Washington Senators (1966-1969), Milwaukee Brewers (1970), and Chicago White Sox (1973).  His best season was 1967 when he posted an ERA of 1.70 with 12 saves.