Manuel doubts Myers can be Phillies closer  —  Phillies manager Charlie Manuel made it clear he has serious doubts that Brett Myers will be able to help the club as a closer because the righthander is feeling the effects of his long layoff following hip surgery in early June.

Davis Would Return To D'Backs Or Brewers  —  Doug Davis has played his entire National League career with two teams: the D'Backs and Brewers.  Now that he's about to become a free agent, Davis tells Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic that he'd return to either club.

Central intrigue: Twins climb to within 3 of Tigers … MINNEAPOLIS(AP) Michael Cuddyer 's two-run homer was all Brian Duensing needed to beat Detroit and move Minnesota within three games of the AL Central lead, energizing the Twins in a 3-0 victory over the Tigers Friday night.

Ichiro's walk-off shot saves Felix's gem  —  Catalyst stuns Yankees in ninth to give ace 16th victory  —  SEATTLE — Down to their final out against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on Friday night, Mike Sweeney hit a double, and Ichiro Suzuki followed with a walk-off home run …

La Russa welcomes Twitter co-founder  —  Issues resolved, St. Louis native Dorsey throws first pitch  —  ST. LOUIS — Evidently there are no hard feelings.  Perhaps that's the power of baseball.  —  St. Louis native and Cardinals fan Jack Dorsey visited Busch Stadium on Friday night as a local-boy-made-good.

Reassessing three underachievers and notes around the majors … For most teams, it is time to turn the page on this season.  In a few cases, it has been that way for months.  But one major advantage to being eliminated early is that there is plenty of extra time to assess one's needs …

Street takes big step toward return  —  PHOENIX — Huston Street's 2009 detour is about to end.  —  The Rockies' injured closer threw about 25 pitches in a simulated game today and emerged confident and pain-free.  Street said he's been told he will be activated for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Kazmir notches first win with Angels in key victory vs. Texas  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Scott Kazmir (FSY) pitched six scoreless innings to get his first victory for the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels and Vladimir Guerrero (FSY) homered in a 2-0 victory Friday night over the slumping Texas Rangers …

Sunday to be Gallardo's season finale  —  Thanks to MLB.com contributor J.R. Radcliffe, who is covering the Brewers tonight in my wake, for passing along this note:  —  Yovani Gallardo will pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in what will serve as his final outing of the 2009 season.

Free Tickets Come With a Catch: The Game  —  If for no other reason than the game was played and the tickets were printed, they came.  Not many of them.  But they looked at the standings that day, saw two of the worst teams in baseball squaring off in a meaningless game in Queens, and decided to come anyway.

Holliday homer gives Cardinals 3-2 win over Cubs  —  ST. LOUIS — Matt Holliday homered off Aaron Heilman leading off the bottom of the ninth inning giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night, reducing their magic number for clinching the NL Central to six.

Marlins save best for last, snap nine-game skid in Cincinnati  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — All those big numbers were weighing on the Florida Marlins, who needed something sensational to keep from slipping farther behind in the NL wild card race.  —  They got it against one of the NL's top closers.

Setback might end Carlos Delgado's tenure with New York Mets  —  NEW YORK — Carlos Delgado might have played his last game for the New York Mets.  —  Delgado  —  The slugger had another setback while rehabbing from right hip surgery and it appears increasingly unlikely that he'll be able …

Ichiro homers off Rivera as Mariners stun Yankees  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki (FSY) hit a two-out, two-run homer off New York closer Mariano Rivera (FSY) and the Seattle Mariners stunned the Yankees 3-2 on Friday night.  —  Pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney (FSY) kept the ninth inning alive …

BUCHHOLZ BEATS ORIOLES FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT VICTORY  —  The Sports Network  —  Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Clay Buchholz won his fifth straight decision after allowing one run in six innings, and the Boston Red Sox strengthened their stranglehold on the American League wild card race with a 3-1 victory over Baltimore.

Tribe waiting for seeds to bloom  —  Cleveland (61-85) at Oakland (68-78), 10:05 p.m. ET  —  OAKLAND — Some days are good.  Others are bad.  —  Some days will call for a pat on the butt.  Others will require a kick in the butt.  —  But, according to manager Eric Wedge …

Growing up a KC fan, Crow ready to go  —  Royals' first-round Draft pick to pitch in Arizona this fall  —  KANSAS CITY — It's probably premature to expect right-hander Aaron Crow to be pitching along with Zack Greinke and Gil Meche next summer at Kauffman Stadium but, no doubt about it, the Royals have big hopes for Crow.

Roger Clemens using Twitter to talk to fans ‘right from the heart’  —  “Hey Gang...It's official...I'm a Twit!  ;D Enjoy the ride!”  - Roger Clemens, June 17, 2009.  —  Roger Clemens, the former Yankee and Mitchell Report star, has taken to posting on Twitter to stay in touch with fans and friends - and even some of his enemies.

Can We Let the David Ortiz Injustice Die?  —  Michael Schmidt of The New York Times recounted how he set out to obtain names sealed by court order of 100-plus Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.  He wrote a story on David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Mortgaging the Future to Pay for the Past: Was It Worth It?  —  More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP  —  From Blez's February 2006 interview with John Sickels: … Opening with the caveat that it's rarely fair to judge past predictions (knowing that hindsight is 20/20) …