For Rivera, No Ups or Downs, Only Precise Cutters  —  SEATTLE — On Friday at Safeco Field, a few hours before the end of the longest saves streak of his career, Mariano Rivera explained the demands of his job.  He framed it as a responsibility.  —  “I don't think there's an easy situation in baseball …

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.

Rosales … PHOENIX(AP) Leading the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks by three runs in the third inning, the Colorado Rockies looked as if they would solidify their hold on the NL wild card lead.  —  “And then nothing,” Colorado manager Jim Tracy said.  “That was the end of the road.”

Punches Were Harder in the Good Old Days  —  Last week's fight between the Yankees and the Blue Jays was one of the worst incidents of the season, with Toronto pitcher Jesse Carlson walking away with a welt on his head and Yankees Manager Joe Girardi sporting a bruise near his left eye.

How valuable has the Reds' fielding been?  —  More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP  —  Paul Janish, shown here being awesome, leads the Reds in bUZR this season (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)  —  Fiddling with fielding stats on a Saturday morning...  Here are some different ways to measure the Reds' team fielding this year:

Pettitte set to return after short break  —  Yankees lefty feels strong heading into Monday's start  —  SEATTLE — Andy Pettitte wasn't expecting to feel any discomfort in his left shoulder as he made his way to the bullpen at Safeco Field on Friday.  In other words, everything went just as expected.

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.

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 …

Howard, Rollins spark Phillies' victory over Atlanta  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Ryan Howard (FSY) homered twice, Jimmy Rollins (FSY) hit a three-run shot, and the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a shortened start by rookie J.A. Happ (FSY) to end Atlanta's seven-game winning streak with a 9-4 victory Friday night.

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.

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.

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.

D-Backs' Davis proves his worth  —  Dependability.  Durability.  —  Diamondbacks pitcher Doug Davis thinks those two words and what they represent aren't appreciated enough in Major League Baseball.  —  And he's probably right.  —  When it comes to starting pitchers …