Pedro Martinez leaves Philadelphia Phillies game after 3 with stiff neck  —  ATLANTA — Pedro Martinez left his start after three innings because of neck stiffness in Philadelphia Phillies's game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.  —  Martinez  —  Martinez was trailing 3 …

Francoeur stays hot in Mets win vs. Nats  —  Outfielder's two doubles, two runs drive New York's offense  —  NEW YORK — Though not renowned for his sense of style, Jeff Francoeur is mindful of how he dresses.  He plans his wardrobe; i.e., which jeans go best with which T-shirt, and do his kicks match the ensemble.

Wright says beaning remains in the back of his mind  —  If David Wright were a different sort of athlete and a different sort of man, he would say he doesn't think about it when he gets in the batter's box.  —  He would say he doesn't think about the 93-mph fastball from San Francisco's Matt Cain …

Game 149: Yankees at Mariners (updates with Kennedy being called up)  —  YANKEES (94-54)  —  Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (17-7, 3.42).  —  MARINERS (77-71)  —  Ichiro RF  —  Gutierrez CF  —  Lopez 2B  —  Sweeney DH  —  Beltre 3B  —  Johjima C  —  Hall LF  —  Tuiasosopo 2B  —  Wilson SS

Easy prey for Red Sox  —  Another game, another victory over Orioles  —  BALTIMORE - Any meeting between the Red Sox [team stats] and Baltimore Orioles is an intersection of two teams heading in entirely different directions, resulting in a predictable outcome.  —  Since the All-Star break, the Orioles are 20-44.

Great American power outage ends  —  In the homer column: The Marlins went an unthinkable 22 innings without a home run at Great American Ball Park before Jorge Cantu made it a 1-1 game in the fifth with a solo shot off Bronson Arroyo.  Through Friday among National League stadiums …

Rosenthal's Full Count Video: Dodgers, DeRosa, Cubs, Managers, General Managers  —  Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in...  - Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers …

ROMERO, EYRE, RUIZ UPDATES  —  ATLANTA — So many injured Phillies, so little time.  Thus, without further ado, let's get right to your daily injury update:  —J.C. Romero (forearm strain) threw a bullpen session today and will leave tomorrow for Clearwater, Fla., where the Phillies …

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 …

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.

Roger Clemens Responds to NYBD on Twitter  —  It's a sad day when a former sports icon hits a new low.  We have seen it with the A&E special on Jose Canseco earlier in the year and now Roger Clemens has turned to social media in order to spin his web of deceit.