Yanks want to clinch against Sox  —  The Yankees and Red Sox are both headed for October, but the two rivals would love to make a statement to assert themselves as the favorites in the American League.  —  With only 10 days to go until the end of the regular season, the two AL East contenders …

Best (and worst) of the playoff rotations  —  Starting pitching often rules in October, and that should bode well for the Red Sox  —  When you think of October, you think of Josh Beckett pitching a Game 6 shutout in Yankee Stadium.  You think of Cole Hamels, carving his own little slice of Mr. October history.

Tigers' Verlander strikes out 11 as Indians drop 11th straight  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Verlander (FSY) pitched the Detroit Tigers closer to a division title and pushed the Cleveland Indians within one loss of matching a franchise record for futility with a 6-5 win on Thursday night.

Rizzo chats with Nationals fans  —  GM discusses future of team, including Strasburg's role in 2010  —  Mike Rizzo: Welcome to today's chat.  I'm looking forward to answering your questions.  Here we go.  —  wilnieves: Elijah Dukes has been playing well since returning from Triple …

Pirates Claim Anthony Claggett  —  The Pirates claimed pitcher Anthony Claggett off waivers from the Yankees, according to a press release.  The Yanks had designated him for assignment ten days ago.  Claggett, a 25-year-old righty, was acquired by the Yanks from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield deal in November of '06.

PHILLIES GET PAST BREWERS; INCH CLOSER TO DIVISION TITLE  —  Sports Network  —  Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-4 and smacked a three-run homer during a six-run fifth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies inched closer their third consecutive division title with a 9-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rookie Anderson wins fourth straight as A's split series with Rangers  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers have gotten to know each other better this month — as in seven meetings in 11 days.  —  Last-place Oakland won five of those games and put a big damper on Texas' wild-card hopes in the process.

Sox' low-key finish to '09  —  Subdued Williams says going with youth led to miscues  —  Ken Williams' team hadn't been officially eliminated yet, but the White Sox' general manager gave his end-of-the-season address to reporters Wednesday at U.S. Cellular Field.  On the Kenny Meter of Rage, this one barely moved the needle.

Rotation in question for Rockies' Marquis  —  Jason Marquis' struggles of late could alter the Rockies' postseason approach.  —  The Denver Post  —  Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis lays down a sacrifice bunt during the second inning Wednesday night to advance baserunners against the Padres at Coors Field.

Greinke is a Good Pitcher - Not Dominant  —  Zack Greinke didn't really impress me last night.  He pitched well and maybe I caught him on a bad night, but to me he didn't seem dominant.  Greinke has may have the lowest ERA in the AL since Pedro Martinez in 2000, but he doesn't strike …

Can you trust any national baseball writer?  —  National baseball columnists offer opinions on the Dodgers that you might or might not agree with.  That's just the way it is.  —  Too often, however, their opinions are based on factual errors that, while not intentional, clearly reflect a lack of familiarity with the team.

FINAL: Red Sox 10, Royals 3  —  SOX WIN (11:51, TOP 9, 10-3 SOX)  —  After a long, ugly victory, the Sox cut their magic number clinch the AL wild card down to three.  Clay Buchholz pitched 6 2/3 sterling, shutout innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits, all singles.

HERNANDEZ WINS NO. 17 AS MARINERS DOWN BLUE JAYS  —  TORONTO — There is lots of intrigue building around Felix Hernandez right now, and how his future plays out this winter is something the Toronto Blue Jays will be watching closely.  —  The dominant right-hander struck out a season-high 11 batters …

Pujols is TSN's Player of the Decade  —  Slugger topped a .300 average in each of his nine seasons  —  The Sporting News announced its Major League Player of the Decade on Thursday, and there was little in the way of surprise.  —  That honor was bestowed upon Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols …

Hairston update: Day-to-day  —  This from the Yankees:

Tampa Bay Rays will change next season, but how much?  —  ST. PETERSBURG — The death of the Rays 2009 season arrived this week.  Belatedly, as it turns out.  —  We have known for about a month, and probably longer, that there would be no encore performance.