Rain delays Twins-Tigers showdown to Tuesday … DETROIT(AP) The AL Central showdown was put on hold.  —  Steady rain Monday night postponed the opener of a crucial four-game series between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins .  The first-place Tigers lead the Twins by two games with seven to play.

Beckett out, Bowden in  —  The Red Sox have made a surprising last-minute pitching change, with Michael Bowden getting the start in place of Josh Beckett tonight against the Blue Jays.  —  The Globe's Tony Massarotti reports that the cause is mild back spasms.

Game 157: Royals at Yankees (updated with Girardi pre-game audio)  —  YANKEES (100-56)  —  Pitching: RHP Chad Gaudin (1-0, 3.71).  —  ROYALS (64-92)  —  Maier LF  —  Betancourt SS  —  Butler 1B  —  Jacobs DH  —  Callaspo 2B  —  Teahen RF  —  Olivo C  —  Gordon 3B  —  Anderson CF

Chris Carter Designated For Assignment  —  The Boston Red Sox have designated Chris Carter for assignment, according to a press release.  The 27-year-old outfielder played in 13 games for the Red Sox in 2008 and 2009, and was hitless in five plate appearances this season.

Phillies' lead trimmed to 4 with another loss  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Yorman Bazardo (FSY) pitched 5 2/3 effective innings against the team that cut him in spring training, and helped the Houston Astros beat Philadelphia 8-2 on Monday night, preventing the Phillies from reducing their magic number.

Pioneer League Top 20 Prospects  —  Top draft picks by Angels, Diamondbacks help stock list  —  The Pioneer League's season stretched to Sept. 11, making it anywhere from 10 days to two weeks longer than any other Rookie-level circuit.  The quirky schedule gave several premium 2009 draft picks …

Brewers Owner Acknowledges Fielder Could Be Dealt  —  Brewers owner Mark Attanasio believes that Prince Fielder is at his maximum trade-market value right now, writes Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Fielder is due to receive $10.5MM on the back end of a two-year $18MM agreement and is hitting .297/.406/.596 with 43 HRs.

Los Angeles Dodgers hold outfielder Manny Ramirez out with sore hamstring  —  PITTSBURGH — Outfielder Manny Ramirez was out of the Dodgers' lineup Monday because of a sore left hamstring, the same problem that forced third baseman Casey Blake to return early to Los Angeles to be treated by a team doctor.

Braves creep closer to Rockies  —  ATLANTA—Jair Jurrjens pitched seven outstanding innings, Chipper Jones homered and the Atlanta Braves beat Florida 4-0 Monday night for their 15th win in 17 games, a stretch that has lifted them into playoff contention with less than a week to go in the regular season.

Chisox's Danks beats Indians with three-hitter  —  John Danks (FSY) had a warm feeling on a windy, rainy night and his Chicago White Sox out of the playoff race.  —  Danks (13-10) pitched his first career complete game for his first win in more than a month as Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 on Monday night.

Chicago Cubs lose 5-1 to San Francisco Giants  —  Pitcher Rich Harden would like to be back, but feeling isn't mutual  —  Randy Wells throws to the Giants during the first inning.  (George Nikitin, Associated Press / September 27, 2009)  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When he shut himself …