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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Nats' MVP started at the top  —  Morgan was catalyst for offense before season-ending injury  —  Quick, who has been the Washington Nationals' MVP in 2009?  Ryan Zimmerman?  Adam Dunn?  John Lannan?  —  While there are certainly arguments to be made for any of those guys …

Lester looking good in long toss  —  Greetings from Fenway Park.  Shaping up to be a beautiful fall evening for tonight's game against the Blue Jays.  —  Jon Lester is in the bullpen right now throwing a side session and, from our perch in the Fenway press box, he is looking pretty good.

Party time: Yanks kings of AL East  —  Pettitte's solid start, clutch hit by Matsui secure title  —  NEW YORK — The expectation was always that the Yankees would bring championship baseball back to the Bronx, and though they had to know this celebration was coming for some time, it tasted just as sweet.