Knoblauch charged with assault  —  HOUSTON — Former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch was charged with assaulting his common-law wife.  —  A judge set Knoblauch's bond at $10,000 after he appeared in court Tuesday.  According to a criminal complaint, Knoblauch's wife told police he hit …

Sano to sign with Twins: Huntington responds  —  CHICAGO - Miguel Angel Sano, the top prospect in the Dominican Republic, will sign with the Minnesota Twins for a $3.15 million bonus, agent Rob Plummer just told the Post-Gazette in a phone conversation.  —  Sano, a shortstop expected …

VERLANDER SOLID AS TIGERS SALVAGE DH SPLIT WITH TWINS  —  The Sports Network  —  Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Justin Verlander gave the Tigers eight effective innings while Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge drove in two runs apiece, as Detroit posted a 6-5 win to split a doubleheader …

Beckett: I'll make my next start  —  Saying that the rigors of the road conspired to tighten up his back yesterday morning, Josh Beckett told reporters before today's game that he already feels better, and expects to make his next scheduled start, which is Saturday against the Indians.

Nats 2, Mets 1: Five to go  —  Congratulations to Nationals lefthander Ross Detwiler, who picked up his first major-league win Monday at the Mets' expense.  Nelson Figueroa again was the hard-luck loser as the Mets lost to Washington, 2-1.  The tiebreaking run came in the sixth on Mike Morse's solo homer off Figueroa.

Some good news to share with you  —  Now that everything is finalized, here is some more news for you.  —  I'm thrilled to announce that The Journal News has hired Chad Jennings of the Times-Tribune in Scranton and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Blog to cover the Yankees.  Chad starts on Oct. 7.

Phils top Astros, trim NL East magic number to 1 … PHILADELPHIA(AP) Pedro Feliz hit a grand slam, J.A. Happ pitched effectively into the sixth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies moved closer toward clinching their third straight NL East title with a 7-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

Bobby Valentine returns to ESPN as Baseball Tonight analyst  —  Bobby Valentine, fresh off his six-year stint as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, is returning to ESPN as an analyst on “Baseball Tonight.”  —  Valentine, who led the New York Mets to the World Series in 2000 …

New York-Pen League Top 20 Prospects  —  Pair of electric Latin arms spice up NY-P list  —  While 2008 was a strong year for the New York-Penn League, with catchers (led by Jason Castro and Derek Norris) and power arms (topped by Adam Reifer and Brad Holt) in abundance …

Kerrigan returning as pitching coach  —  CHICAGO — Joe Kerrigan just confirmed he will return as the Pirates' pitching coach in 2010.  —  Neither the team nor Kerrigan divulged the length of the contract, but general manager Neal Huntington said that part of the reason the team …

Mets manager Jerry Manuel says he's not worried about losing his job … WASHINGTON — Jerry Manuel has received enough assurances from Mets ownership to be confident this atrocious season won't cost him his job.  But he also knows the unspoken truth about his situation.

LIND BELTS THREE HRS, BLUE JAYS STOP RED SOX AGAIN  —  BOSTON - Adam Lind hit three of Toronto's six homers to lead the Blue Jays to an 8-7 victory over the Red Sox and spoil Boston's hopes of clinching a playoff berth for the second consecutive night.  —  It was the fifth straight loss for the Red Sox …

Miranda beats Royals as A.J. delivers  —  The Yankees gave A.J. Burnett $82.5 million this winter with the hopes that he would form a lethal 1-2 punch with CC Sabathia.  —  While that has been the case at times this season, the true test will come next week, when the Bombers open the playoffs against either the Tigers or Twins.

Marlins' 5-4 win slows Braves' postseason drive … ATLANTA(AP) Jorge Cantu hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh and the Florida Marlins damaged Atlanta's playoff hopes, winning 5-4 Tuesday night to snap the Braves' seven-game winning streak.  —  Atlanta, which had won eight of 10 and 15 of 17 …

Big East, Big 12 to play in Yankee Bowl … NEW YORK — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the commissioners of the Big East and Big 12 will announce at a news conference Wednesday the formation of the Yankee Bowl, to be held at the new Yankee Stadium beginning …