A-Rod makes Twins pay with winning slam  —  Slugger homers after intentional walk to Teixeira  —  NEW YORK — Like so many of the games the Yankees and Twins have grown accustomed to playing, Friday night's series opener featured multiple lead changes in a taut affair that could have gone either way.

Garcia released, Lindsay claimed  —  The Yankees have claimed RHP Shane Lindsay off waivers from the Rockies.  He will report to the minor league complex before being assigned to a minor league team.  —  To make room on the 40-man roster, injured prospect Christian Garcia was released.

JAYS HIT FIVE HOMERS IN COMEBACK WIN OVER RANGERS  —  TORONTO — Travis Snider, Vernon Wells and Aaron Hill hit three-run home runs and the Toronto Blue Jays went deep five times in all in their 16-10 comeback win over the Texas Rangers 16-10 on Friday.  —  Texas led 9-3 after two-and-a-half innings …

Nats not locked in on top Draft pick  —  Harper just one of several prospects club is considering  —  DENVER — For the second year in a row, the Nationals have the first overall pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.  —  Last year, the club made it known before the Draft that right-hander Stephen Strasburg would be the choice.

Prospect Hot Sheet: May 14  —  Team: Triple-A Syracuse (International)  —  Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 12 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 SO  —  The Scoop: What else needs to be said, really?  Triple-A hitters clearly are no match for Strasburg, and when the Nationals finally do call him up to Washington …

Florida Marlins Team Report  —  INSIDE PITCH  —  The Marlins added a third catcher to their roster Thursday when Brett Hayes was recalled from Class AAA New Orleans.  Outfielder Bryan Petersen was optioned to New Orleans.  —  Hayes' stay may be temporary.

Looks like MLB has buried an Ace  —  Top pitcher in Northern League last year gets no offers from Show  —  Ace Walker works out Thursday at Canwest Park under the watchful eye of Rick Forney.  —  He didn't get any interest from major league teams in the off-season, so Ace Walker will continue to finish what he started in Winnipeg.

BIG DAY FOR JONES LEADS PIRATES PAST CUBS IN MATINEE  —  The Sports Network  —  Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Garrett Jones collected five hits and drove in a career-high five runs, including the tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, to lift the Pirates to a 10-6 win over the Cubs …

Keith Law's top 100: 24 days out  —  With just more than three weeks until Round 1 of the draft, here's a new look  —  Here's my second ranking of the top 100 prospects for the 2010 Rule 4 draft, based on what I've seen and what I've heard from scouts thus far this spring.

The Firing of Trey Hillman  —  In 2007, when the Kansas City Royals hired Trey Hillman to be their manager, I traveled to Japan to watch the man in action.  Hillman was a bold hire by what then looked like a young and bold organization.  The Royals had just hired Dayton Moore from Atlanta …

Astros' Lee draws ire of Carpenter  —  Benches clear after players start jawing  —  ST. LOUIS — Chris Carpenter showed his mean streak again Thursday.  —  Carpenter called out Houston's Carlos Lee after Lee popped out to shortstop in the third inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 4-1 loss to the Astros.

Mientkiewicz opts out of Minors deal  —  MIAMI — A potential left-handed veteran off the bench is no longer in the organization.  —  First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz opted out of his Minor League contract, and he again is a free agent.  The Marlins signed Mientkiewicz to a Minors deal May 5.

Top Lender to Rangers Has a Warning for Baseball  —  The top lender to the Texas Rangers has told Major League Baseball owners in a letter that the lengthy stalemate over the team's sale could lead to the team's bankruptcy or “costly, distracting and messy” litigation.