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.

GAME 34: Yankees vs. Charlotte Knights  —  feat.  Romulo Sanchez rhp (0-2, 6.48)  —  Charlotte  —  Brent Lillibridge ss  —  Jordan Danks cf  —  Dayan Viciedo 1b  —  Tyler Flowers dh  —  Stefan Gartrell rf  —  Josh Kroeger lf  —  C.J. Retherford 2b  —  Donny Lucy c  —  Javier Colina 3b

A chance to change, but a familiar ending  —  The Grapes of Wrath or the Wrath of Grapes?  —  Only the Bruins could lose a 3-0 lead twice in the same series.  —  Only the Bruins could lose a Game 7 on a power-play goal after getting called for too many men on the ice.  —  Are you kidding me?

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 …

Mr. Perfect: Braden deals next with Angels  —  A whirlwind week that commenced with the 19th perfect game in Major League history and has included appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Early Show” and a regional cover of Sports Illustrated will come to a close on Friday for Dallas Braden.

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 …

PRADO'S NINTH-INNING HIT LEADS BRAVES OVER DIAMONDBACKS  —  The Sports Network  —  Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Martin Prado lined a two-run single down the right field line in the bottom of the ninth inning, boosting Atlanta to a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks in yet another horrible showing for Arizona's bullpen.

Dodgers' Rafael Furcal's return is delayed  —  The shortstop and leadoff hitter still is being bothered by his injured left hamstring, and Manager Joe Torre says it could be a few days before Furcal will be able to play.  —  Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, in an exhibition game against Cleveland …

David Ortiz heats up  —  Two-homer game lifts average over .200  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  DETROIT - David Ortiz [stats]' first home run last night went an unscientific 450 feet in distance, a Ruthian shot.  —  The next one went a more modest, but still impressive, 394 feet.

Ortiz enjoys the laser show  —  David Ortiz, as you might expect, was in a good mood tonight.  —  Question: “Can you go over those two at-bats?”  —  Ortiz: “Fastball.  Gone.”  —  Asked to expand a bit on that answer, Ortiz smiled.  —  “Yeah, I'm feeling good.  Swinging the bat, seeing the ball and hit it, my man.

Vizquel puts away glove against Royals  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Omar Vizquel is known for his slick fielding, winning 11 Gold Glove awards and posting the highest fielding percentage among all shortstops.  —  Now, he can call himself a designated hitter, too.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Baseball Players Love Justin Bieber  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  CHICAGO — Fans in Chicago might have been a bit surprised last week when the White Sox's Mark Teahen stepped to the plate against Kansas City.  —  Not only did Justin Bieber throw out the first pitch, but the teen sensation's hit …

Marlins 2, Mets 1: At Least It Was Quick  —  If you like short games and pitcher's duels, tonight's game was for you.  If you like offense and intelligent game management you might want to delete this one from the DVR.  After just 2.5 hours of baseball, Fernando Nieve uncorked a wild pitch …