Yanks will sit Vazquez until Friday  —  Instead of starting against Red Sox, righty will take on Mets  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees will skip Javier Vazquez's spot in the rotation for the second time in two weeks, pushing the right-hander back to Friday, May 21, when he will start against the New York Mets.

Niese leaves start early with injury  —  MIAMI — Mets starter Jon Niese left Sunday's game in the third inning due to injury.  There was no immediate word as the nature or severity of his injury.  —  The incident forced the Mets to call on reliever Hisanori Takahashi, thrusting their rotation plans in doubt.

Mets, Out of Patience, Send Perez to the Bullpen  —  MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The struggling pitcher Oliver Perez was taken out of the Mets' starting rotation and moved to the bullpen Saturday, Manager Jerry Manuel said, leaving the team in need of a starter for Wednesday's game against the Nationals in Washington.

Tigers might try Guillen in infield  —  Carlos Guillen might spend some time in the infield during his upcoming injury rehabilitation assignment, Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski told FOXSports.com on Saturday.  —  If Guillen proves that he can play the infield …

Ethier breaks bone in right pinkie  —  SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers have lost Andre Ethier at least through Sunday and possibly much longer after the hot-hitting right fielder, who leads the National League in all three Triple Crown categories, broke a small bone in the little finger …

ROCKIES ACTIVATE FRANCIS, TO START VS. NATS  —  DENVER — Rockies left-hander Jeff Francis will pitch for the first time in more than a year Sunday after being activated from the 15-day disabled list.  —  The North Delta, B.C., native will start in the final game of a four-game series with Washington.

Padres doing big things in that pitcher's ballpark  —  Run prevention.  It's a philosophy that's working very well these days . . . in San Diego.  —  When he took the job as Padres general manager over the winter, knowing how expansive Petco Park was, Jed Hoyer made it a point …

Lee puts onus on himself  —  Derrek Lee played for a team that started 16-22 and won a World Series, so he's not about to write off the 15-22 Cubs in the middle of May.  —  “There was no magic moment,” Lee said of the Florida Marlins' turnaround in 2003.  “We just kept believing in ourselves and kept playing hard.

Taking a swing for the maligned RBI  —  As baseball's world of statistical analysis has taken great leaps forward over the last several years, one of the categories that has been stomped into the ground the most has been one that used to be among the most cherished - the run batted in.

Yankees set rotation for the week  —  The Yankees have announced their rotation for the next week, with Javier Vazquez once again having his turn skipped, this time leaving the Yankees top four pitchers to face the Red Sox and Rays.  Vazquez will make his next start in the series opener against the Mets.

Blalock in, Burrell out  —  By TONY FABRIZIO  —  ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays today have designated DH Pat Burrell for assignment and promoted two-time All-Star Hank Blalock from Triple-A Durham.  —  Burrell, a high-profile free agent signing before last season, was batting .202 with two home runs …

Bryce Harper, potential No. 1 pick in the MLB draft, faces questions about his attitude, not his ability  —  HENDERSON, NEV. — You're a scout, and all you know is what you see: Face caked in eye-black and hands bare, the batter strides to home plate and carefully lays his bat down in the dirt, perpendicular to the pitcher.

Taveras DFA'd, Morse activated  —  DENVER — The Nationals designated outfielder Willy Taveras for assignment following tonight's 4-3 loss to the Rockies and announced outfielder Mike Morse will be activated off the 15-day disabled list tomorrow.  —  Taveras' time had been numbered for a while.

RALLY IN NINTH LEADS INDIANS OVER ORIOLES  —  The Sports Network  —  Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Austin Kearns belted a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Cleveland Indians rallied with eight runs in the ninth to topple the Baltimore Orioles, 8-2, in the second of three games at Camden Yards.

JOHNSON, DREW HELP ARIZONA TO OUTBURST AGAINST BRAVES  —  The Sports Network  —  Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Rodrigo Lopez threw eight strong innings and Kelly Johnson burned his former team with a homer and two RBI in Arizona's 11-1 win over Atlanta, as the Diamondbacks snapped their seven-game skid.