Tampa Bay's bravado grows with every win  —  NEW YORK - As early as spring training, Yankee officials were hearing industry warnings about the growing threat in the AL East.  No, it wasn't the Red Sox and their now-discredited decision to emphasize run prevention.

Beckett on DL; Wakefield in rotation  —  Josh Beckett's bad back has landed him on the 15-day disabled list.  Righthanded reliever Joe Nelson was called up from Triple A Pawtucket.  —  Tim Wakefield will take Beckett's place in the rotation and start against the Phillies Sunday.

Florida Marlins' Hanley Ramirez gets stern advice during an intervention by Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Tony Perez  —  The door closed, and Andre Dawson looked directly into Hanley Ramirez's eyes.  —  “I'm not going to say a lot, because if you say the wrong the thing to me …

Strasburg overpowering yet again … ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Stephen Strasburg had another dominant outing, giving up just three hits and striking out nine in 6 1/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday night.  —  Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 draft by the Washington Nationals …

Sox recap: Red Sox start brief trip home with win  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  THE BIG PICTURE  —  The Red Sox [team stats] took care of business last night, getting just enough of the job done with pitching and offense to top the Twins, 3-2, and open this oh-so-brief homestand on a high note.

White Sox GM: Relax, focus on details  —  Williams calls team meeting before series opener  —  CHICAGO — Where the topic of team meetings is concerned, Ozzie Guillen has followed one basic mantra since taking over the White Sox managerial reigns in 2004.  —  “Good teams win games …

Scutaro injury leads to roster move  —  Scott Schoeneweis just told the Globe he was designated for assignment.  No word on who is coming up.  More to come on this.  —  UPDATE, 11:15 p.m.: Angel Sanchez will be here tomorrow from Pawtucket and will start at shortstop according to the Sox.

Heyward's RBI double helps Braves end Reds' four-game win streak  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Jason Heyward hit an RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Atlanta Braves their answer to another Cincinnati comeback Wednesday night and lifting them over the Reds 5-4.  —  GAME REPORT: Braves 5, Reds 4

Jon Heyman>DAILY SCOOP  —  More ColumnsEmail Jon HeymanFollow Jon Heyman on  —  Inside the mess with the Marlins (cont.)  —  Of Mets' M and M boys, Manuel's the one under review  —  Mets manager Jerry Manuel is under the gun, whether it's deserved or not.

Rockies' offense asleep at the wheel in loss to Astros  —  HOUSTON — Rockies fans didn't need to witness the first leg of this road trip to cough up the exhaust fumes.  —  By the time the players arrived in their hotel rooms at 3 a.m., the week had already taken on a sense of urgency.

Gonzalez's six-RBI night helps Padres snap Dodgers' win streak  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrian Gonzalez (FSY) homered and had a career-high six RBIs, Will Venable (FSY) had four hits including a triple and two doubles, and the San Diego Padres put an emphatic end to the Los Angeles Dodgers' nine …

CECIL SOLID AS BLUE JAYS OUTLAST MARINERS  —  SEATTLE — Brett Cecil left his eye glasses back in Toronto.  He left his last, awful start there, too.  —  Cecil pitched into the seventh inning after lasting just two in his previous outing and Kevin Gregg hung on for the save Wednesday night …