Source: Clubs contacting Sox on Lowell  —  BOSTON — A Red Sox source ruled out any possibility of Mike Lowell going to the Los Angeles Angels in the wake of first baseman Kendry Morales going down with a broken ankle suffered while celebrating a walk-off grand slam over the weekend.  —  Lowell

Five years ago, the Washington Nationals were on top of the world  —  The closer is in the capital of California, awaiting a midday, midweek special between the homestanding Sacramento River Cats and his own Tacoma Rainiers.  The would-be ace rises each morning in his home town …

Omar Infante's RBI single carries Braves past Phillies  —  ATLANTA — Omar Infante came in for injured Chipper Jones and lined a two-out, run-scoring single in the eighth inning to back Derek Lowe's best outing of the season, leading the Atlanta Braves to their eighth straight win …

Mets too gutless to stand up to Ollie  —  By now, everyone knows the Mets are engaged in a to-the-death war with Oliver Perez, the kind that will produce no truce.  Perez, acting on his agent Scott Boras' instructions, continues to refuse an assignment to the minor leagues, daring the Mets to eat the final $20 million of his contract.

Suns slugger Mike Stanton performs for Florida Marlins' brass  —  The 20-year-old phenom hits 19th and 20th homers of season as Jacksonville edges Carolina … Box score  —  Jacksonville Suns information  —  Jacksonville Suns website  —  Full 2010 schedule  —  Ticket Information

Plenty of tight races for NL All-Star spots  —  Pujols, Utley have big leads, but other positions up for grabs  —  Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols and Phillies second baseman Chase Utley hold sizable leads at their positions, but the right side of the infield currently serves …

Pirates among teams after elite Mexican prospect  —  Heredia, 15, is tall righty, one of best in coming international class  —  The Pirates are one of several teams pursuing elite Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia, according to a source in that country.

WESTBROOK SOLID AS TRIBE EDGE TIGERS  —  The Sports Network  —  Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Jake Westbrook pitched 7 2/3 stellar innings to lift the Cleveland Indians to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game AL Central series at Comerica Park.

IronPigs snap six-game losing streak in Toledo  —  TOLEDO, Ohio — Perhaps the IronPigs should consider playing all their games in the morning.  —  Neil Sellers' first Triple-A home run highlighted a nine-run outburst for Lehigh Valley over the first two innings, and four relievers combined …

Saltalamacchia moving past throwing issue  —  Catcher confident he will soon be back in the big leagues  —  OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who three weeks ago had a terrible time simply throwing a baseball back to the pitcher, said he feels like his problems …

Cameron OK; Beckett to rest 10 days  —  Mixed bag of news at Fenway.  For one, Mike Cameron saw a specialist at Mass General this morning after feeling soreness the last couple of days on the opposite side of where he's been recuperating from a lower abdominal strain.

Sox blow lead in 9-6 setback  —  Rangers chase Buehrle in 6th inning  —  White Sox starter Mark Buehrle allowed 12 of the Rangers' 19 hits.  (Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune / June 1, 2010)  —  Mark Buehrle survived a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, two White Sox base runners advanced …

Memories Are Forever  —  Our friend Todd Drew passed away almost a year-and-a-half ago.  In the days after his death, I coped with the sadness by staying busy.  I didn't want to sit with the pain.  We talked about Todd on the site as the Banter sat shiva.  What can we do?

Orioles, it's time to let Trembley down gently  —  Manager should be allowed to go out as quickly and painlessly as possible  —  Dave Trembley is trying to look like none of this is bothering him, but you can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.  —  This job is eating him alive.

Adam LaRoche's Trade Value  —  The Diamondbacks are 10.5 games out of a playoff spot and they aren't scheduled to play a team with a losing record for more than a month.  If you suspect they might become sellers, you're not alone.  As ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports, executives expect the D'Backs to move payroll early this year.

Umpire crew chief West: Call was right, Rays are wrong  —  Veteran umpire crew chief Joe West told the Times after Tuesday's game that home plate umpire Angel Hernandez was absolutely right in not granting Carlos Pena a timeout, and that the Rays were wrong in saying the call was made due to efforts to speed up games.