Griffey Jr. announces his retirement from game  —  Griffey Jr. ends historic career ranked 5th on all-time home run list with 630  —  SEATTLE, Wash. — After 22 seasons, 630 home runs and a highlight reel of catches, Seattle sports icon Ken Griffey Jr. has announced his retirement from professional baseball in a statement today.

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 …

Sherrill struggles in first rehab appearance  —  Reliever allows two runs in one inning at Class A  —  LOS ANGELES — George Sherrill was greeted by Class A hitters with two singles and a double Tuesday in his first rehab start with Inland Empire.  Sherrill allowed two runs in his one inning of work …

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.

Minor League Transactions  —  Check out the Transactions Glossary for the key to deciphering the various inactive lists presented here.  —  An asterisk (*) denotes an instance of a player agreeing to terms on a minor league contract with an organization with which he already had a major league agreement.

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 …

Cardinals Close To Completing $1.5 Million Deal With Top Dominican Arm  —  One of the best available international arms might be bringing his high-90s fastball to St. Louis, which agreed to terms with Dominican righthander Carlos Matias for $1.5 million.  —  The Cardinals have Matias under contract …

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 …

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.

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 …