Branyan's 2-out, 2-run single in 9th lifts Indians  —  CLEVELAND—Russell Branyan hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning Thursday night, rallying the Cleveland Indians to a crazy 8-7 win over the Boston Red Sox.  —  Cleveland overcame three errors in one inning by third baseman Andy Marte …

Ozzie, Ken in spite club  —  It became obvious Thursday that there won't be a pretty ending.  —  After the White Sox' 3-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers, the Sun-Times was told by a team source that general manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen “almost came to blows in a heated shouting match” …

A-Rod's numbers, early exit troubling  —  Slugger invokes name of hip surgeon after leaving game early with right groin ‘cramp’ … BALTIMORE — On this date a year ago, Alex Rodriguez was hitting .234, with eight home runs, 25 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .393 and a slugging percentage of .495.

GOODEN ‘IMPRESSED’ BY PHENOM  —  Niese's fastball ran about three to four mph faster than Santana's, and his curve ball was devastating.  —  Chris Denorfia played the role of Jimmy Qualls, the journeyman who broke up Seaver's 1969 perfect game bid in the ninth inning.

Suppan on way back to Cardinals  —  Jeff Suppan is coming back to the St. Louis Cardinals.  —  He will be joining the team in Phoenix and hopes to be active early next week.  He will be signing for the pro-rated minimum, his agent Scott Leventhal said.  —  Suppan has not officially signed yet …

Keeping Score: One Game Says Little About Strasburg  —  It did not take long for declarations of greatness to start after Stephen Strasburg's debut for the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.  —  He had some impressive numbers in his 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates: 7 innings, 14 strikeouts, 4 hits, 2 earned runs and no walks.

Angels shouldn't chase first baseman  —  Morales' injury has some wondering if a move should be made, but L.A.'s not in position  —  OAKLAND — The question that seems to be hanging over the Los Angeles Angels ever since Kendry Morales went down with a grimace on top of home plate …

Cubs manager Piniella criticizes baseball analyst  —  CHICAGO—Cubs manager Lou Piniella criticized longtime Chicago baseball analyst Steve Stone for questioning how he's handling prized rookie outfielder Tyler Colvin.  —  Piniella took exception Friday to recent comments Stone …

Cleveland Indians call up star catching prospect Carlos Santana  —  CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have recalled top prospect Carlos Santos from Triple-A Columbus.  —  Santana  —  Santana is a switch-hitting catcher, who was batting .316 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs in 57 games for the Clippers.

Hamilton, Young lead Rangers past Mariners  —  ARLINGTON, Texas—Josh Hamilton homered for the fourth time in seven games, Michael Young went 3 for 4 with a homer, and the Texas Rangers won their third straight over the Seattle Mariners, 12-3 on Thursday night.

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, a long-time Rays season ticket holder, gets struck by line drive  —  ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, a Sarasota resident and long-time Rays season ticket holder, suffered a scare when he was struck in the stomach area by a line drive foul ball on the first pitch of the game Thursday.

Betemit hits 2 HRs, Royals beat Twins 9-8  —  MINNEAPOLIS—Wilson Betemit hit solo home runs from both sides of the plate and Joakim Soria picked up his 14th save in a hairy ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 9-8 on Thursday night.

Johnson gets revenge on Halladay, stifles Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Josh Johnson knew he didn't have to be perfect to beat Roy Halladay .  —  Just plenty good.  —  The Marlins ace outdueled Halladay in their perfect game rematch, pitching eight dominant innings and leading Florida …