Righty reliever Nelson might retire  —  BOSTON — With Jonathan Papelbon back on the roster on Friday, the Red Sox designated veteran righty Joe Nelson for assignment.  Nelson (9.72 ERA in eight outings) admitted he knew the move was coming because of his ineffectiveness.

Rockies' Jimenez weathers storm for 12th win  —  DENVER—Ubaldo Jimenez pitched through rain and problems with his command to become baseball's first 12-game winner as the Colorado Rockies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 on Friday night in an interleague game twice stalled by bad weather before being called after six innings.

Diamondbacks brass keeping options open to turn team around … The Diamondbacks' honchos met much of Thursday, and they are meeting at length again today.  So far, they all can agree on one thing: there's a lot to talk about.  —  Hard as it is for Arizona's baseball leaders or anyone else to believe …

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 …

Red Sox-Phillies game updates  —  Top 9th: Red Sox 12, Phillies 2  —  Game over.  Actually this game ended after one inning when the Sox scored five, followed by four more in the second inning and three in the third.  A 17-hit Sox attack and a strong 7 innings by John Lackey …

Ryan's 3-run homer lifts Cards over D-backs 5-2  —  PHOENIX—Brendan Ryan hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.  —  Ryan's drive ruined an otherwise …

PINEIRO AND KENDRICK LEAD ANGELS IN POUNDING OF DODGERS  —  The Sports Network  —  Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Joel Pineiro threw his third complete game of the season while Howie Kendrick went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, as the Angels crushed the Dodgers, 10-1, in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Lincecum gets back on track for powerful Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO—Pat Burrell hit a go-ahead two-run homer in his Giants home debut back in his native Bay Area, helping Tim Lincecum end a four-start winless streak and lead San Francisco past the Oakland Athletics 6-2 on Friday night in the Bay Bridge Series.

Liriano out-duels Hudson as Twins beat Braves 2-1  —  MINNEAPOLIS—Francisco Liriano struck out a season-high 11 batters to edge Tim Hudson in a dazzling pitchers' duel as the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Friday night.  —  Liriano (6-3) allowed five hits in eight innings …

Sanchez & Sanchez lead Marlins past Rays 14-9  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Anibal Sanchez pitched seven solid innings and Gaby Sanchez homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs Friday night, leading the Florida Marlins to a 14-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of the Citrus Series.

Foltynewicz, Astros reach deal on bonus  —  The Astros have reached an agreement on a signing bonus with first-round Draft pick Mike Foltynewicz worth $1.3 million, his advisor Bobby Witt told MLB.com on Friday.  —  Foltynewicz, the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher the Astros selected …

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” …