Howard, Utley power Phillies past Twins  —  PHILADELPHIA—Ryan Howard homered twice, Chase Utley also went deep and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Minnesota Twins 9-5 on Friday night.  —  Joe Blanton (2-5) threw six effective innings for the Phillies, who have won three straight and four …

Hammel stellar, resolve clear as Rockies shut out Brewers  —  Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha argues with first base umpire Larry Vanover over a changed call at first base as home plate umpire Mark Carlson, far left, and third base umpire Jeff Kellogg, far right, look on during …

Strasburg sets record for K's to start career  —  WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg set a Major League record for strikeouts in a pitcher's first three starts on Friday.  But that didn't mean a whole lot to him.  —  What meant more to the right-hander was the fact that the White Sox handed …

Slumping Yanks continue hit charade  —  Mets throw shutout as Bombers' bats get even colder during interleague homestand  —  NEW YORK — The numbers are getting ugly: Three runs and five hits on Wednesday night.  One run and four hits on Thursday.  Five hits, but no runs and 11 left on base on Friday.

HOW MANNY RAMIREZ COULD HAVE RETURNED A CONQUERING HERO  —  It could have been a night remembered for Roger Clemens' surreal return to Fenway Park, one that found the former pitcher watching Friday night's game between the Dodgers and Red Sox from the first row of the Monster Seats.

Out at the plate: Pirates dump outspoken pierogi  —  Frustrated fans pleading for something — anything — to be done to stop the Pirates' losing ways are likely to find little to cheer about in the baseball team's latest move.  —  They fired a pierogi.  —  Andrew Kurtz, 24, of New Brighton …

Michael Young means more to the Rangers than many think  —  The perception among fans of Rangers hit king Michael Young is a textbook case study in how baseball fans have changed as the game has.  —  Among Ranger fans, there are only two schools of thought: He's everything you could ever want in a player, or he's a defensive slug.

Inge helps Tigers beat Diamondbacks 7-5  —  DETROIT—Brandon Inge hit a tiebreaking RBI triple in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 on Friday night for their seventh straight win.  —  The Tigers wasted leads of 4- and 5-4 before sending Arizona …

Drew's injury puts OF in pinch  —  McDonald fields bench call again  —  Red Sox outfielders have struggled to stay on the field this season.  Now J.D. Drew is among the group.  —  In the first inning of the Red Sox' 10-6 win over the Dodgers last night, Drew hit his eighth home run of the season to provide a 3-0 lead.

Ryan confirms Rangers' interest in Oswalt  —  Club president could target Astros' ace to add pitching depth  —  HOUSTON — Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan acknowledged Friday the club has interest in acquiring ace right-hander Roy Oswalt, who last month asked the Astros to trade him to a contender.

Cliff Lee leads Mariners past Reds 1-0  —  SEATTLE—Cliff Lee struck out seven in a six-hitter and the Seattle Mariners beat Cincinnati 1-0 on Friday night to knock the Reds out of first place in the NL Central.  —  Lee (5-3) earned his fifth career shutout and first since Sept. 15 for Philadelphia against Washington.