Martinez to be placed on the disabled list  —  Victor Martinez, as the Red Sox said in their release, will not need surgery on his left thumb.  But sources told the Globe that the Red Sox will place him on the 15-day disabled list tomorrow.  —  Gustavo Molina, who was not in the lineup …

Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano will go on restricted list, undergo an evaluation  —  CHICAGO — After consulting with Major League Baseball, the players union and the agent for pitcher Carlos Zambrano, the Chicago Cubs announced on Monday a collective agreement between all parties …

Pirates end 17-game road skid, beat Cubs 2-1  —  CHICAGO—Paul Maholm pitched a season-high eight innings, Jose Tabata hit a go-ahead double in the ninth and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended a 17-game road losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

Tigers top Liriano, Twins, take over first place in AL Central  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Reliever Joel Zumaya's (FSY) painful right arm injury marred Detroit's move into first place, after the Tigers used four first-inning runs against Francisco Liriano (FSY) to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-5 on Monday night.

Giants need to get Fielder  —  Pitching could be attractive to Brewers for slugger  —  SAN FRANCISCO — There would be one way for the San Francisco Giants to dramatically change their equation, the one with fine pitching and not enough hitting.  That would be a trade for Prince Fielder …

Braves break through vs. Strasburg in seventh  —  ATLANTA — Despite the heat and humidity, Stephen Strasburg appeared to be getting stronger inning by inning as the Nationals rookie matched Braves ace Tim Hudson in a classic pitchers' duel Monday night.  —  Then came the seventh inning.

Time for ‘Big 3’ to play like it  —  Mets on Twitter  —  These 2010 Mets have ticked off a few more items from the “Prove You're Contenders List.”  —  They rebounded from a lost series against the Yankees to win consecutive sets against two strong AL contenders, the Tigers and Twins.

LEREW PICKS UP FIRST CAREER WIN AS ROYALS DOWN CHISOX  —  The Sports Network  —  Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Billy Butler drove in two runs to back Anthony Lerew's solid performance on the mound, as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox, 3-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

Cardinals' 3-run ninth beats Arizona 6-5  —  ST. LOUIS—The Arizona Diamondbacks' defense collapsed in the ninth inning, with two throwing errors allowing three runs to score in the St. Louis Cardinals' 6-5 victory on Monday night.  —  Closer Aaron Heilman threw wildly to third base trying …

Jimenez improves to 14-1 with win over Padres  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ubaldo Jimenez was perfect through three, took a no-hitter and an 8-0 lead into the sixth and was done by the end of the inning.  —  The Colorado Rockies went on to win 10-6 Monday night, supporting their ace with two-run homers …

Rolen's 300th HR leads Reds over Phillies 7-3  —  CINCINNATI—Scott Rolen hit his 300th career homer Monday night, and Johnny Cueto shut down the team that gave him an historic loss the last time they faced, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

WESTBROOK, INDIANS HAND JAYS SIXTH LOSS IN LAST EIGHT GAMES  —  CLEVELAND — Jake Westbrook pitched six solid innings and Jayson Nix's suicide squeeze bunt in the sixth scored the go-ahead run, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

Team not looking for help at shortstop  —  MILWAUKEE — With starting shortstop Tommy Manzella out for about five more weeks with a fractured left index finger, the Astros are relying on rookie Oswaldo Navarro and veteran infielder Geoff Blum to split time at shortstop and are not looking outside …