Varitek injury prompted trade for Cash  —  WBZ's Dan Roche is reporting that Jason Varitek has a leg injury — possibly a broken foot — and will miss 4-6 weeks.  —  Working now to try and confirm that.  That scenario would explain Kevin Cash being on his way to Boston.

Molina trade could pave way for another deal  —  More catching for Posey allows Giants to pursue infielder  —  DENVER — Potentially, trading Bengie Molina does more for the Giants than begin Buster Posey's much-anticipated tenure as the team's primary catcher.

Zimmerman hits sac fly, Nats beat Mets 2-1  —  WASHINGTON—Ryan Zimmerman hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, giving the Washington Nationals a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets on Thursday night.  —  Pinch-hitter Willie Harris started the decisive rally with one out in the ninth …

Yanks' Sabathia wins 10th thanks to A-Rod's 2-run home run  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez (FSY) hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and CC Sabathia (FSY) won his sixth straight start, leading the New York Yankees past the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Pirates beat beaten-up Phillies 3-2 behind rookie  —  PITTSBURGH—Daniel McCutchen became the second Pittsburgh rookie in as many days to win for the first time this season, pitching into the sixth inning as the Pirates beat the injury-thinned Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Thursday night.

Wolf gets 1st win at Busch to lead Brewers  —  ST. LOUIS—Randy Wolf allowed one run over 6 1-3 innings and Prince Fielder hit one of three Milwaukee home runs to lead the Brewers to a 4-1 victory over St. Louis on Thursday night.  —  The Brewers, who have won eight of their last 11, lead the National League with 99 homers.

Cahill, Sweeney lead Athletics past Orioles 8-1  —  BALTIMORE—Trevor Cahill pitched seven innings of four-hit ball to earn his seventh straight win, and the Oakland Athletics got four hits from Ryan Sweeney in an 8-1 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

Chase Utley of Philadelphia Phillies to miss eight weeks following surgery  —  Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will be out at least eight weeks after having surgery on his injured right thumb, Phillies athletic trainer Scott Sheridan said.  —  The operation was performed Thursday …

MRI shows Manny Ramirez has hamstring inflammation  —  LOS ANGELES — Manny Ramirez underwent an MRI on Thursday in Phoenix that showed some inflammation in his injured right hamstring, the Dodgers announced.  —  Ramirez, who was hurt in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Giants, was feeling better …

Delcarmen headed to disabled list  —  Via a Major League source, the Globe's Nick Cafardo is reporting that Red Sox righthander Manny Delcarmen will be placed on the disabled list with a right forearm strain.  —  No word yet on who the team will be calling up for tomorrow night's game against Baltimore.

Image, sometimes, is everything  —  Bob Ryan was just on WEEI's Dale and Holley Show and made a great point.  —  If Alex Rodriguez broke his foot, cast aside his crutches and took grounders from his knees in the infield a few days later, he would be universally ripped as being a glory-seeking fraud.

If piece fills need, White Sox could make deal  —  GM Williams willing to do what it takes ‘within reason’  —  CHICAGO — The big board often talked about by White Sox general manager Ken Williams, featuring the club's outlook for the next three years, has not been viewed by anyone outside the organization.