Bob Sheppard, longtime Yankee Stadium announcer, dies at 99  —  Longtime New York Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard died early Sunday morning.  —  Sheppard died at his Baldwin, N.Y., home.  He was 99.  —  Sheppard became the PA announcer at the old Yankee Stadium in 1951.

Sources: O's, Showalter close to deal  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  The Orioles are close to terms with Buck Showalter to become the team's manager, major-league sources said Sunday.

Bagwell named Astros hitting coach  —  HOUSTON — Former Houston Astros star Jeff Bagwell has taken over as Houston's hitting coach after the team fired Sean Berry.  —  General manager Ed Wade said Sunday that Berry became “a victim of circumstances” as the Astros offense has sputtered this season.

Jeter's salary drive and other key N.Y. baseball issues of second half  —  The Yankees refused to enter extension talks with Derek Jeter last offseason because, they insisted, it was their policy to wait until a contract ended before negotiating a new one.  —  That was a good alibi.

Cahill helps Athletics down Angels  —  The Sports Network  —  Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Trevor Cahill threw seven innings and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer as the Oakland Athletics took a 5-2 win over the LA Angels of Anaheim in the finale of a three-game set.

Cuban will make pitch  —  Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is taking another run at buying a Major League Baseball team.  —  Cuban has emerged as a bidder for the Texas Rangers, joining forces with former sports agent Dennis Gilbert and Texas businessman Jeff Beck to make a play …

Phillies head into break with four-game sweep of Reds  —  The Sports Network  —  Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Cole Hamels tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings, while Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge finished off the shutout and Philadelphia's four-game sweep of Cincinnati with another 1-0 decision.

Santana, Mets beat Braves 3-0 to avoid sweep  —  NEW YORK—Johan Santana saved the Mets from a sweep with another spotless outing and rookie Ike Davis hit his latest titanic home run in New York's 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.  —  Alex Cora and pinch-hitter Josh Thole delivered RBI singles …

Twins salvage series finale with Tigers  —  The Sports Network  —  Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-3 with a two-run double and scored a run, as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Comerica Park.

Larry Beinfest: It's “hard to foresee” current Florida Marlins roster getting on a hot streak  —  Marlins baseball ops president Larry Beinfest just spoke with reporters about the first half of the season.  I'll have story on his comments later but here's a quick snapshot.