Cards brawl with Reds, take division lead  —  Yadier Molina jawed with Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips in the first inning Tuesday night, sparking a bench-clearing altercation, and the Cardinals followed their catcher's lead to an 8-4 victory that moved St. Louis back into first place in the NL Central.

Pedroia shooting for Tuesday return  —  Breaking news here from Toronto.  Dustin Pedroia is on track to rejoin the Red Sox one week from today.  The Laser Show is back on.  —  Pedroia had a successful workout at the Rogers Centre this afternoon, running at nearly full speed.

Seattle's Hernandez Ks 13 in 2-0 win over Oakland  —  SEATTLE—Felix Hernandez scattered five hits over eight innings and struck out a career-high 13 to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.  —  David Aardsma took over in the ninth for Hernandez (8-9), who threw 110 pitches.

Mets' Beltran clears waivers  —  Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran cleared trade waivers on Monday, major-league sources told FOXSports.com.  —  The Mets are now technically able to trade Beltran, just as they were prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

Nationals reinstate Strasburg from DL  —  WASHINGTON (AP)  —  Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg is back from his first trip to the disabled list.  —  The Nationals have reinstated the rookie from the 15-day DL so he can start against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday night.  —  He last pitched July 21.

Big ninth inning gives Braves 4-2 win over Astros  —  HOUSTON—Brooks Conrad's two-run homer in the ninth inning powered the Atlanta Braves to a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.  —  The Braves were trailing 2-1 after the Astros scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning off Atlanta errors …

Thome, Mauer help Twins topple White Sox, regain first in AL Central  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Jim Thome (FSY) hit his 579th homer, Joe Mauer (FSY) had three more hits and the Minnesota Twins took sole possession of the AL Central lead by beating the Chicago White Sox 12-6 on Tuesday night.

Ethier leads Dodgers over Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA—Andre Ethier had four hits, scored four runs and reached base six times, and Casey Blake and Jay Gibbons hit home runs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 15-9 battering of the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

Let's face it, Grandy's no Johnny Damon  —  Yankees outfielder booed as Red Sox salvage series split, playoff hopes in the Bronx … Damon, that is.  —  In a moment fit for Johnny Damon no matter what side of the rivalry he was on, his Yankeereplacement, the underwhelming Curtis Granderson …

Burnett's highs and lows in 2010  —  William Perlman/The Star-Ledger/US Presswire  —  It will either be a smile or a grimace for A.J. Burnett, whose starts in 2010 have been rather inconsistent  —  Yankees starter A.J. Burnett is having a strange season.

Strasburg roughed up in return  —  Stephen Strasburg returned from his first trip to the disabled list and turned in the worst start of his sometimes-spectacular rookie season.  —  Washington's prized right-hander allowed a career-high six earned runs in a career-low 4 1-3 innings Tuesday night …

Bo is no beau as girlfriend is hit by foul ball  —  HOUSTON — A young female Astros fan got a painful lesson in chivalry Monday night at Minute Maid Park.  —  The woman, identified only as Sarah, was struck on the right arm by a foul ball off the bat of Chris Johnson in the fourth inning …

Aging ‘El Duque’ aims for one more shot in majors  —  VIERA, Fla.—Orlando Hernandez travels to road games now in charter buses.  Private jets, luxury hotels and four-course meals don't exist here.  —  Not in the rookie league.  —  Games are played in mostly empty ballparks and even a four …

A Minor report  —  Mike Minor throws a four-seam fastball against the Mets in Spring Training, March 3, 2010.  (Icon/SMI)  —  Though I've always been interested in pitch grips, you may have recently noticed that fascination extending to my articles here at the Hardball Times.