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.

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.

Rockies, Swanner Agree On $490,000  —  The Rockies and 15th-round pick Will Swanner have agreed to terms on a $490,000 bonus.  It's the second-highest known bonus after the 10th round to date, behind Reds 12th-rounder Kyle Waldrop's $500,000.  MLB recommends a maximum bonus of $150,000 for all picks after the fifth round.

Bondy: Girardi gets lost in the shuffle  —  Curtis Granderson strikes out in the ninth inning against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Granderson is floundering in his first season in the Bronx, batting just .240.  —  Sometimes it seems Brian Cashman has brought in half the Western hemisphere …