Hip check: A-Rod's three jacks power Yanks  —  Slugger works out mechanical flaw in power display vs. Royals  —  KANSAS CITY — Alex Rodriguez might have saved the most impressive blast for the finale of his own personal power showcase, rocketing a ninth-inning drive into the scarcely-reached …

Nationals Spend Big On Solis, Cole  —  The Nationals likely will go down to the midnight deadline Monday to sign No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper, who's expected to break the record for the largest guarantee ever given to a position player in the draft ($9.5 million by Mark Teixeira from the Rangers in 2001).

Reds hope to sweep Marlins  —  Former phenom Homer Bailey makes his first big-league start in nearly three months when the Cincinnati Reds go for the sweep against the Florida Marlins in today's finale of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.  —  The Reds made it two straight wins …

Crew hopeful of signing top pick Covey  —  MILWAUKEE — Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid met with 2010 first-round Draft pick Dylan Covey and his family in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday night, but entered the final 48 hours of the signing window having yet to make a firm contract offer.

Twins take no-hitter into eighth, down Oakland 4-2  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Slowey held Oakland without a hit for seven innings and Minnesota took a team no-hitter into the eighth as the Twins defeated the Athletics 4-2 on Sunday.  —  Slowey combined with Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain and Matt Capps …

Jays, Romero agree to five-year extension  —  Left-hander inks contract worth $30.1 million on Saturday  —  ANAHEIM — The Blue Jays on Saturday signed left-hander Ricky Romero to a five-year, $30.1 million contract extension for the 2011-15 seasons with a club option for the 2016 season.

Galarraga, Avila scuffle in Tigers dugout  —  CHICAGO — Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga and catcher Alex Avila had to be separated by teammates during a dugout dispute in the second inning of Galarraga's start Sunday against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

2006 to 2010: How the New York Mets have flushed four years down the drain  —  Things have soured for the Mets since the night Carlos Beltran took strike three to end Game 7 of the 2006 NL Championship Series.  Here's a look at the embarrassments and oddities of the last four years:

Major League Baseball umpires miss 20 percent of close calls, according to “Outside The Lines” survey … This season in Major League Baseball has seemingly brought a new umpiring controversy every week, with Jim Joyce's blown call in the Armando Galarraga near-perfect game standing out.

Red Sox 3, Rangers 1  —  Lester pitches Red Sox past Rangers  —  ARLINGTON, Texas - Jon Lester [stats] pitched eight scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox [team stats] stopped the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 3-1 on a steamy Saturday night.  —  Lester (13-7) was sharp …

Votto ejected for arguing strikes  —  Second time this season first baseman thrown out in first  —  CINCINNATI — Reds first baseman Joey Votto was ejected in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Marlins for disputing a strike call.  —  Votto took a 1-1 pitch from Anibal Sanchez …

Dodgers' finances include an unusual revenue-generating plan: ‘Own to rent’  —  The team has been charging itself rent on Dodger Stadium property it owns, and the tab this year, a whopping $14 million, is far greater than what is typically paid by teams that rent their stadiums from independent landlords.