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 …

No extra pressure for Romero with new deal  —  ANAHEIM — Cito Gaston didn't think Ricky Romero was going to feel any pressure when he took the mound Sunday against the Angels, even though the young lefty has 30.1 million reasons why his starts might carry more expectations from now on.

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 …

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 …

Twins' Slowey lifted after 7 no-hit innings  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey has tossed seven no-hit innings against the Oakland Athletics, only to watch Jon Rauch give up a hit on the second batter he faced.  —  Slowey walked three and struck out five Sunday before he was replaced …

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.

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).

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.

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 Detroit's 13-8 victory over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

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 2-0 win over the Marlins for disputing a strike call.  —  Votto took a 1-1 pitch from Anibal Sanchez …

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:

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.