Espinosa picking up slack in the field  —  MIAMI — Danny Espinosa impressed the Nationals with his potent bat during a September callup last season, but the rookie second baseman is also turning heads with his glove.  —  The 24-year-old made several outstanding defensive plays in Saturday night's 5-2 win over the Marlins.

Jeter Finds Power Stroke, and Texas Pays  —  ARLINGTON, Tex. — Divining the key to Derek Jeter's success over 17 seasons is not difficult.  He abides by a simple credo, believing that keeping things uncomplicated is the only way to live.  As his Yankees teammates and coaches hailed his revival …

Falling BABIP  —  Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) fell through the floor this season:  —  Batting Average on Balls in Play by season.  (Hits-HR)/(AB-(HR+K)) Click for a larger image.  —  Note that it has fallen to the 1987 level, which was at the time considered an outlier year for offense.

Brad Penny keeps Blue Jays down, Tigers win 5-2  —  TORONTO — Brad Penny pitched well into the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers followed Justin Verlander's no-hitter by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Sunday.  —  Austin Jackson hit a tiebreaking home run, Jose Valverde struck …

Mike Wilson to be called up by the Mariners  —  The Mariners will make a roster move before Tuesday's games in Baltimore.  Outfielder Mike Wilson will be called up by the team.  Wilson didn't play in today's game in Tacoma, which was a little odd since he's been one of the Rainiers best hitters in recent weeks.

Sox's Konerko endures discomfort in left wrist  —  Paul Konerko hits a double against the Seattle Mariners in the fourth inning.  (Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE, US PRESSWIRE / May 8, 2011)  —  SEATTLE — Paul Konerko's sore right thumb has been well-documented, but the White Sox …

Cardinals' La Russa headed to Mayo Clinic  —  • rhummel@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8196 and DERRICK GOOLD  • dgoold@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8285 |  Loading...  Manager Tony La Russa will use today's Cardinals off day to visit the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Adrian Gonzalez Homers, Red Sox Beat Twins 9-5  —  BOSTON (AP) — Adrian Gonzalez homered, Kevin Youkilis scored four runs and Daisuke Matsuzaka settled down to pitch six innings after a rough first, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 9-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Hurdle, The Bunt, The Book And Dan Fox  —  This is in relation to Charlie's post about Hurdle deciding to bunt with McCutchen on Friday, but there are enough other points that I thought it was worth a separate FanPost.  I was in Hurdle's office and specifically asked him about the bunt situation and a bunch of other things.

Jurrjens gets offensive support as Braves best Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA — Jair Jurrjens pitched neatly into the seventh inning, Freddie Freeman, Alex Gonzalez and Eric Hinske homered, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 on Sunday night.

Kendrys Morales to visit specialist  —  Injured first baseman will not begin running, as was announced by the team Friday  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Contrary to what was announced Friday by Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, Kendrys Morales has not restarted a running program on a treadmill …

Angels rally to give Scioscia 1,000th win  —  ANAHEIM — Once the Angels recorded the final out in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Cleveland Indians at Angel Stadium, players congregated around Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who had just tallied his 1,000th career victory, with one big surprise.

Cardinals Beat Brewers Behind McClellan  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Unbeaten Kyle McClellan worked into the ninth inning to become the NL's third five-game winner and the St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen labored to get the final three outs in a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.