Sweet!  Harper's hitting streak hits 16 games  —  ATLANTA — The beat goes on for Bryce Harper.  —  The Nationals' first-round Draft pick singled in the third inning on Thursday night to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.  —  Harper lined a single to right field off Delmarva Shorebirds …

Agent puts kibosh on Royals locking up Hosmer  —  Agent Scott Boras on Thursday shot down any hopes the Kansas City Royals had of signing burgeoning star Eric Hosmer  —  to a long-term extension, telling Yahoo! Sports he expects massive increases in television revenue to change the landscape of salaries in baseball.

Beltran's 3 HRs Power Mets to 9-5 Win Over Rockies  —  DENVER (AP) — Carlos Beltran delivered three big blows and fueled a New York Mets offense that was missing some of its biggest bats.  —  Beltran hit a career-high three homers and drove in six runs to help the Mets beat scuffling Ubaldo Jimenez …

Orioles Rally to Beat Mariners 2-1 in 12 Innings  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — J.J. Hardy singled in two runs in the 12th inning Thursday night, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 for a three-game sweep.  —  After Seattle scored the game's first run in the top half of the 12th …

Bondy: Girardi hoping for BoSox boost  —  The Yankee-Red Sox rivalry never dies, but it has cooled to a hypothermic state best described as dormant.  —  That's what we get Friday, when Boston arrives in the Bronx with a sub-.500 record, a pitching staff ranked 12th in the American League and a very recent history of non-contention.

White Sox need Juan Pierre to be the repair man  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — The White Sox are going to need better defense in left field and better production at the top of the batting order if they plan to climb their way into contention in the American League Central.

Dodgers' finale in Pittsburgh canceled by rain  —  No makeup date set after delay of two hours, 22 minutes  —  PITTSBURGH — Jon Garland had no-hit stuff Thursday night, for the two innings the Dodgers-Pirates game lasted.  —  But after a rain delay of two hours and 22 minutes with the Dodgers ahead …

Selig on Dodgers: ‘The outcome is not predetermined’  —  Commissioner Bud Selig met with reporters Thursday in New York at the conclusion of baseball's quarterly owners' meeting.  Selig met on Wednesday with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who said he had impressed upon Selig the urgency …

A big relief for bullpen  —  Night off lone bright spot  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  “It's exciting,” Francona said.  “He's not going to be short on energy.  Yeah, it's OK.  I think we were kind of looking for a place to play him.”

Everything messed up for John Lackey  —  Right-hander back in major rut  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  TORONTO — This is not an easy time to be John Lackey.  Last night against the Blue Jays, he submitted his fourth horrible start in seven tries, allowing nine runs on nine hits in 62⁄3 innings.