Hairston holding down hot corner  —  WASHINGTON — On his 35th birthday and with his seventh Major League club, Jerry Hairston Jr. found himself penciled into the Nationals' lineup in the No. 7 hole on Sunday against the Padres.  Hairston has been one of the club's best hitters of late.

Aaron Hill hits first slam as Blue Jays rout White Sox  —  TORONTO — Aaron Hill hit his first career grand slam, Corey Patterson added a two-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.  —  Patterson went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and has nine hits in his past two games.

Bard asks for help in finding missing friend  —  DETROIT—The first indication that Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard received that his childhood friend Matt Hill was missing came when another buddy called and asked if Hill might have come to Boston for a visit this week.

Mets' investor David Einhorn could up stake; protected in case of loss in Madoff lawsuit: source  —  The Mets' new investor has a future option to up his one-third stake to a majority share of the team in a deal that is also being structured to protect him in the event Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz …

New Hall exhibit marries history with technology  —  ‘One For the Books’ tracks stories behind game's great records  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Even baseball immortals are still enthralled by the records of the game.  That was the takeaway lesson from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday …

Rockies Designate Alfredo Amezaga For Assignment  —  The Rockies have designated Alfredo Amezega for assignment and recalled Chris Nelson from Triple-A, according to the team's Twitter feed.  Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports first tweeted that Nelson would replace Amezaga on Colorado's roster.

Marlins Beat Dodgers 6-1  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Greg Dobbs and pinch-hitter Wes Helms each drove in two runs, Gaby Sanchez doubled twice and scored twice, and the Florida Marlins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Saturday night.  —  In the middle of the fifth inning …

Pineda winning by avoiding the pull  —  Mariners pitcher is one of baseball's best at forcing hitters to go opposite field  —  You'd be forgiven if you didn't expect Michael Pineda to out-pitch his Cy Young rotation mate, Felix Hernandez, especially at the outset of his rookie season.

Captain should be cherished, not criticized  —  For much of the past year, too much of the talk around here has been about what Derek Jeter no longer can do:  —  Can't get to enough balls to his left.  —  Can't hit like he did in the clutch anymore.  —  Can't hit more than .270 anymore.

Amid rumors, Pudge wants to remain in DC  —  WASHINGTON — After Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Padres, Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez said he was not aware of the trade rumors that have been swirling around him in recent days.  —  Published reports indicated the Giants have interest …