Ryan Howard gets help to beat Nationals again, 5-4  —  WASHINGTON - Roy Halladay beat the Washington Nationals for the 10th straight time, thanks to some help from Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez.  —  Halladay (7-3) allowed 10 hits and four runs over 7 innings, striking out five without a walk.

Cole goes No. 1 in second mock  —  The UCLA right-hander hit 101 mph on Friday, and goes first overall  —  One change at the top can wreak havoc with the rest of the projection, which is what happened here; six or seven picks in the top 10 would change if the Pirates don't do what I'm projecting here at No. 1 overall.

Kyle Phillips' first homer lifts Padres past Braves  —  ATLANTA - Pinch-hitter Kyle Phillips broke a 2-all tie in the 10th inning with his first career home run and the San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 Monday for their third straight win.  —  Phillips, a rookie with a .167 average …

Keppinger, Towles Lift Astros Over Cubs 12-7  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Jeff Keppinger and J.R. Towles homered and the Houston Astros rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs 12-7 on Monday afternoon.  —  Clint Barmes and Hunter Pence also added back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to help the Astros ended a three-game losing streak.

There was another fire at Dodger Stadium this morning  —  On Saturday night there was a small fire in a storage room at Dodger Stadium that caused smoke to be visible from the stands and required that a bunch of fans be moved from the upper decks along the first base line to other seats.

Phillies option Worley to Lehigh Valley  —  WASHINGTON — The Phillies optioned right-hander Vance Worley to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.  —  They are expected to make a successive move Tuesday to replace him on the roster.  —  Worley was -1 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts since joining …

Florida Marlins Hanley Ramirez, in worst pain of his life, trying to avoid a first stint on disabled list  —  Hanley Ramirez, the Marlins' three-time All Star shortstop. has never been on the disabled list and he doesn't want to go on the disabled list.  —  But he said the discomfort …

Tigers top Twins 6-5 after runner allowed to score  —  DETROIT—Alex Avila's double in the eighth inning that appeared to hit a fan in the stands down the left-field line scored Jhonny Peralta from first base and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5 Monday.

Ichiro needs to show leadership with more hustle  —  In a batting slump, star also seems to be passive in the field  —  Leading off the 11th inning of another in a series of remarkable Mariners wins Saturday night, catcher Miguel Olivo threw himself at first base, diving hard like a fullback at the goal line, beating the throw.