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.

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 …

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.

Jose Reyes goes on bereavement list  —  NEW YORK — New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has been placed on the bereavement list by the team after learning of the death of his grandmother Monday afternoon, the team announced.  Reyes left the team immediately to fly home to Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Guillen: Fans have short memories  —  Sox manager says they're ungrateful for 2005 championship  —  John Danks reacts after he gave up a grand slam to Toronto's Aaron Hill in the first inning.  (FRED THORNHILL, REUTERS / May 29, 2011)  —  TORONTO — Ozzie Guillen began Sunday by firing …

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.

Bautista, Danks exchange verbal barbs in Jays' blowout  —  TORONTO — John Danks was taking a beating.  Jose Bautista missed a pitch he thought he should have clobbered.  And then, for a moment, sparks flew between the two.  —  The Toronto Blue Jays were leading Danks and his Chicago White Sox 9-2 …

Ranking Baseball's Best Ballparks  —  I'm working on an article about the New York Mets — but that subject is perhaps too depressing for a beautiful Memorial Day weekend.  —  The article, in any event, will focus on the Mets' attendance and whether there are any signals that the club's off …

Bullpen help a hot commodity  —  Relief pitchers are viewed by many as the most volatile assets in baseball.  —  That remains the case now, maybe more than ever before.  And that is why relievers will again be among the most desired - and fickle - commodities at the trade deadline.

It's time to apologize for doubting Orioles' Wieters  —  Here's today's question: When do we all start apologizing to Matt Wieters?  —  When do all the critics who called the Orioles' young catcher a bust admit: “OK, we were wrong?”  —  When do all the fans who blasted him on talk radio …

Verlander helps Tigers earn split with Red Sox  —  DETROIT—Justin Verlander took a shutout into the eighth inning as the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 3-0 to get a split of Sunday's day-night doubleheader.  —  Verlander (5-3) allowed four hits and walked two in 7 2-3 innings, throwing a career-high 132 pitches.