Zimmerman to begin assignment in Class A  —  PHOENIX — Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, played in his second extended spring training game, playing four innings and going 0-for-4.  —  After the game, Zimmerman went home to Washington …

Rolen's single gives Arroyo all he needs in Reds win  —  CINCINNATI, Ohio — Scott Rolen hit a two-run single with two out in the fifth inning, sending Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.  —  Arroyo (4-5) allowed one run and five hits …

Gerrit Cole still the top choice  —  But prep outfielder Bubba Starling could rise all the way to Seattle at No. 2  —  With three days to go until the 2011 MLB draft, it seems as if the names are clearer but the order is foggier.  Picks three through five are probably the same names …

Surgery next for Dice-K; Rich Hill too?  —  BOSTON — The $103 million investment the Boston Red Sox made in Daisuke Matsuzaka took another hit when manager Terry Francona confirmed Friday that the right-hander will undergo elbow surgery.  —  The team transferred Matsuzaka from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

Quentin, Lillibridge go yard as White Sox overpower Tigers  —  CHICAGO — Carlos Quentin hit a three-run homer and Brent Lillibridge added a solo shot to help the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-4 on Friday night.  —  The White Sox ended a nine-game losing steak against the Tigers …

Carl Crawford comes through again as Red Sox beat A's 8-6  —  Carl Crawford blooped a go-ahead, two-run single to center field in the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox [team stats] ended a four-game losing streak with an 8-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

Pirates Beat Phillies 2-1 in 12 Innings  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jose Tabata hit a game-ending single with two outs in the 12th inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in a game without an extra-base hit.  —  Tabata smacked a sinking liner off of Danys Baez …

J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays slam Orioles 8-4 to halt skid  —  BALTIMORE - J.P. Arencibia hit his first career grand slam, Rajai Davis had three hits and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 on Friday night to end a two-game losing streak.  —  Carlos Villanueva (3-0) …

Source: Torre, Sabean to talk about comments  —  Joe Torre, who oversees baseball operations for Major League Baseball, plans to call Brian Sabean regarding comments the San Francisco Giants general manager made in a Thursday radio interview, a source told ESPN on Friday.

Let's play 154!  —  Shortening the season would ease players' mental and physical burdens, improve play  —  By our count — and it took a LOT of counting — you can find 158 big leaguers hanging out on somebody's disabled list.  —  And amazingly, that counts only Rich Harden ONCE.

Padres befuddled by poor play at home  —  SAN DIEGO — Two months into the season, the Padres have a marked discrepancy in offensive home and away numbers.  It's strange, which is the only answer manager Bud Black or any of the Padres players have at this point.

Pavano wins 100th career game as Twins best Royals  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carl Pavano earned his 100th career victory and Michael Cuddyer homered as the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 Friday night.  —  Pavano (3-5), who was 0-3 with a 5.28 earned-run average in six May starts, won for the first time since April 24.

Cards use long balls from Pujols, Berkman to beat Cubs  —  ST. LOUIS — Lance Berkman hit a three-run homer, Albert Pujols had a two-run shot and Jaime Garcia bounced back from the worst outing of his career to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Catcher/infielder Fox still an Oriole, for now  —  BALTIMORE — No team has shown enough interest in catcher/infielder Jake Fox, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday, to make a trade.  The Orioles will likely need the full 10 days to try and trade Fox to another team.

Experts Draft 2.0  —  Our draft writers take another crack at the first round … 1. PIRATES (Conor): It's a bit of a muddled year at the top, but my decision still came down to the two players we've had up there for most of the year: Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon and UCLA righthander Gerrit Cole.

The Shortest Possible Baseball Road Trip  —  (You can also read the results from this post in the Wall Street Journal here)  —  Every year thousands of baseball fans take long multi-city road trips to ballparks across the nation.  When planning such a road trip, a normal person would plan …

Mono forces Inge to disabled list  —  Third baseman has been struggling with bat; Santos recalled  —  CHICAGO — The Tigers have had their share of early-season injuries and maladies, but they got a new one on Friday and had to place third baseman Brandon Inge on the 15-day disabled list with mononucleosis.

Alexi Ogando raises record to 6-0, Rangers rout Indians  —  CLEVELAND - Alexi Ogando won his sixth game without a loss, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz homered in a five-run seventh inning and the Texas Rangers routed the Cleveland Indians 11-2 Friday night.  —  Ogando (6-0) held the Indians to one run and four hits in eight innings.