LaRoche has surgery, expected back in spring  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche underwent left shoulder surgery Thursday morning at Washington Hospital Center.  The surgery was performed by Dr. Wiemi Douoguih, who performed a shoulder SLAP repair, which means major work was done inside the shoulder.

Tampa Bay Rays' plunking of Kevin Youkilis was necessary  —  ST. PETERSBURG — The result mattered.  No reason to pretend otherwise.  —  The Red Sox won the game, won the series and expanded their lead on the Rays in the American League East.  If you are a bottom-line person, that's as clear-cut as it gets.

With N.Y. in town, let Z speculation begin  —  CHICAGO — With the New York Yankees coming to town, it's only normal that some Chicago Cubs players will be under the microscope of baseball scouts and media with the trading deadline only six weeks away.  —  The one name that keeps coming up in baseball circles is Carlos Zambrano.

Yankees pregame: The Gordon era/Ranger accuses two Yankees/more from Cashman  —  We're going to see if the Brian Gordon era lasts just one day or more.  —  Brian Cashman spoke about the machinations involved in bringing the 32-year-old converted outfielder and 15-year minor-leaguer here to start today.

Angels aren't likely to find trade magic  —  For those who think highly of the 2011 Los Angeles Angels, there is good news: They're probably not going to change much.  —  Even as the Angels have scratched in the dirt for runs and struggled to stay relevant in the AL West since mid-May, they've found options are scarce.

Holliday homers to answer Nats' two blasts  —  WASHINGTON — Let Home Run Derby begin.  —  Technically two innings after stringing back-to-back home runs for the first time this season, the Washington Nationals repeated the stunt to open Thursday's series finale against the Cardinals.

Minor League Transactions: June 8-14  —  Players listed with an asterisk (*) signed minor league contracts, replacing major league pacts with the same organization.  That's a fancy way of saying the player has been optioned or outrighted to the minors.  —  Number in parentheses indicate draft round.

Saturday's game pushed back to 7:10 p.m.  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Two weeks ago, the Red Sox changed a Saturday game from night to day so that fans could watch the Bruins play in the Stanley Cup Final.  Now that the Bruins have won the Cup, the Sox are making another change this Saturday.

Nelson: Phillips a hit on Twitter  —  Cincinnati Reds second baseman using Twitter to connect with fans — and on the field  —  GLENDALE, Ariz. — It's a Friday afternoon in late March, and Rachel and Dave Zahniser sit nervously in a hotel lobby, their eyes darting, looking to the door constantly.

MLB goes back to end McCutchen's streak  —  HOUSTON — For a few minutes Thursday, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen had a 15-game hitting streak.  —  McCutchen singled in the sixth inning of a 5-4 win against the Houston Astros.  A little while later, though, Major League Baseball announced …