Fielder, Weeks seek last-minute votes  —  All-Star ballots to close on Thursday at 10:59 p.m. CT  —  NEW YORK — Outfielder Ryan Braun wouldn't mind if a whole army of Brewers fans develop carpal tunnel syndrome before 10:59 p.m. CT on Thursday.  —  That's the deadline to cast votes …

Red Sox put Papi at 1st, Gonzalez in OF in Philly  —  PHILADELPHIA — As expected, David Ortiz is playing first base and Adrian Gonzalez has moved to right field for the Boston Red Sox's interleague game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.  —  After Tuesday night's game …

A League Of Its Own … By the early 1980s writer-director David S. Ward should have been a happy man.  At 29, he'd won an Oscar for writing the Robert Redford—Paul Newman con man caper The Sting.  He was at the top of his profession—the sort of bankable storyteller with whom every movie studio wanted to do business.

Mets pound Tigers again, romp 16-9 this time  —  DETROIT—Scott Hairston launched a bases-loaded triple and Ronny Paulino contributed four hits as part of another offensive barrage by the New York Mets, who beat the Detroit Tigers 16-9 on Wednesday night.  —  The Mets set a team record …

Ryan Franklin released by Cardinals  —  BALTIMORE — The Cardinals have released one-time closer Ryan Franklin.  —  The team has yet to make an announcement about a corresponding move.  This story will be updated when the move occurs.  —  Franklin (1-4, 8.46 ERA, nine homers allowed in 27.2 innings) …

No structural damage for Josh Johnson  —  MIAMI (AP)  —  An MRI exam shows Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson has no structural damage in his ailing right shoulder.  —  Johnson has been out since May 16.  His agent, Matt Sosnick, says the right-hander had an MRI on Wednesday and was examined …

Sabean shoots down rumor that Giants are talking to Dodgers about reacquiring Juan Uribe, plus other pregame notes (28)  —  UPDATE: GM Brian Sabean just called up to the press box to shoot down this rumor.  He told PR man Jim Moorehead to relay to me that he has not talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti in weeks.

Hairston day to day after taking pitch to hand  —  ANAHEIM — Jerry Hairston left Wednesday's game against the Angels in the fifth inning after a Dan Haren pitch struck him on the right hand.  Hairston writhed in pain, even dropping to a knee at one point.  He is listed as day to day with a contusion.

Carpenter, Cardinals beat Orioles 5-1  —  BALTIMORE—Chris Carpenter scattered seven hits for his second complete game of the season and Colby Rasmus homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 on Wednesday night.  —  Carpenter (3-7) threw a season-high 132 pitches …

Morrow throws seven dominant innings as Blue Jays edge Pirates  —  TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays staged a late seventh-inning rally to back an outstanding pitching performance from starter Brandon Morrow and edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Wednesday.  —  Despite entering the contest …

Ramirez's single in ninth gives Cubs win over Giants  —  CHICAGO — Pinch-hitter Aramis Ramirez singled to drive in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Chicago Cubs beat San Francisco 2-1 on Wednesday night to end the Giants' seven-game winning streak.

Former Angels infielder David Eckstein has not retired; he just chose not to play  —  David Eckstein is not playing baseball this season, but the scrappy 36-year-old infielder who helped the Angels win the 2002 World Series and won World Series MVP honors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 has not officially retired.

Ever-impressive Strasburg making his way back  —  VIERA, Fla. — It was 2:15 a.m. at the Melbourne Airport rental car counter.  The gentleman was trying to service the line of Delta passengers delayed four hours.  He looked up, recognized the customer and said, “We've had some Nationals players here at this counter.

Cubs Release Doug Davis  —  The Giants have had a lot of trouble scoring this year, so giving up ten runs to them looks especially bad, even though they're defending World Series champions.  Doug Davis did just that yesterday and today he has lost his roster spot.

Nats sign Romero to AAA contract  —  The Nationals have signed veteran left-hander J.C. Romero to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Class AAA Syracuse, according to a club source.  —  Romero, 35, was designated for assignment by the Phillies on June 16 after losing his late-inning role …

Top White Sox pick tweets of imminent signing  —  CHICAGO — Keenyn Walker is close to becoming a member of the Chicago White Sox organization ... or at least that's what his Twitter post would indicate.  —  Walker, the White Sox's top pick in the 2011 First-Year Player …