Rangers fan dies after 20-foot fall  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — A firefighter has been identified as the Texas Rangers fan who died after falling from the stands while reaching for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton.  —  The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office …

Jose Reyes to the DL, Nick Evans recalled  —  The Mets have placed Jose Reyes on the 15 day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, retroactive to July 3.  —  To replace Reyes on the roster, the Mets recalled Nick Evans from Triple-A Buffalo.  —  Evans was with the Mets earlier …

Hall of Fame baseball manager Dick Williams dies  —  Dick Williams, the fiercely competitive, sharp-tongued Hall of Fame manager who led the Oakland Athletics to World Series titles in 1972 and 1973, died today at his Las Vegas home from what was believed to be a brain aneurysm.  He was 82.

Red Sox hit 6 homers to top Birds, reclaim first  —  BOSTON (AP)—David Ortiz(notes) and Adrian Gonzalez(notes) homered near the deepest part of Fenway Park.  —  Dustin Pedroia(notes) blasted a shot all the way out of the historic ballpark.  —  It was difficult to say which was the most impressive …

Mauer makes debut at first base  —  CHICAGO—Joe Mauer made his major league debut at first base in the Minnesota Twins game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.  —  Before he even got to play the field, Mauer hit an RBI single in the top of the first inning.

Hafner's Slam Gives Indians 5-4 Win Over Blue Jays  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Travis Hafner hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap the Cleveland's five-run rally and give the Indians a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night.  —  Hafner hit the first pitch from Luis Perez …

Jeter Gets Hit No. 2,998, but Rays Beat Yanks 5-1  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff Niemann gave up Derek Jeter's 2,998th hit but little else, B.J. Upton homered and drove in three runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 5-1 on Thursday night to start strong in a long stretch of games against their biggest division rivals.

Midseason Top 50 Prospects List  —  Here's a listing of our midseason Top 50 prospects.  Prospects have to have not used up their rookie eligibility or currently be in the big leagues to be eligible.  Also, 2011 draftees are not yet eligible. 1 Bryce Harper, of, Nationals 2 Mike Trout, of, Angels 3 Matt Moore, lhp, Rays

Weaver dominates Mariners with six-hitter in all-star tuneup  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jered Weaver pitched a six-hitter for his 11th victory, and fellow All-Star selection Howie Kendrick extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a run-scoring double in the Los Angeles Angels' 11th win in 14 games …

Undervalued Sluggers  —  Can the Milwaukee Brewers play winning baseball without playing defense?  —  Before the 14 division titles in 15 years, before Greg Maddux and Chipper Jones, no one saw the dynasty coming.  In 1990, the Atlanta Braves lost 97 games and had the worst record in baseball.

Braves collect rare four-game sweep of Rockies  —  ATLANTA (AP) — The Braves' youngest stars are some of the biggest reasons the team is putting pressure on Philadelphia in the NL East.  —  Rookie Craig Kimbrel , only 23, took the major league lead with his 27th save and two 21-year-old sluggers …