Rangers fan dies after 20-foot fall  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — A fan who died Thursday after falling from the outfield stands while reaching for a ball thrown by Texas Rangers All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton has been identified.  —  The victim was Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood …

Angels call up outfielder Mike Trout, 19  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels promoted one of the top prospects in baseball, outfielder Mike Trout, from Double-A Arkansas, and he'll be in Anaheim in time to play in Friday night's game against the Seattle Mariners.

Can't skip his place in Sox lore  —  Carl Yastrzemski is a recluse of sorts.  Yaz isn't one for making appearances, shaking hands, and swapping stories about the good old days of 1967.  He doesn't do many interviews and doesn't return many phone calls.  Months can go by, and you won't hear back.

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 …

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 …

Braves need some creative financing  —  The Braves, like most clubs, are near their payroll limit.  But the team was in a similar position last season, and general manager Frank Wren still made two trades.  —  In both deals — the first for Royals reliever Kyle Farnsworth and outfielder Rick Ankiel …

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.

Royals' uniform blunder sends wrong message to fans  —  Good seats remain to watch the stupidest thing the Royals have done in years, and we include here Sluggerrr shooting a fan in the eye with a hot dog and even $36 million for José Guillen.  —  This one will happen Saturday …

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.

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 …