A-Rod has slight tear in knee, could miss a month  —  NEW YORK—New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a slight tear in the cartilage of his right knee and was deciding on the best course of action heading into the All-Star break.  —  Yankees manager Joe Girardi revealed details of the injury at a press conference Saturday.

Dodgers fire Steve Garvey  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers have fired former first baseman Steve Garvey from their marketing and community-relations department, Garvey confirmed to 710 ESPN Radio on Friday.  —  The move appears to be a reaction to Garvey having made public his desire …

Fan requires stitches after being struck by Josh Hamilton foul ball  —  One day after the unspeakable tragedy that left all of us saddened and shaken, Josh Hamilton(notes) was involved in another scary incident during the Texas Rangers 8-5 win over the Oakland A's.

Papi, Gregg involved in Fenway fisticuffs  —  BOSTON — Both the Red Sox and Orioles saw their benches clear during a Friday night game at Fenway Park, ending in a short brawl between David Ortiz and Baltimore closer Kevin Gregg.  —  Gregg threw three straight pitches inside to Ortiz …

Hamels suffering from poison oak  —  PHILADELPHIA  —  For a guy in extreme discomfort, Phillies All-Star left-hander Cole Hamels pitched pretty well while suffering from poison oak on both his legs.  —  Hamels told FOXSports.com Friday night that he contracted poison oak while fishing …

Olney's Latest: Choate, Bell, Isringhausen, K-Rod  —  In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney notes that while the market for right-handed relief pitching is bountiful, the market for lefties is pretty thin.  The Nationals will talk about Sean Burnett but the Cubs …

Bothered by Dodgers' mess, Ethier may be thinking of Red Sox … Dodgers players generally deny that the team's ongoing financial troubles (a.k.a. the McCourt mess) are affecting them.  But at least star right fielder Andre Ethier is said by several sources around the team to be unhappy with what's going on with the last-place team.

Ramirez leads Marlins past Astros  —  MIAMI — Hanley Ramirez continued his recent torrid hitting with three hits and three RBIs and Javier Vazquez pitched seven solid innings as the Florida Marlins defeated the Houston Astros 6-3 on Friday night.  —  Florida broke a 2-2 tie and took the lead …

Gordon Beckham sorry for gay slur, but he should know better  —  Gordon Beckham (right) scratched “GETZ IS GAY” in the dirt Monday at U.S. Cellular Field as a goof on his friend Chris Getz of the Kansas City Royals.  Beckham apologized on Friday.  Getty Images

Red Sox agree to deals with Dominican prospects Flores, Romero  —  The Red Sox have agreed to terms with a pair of 16-year-old Dominican prospects, according to team Senior Vice President of Player Personnel and International Scouting Craig Shipley.  Shortstop Raymer Flores and right-hander Deoscar Romero …

Melvin looking to upgrade roster before deadline  —  MILWAUKEE — With the non-waiver Trade Deadline just over three away, Brewers scouts departed Miller Park on Friday with their assignments in hand.  But chatter among general managers has been quiet, Brewers GM Doug Melvin said.

Games of the Day  —  The Rays try to gain on the Yankees again as they send Jeremy Hellickson against Freddy Garcia.  Hellickson has a tendency to give up home runs, which might be a problem against a power hitting team like the Yankees.  Garcia allowed seven of his nine home runs in Yankee Stadium …