Francoeur wants to stay put as trade deadline approaches  —  It was Bastille Day so, naturally, Frenchy was in a feisty mood Thursday before the Royals opened their post-break schedule with the first of four weekend games against the Minnesota Twins.  —  Specifically, yes, of course …

Game 91: Red Sox at Rays  —  Hey, the Red Sox are playing again.  Here are the lineups:  —  RED SOX (55-35)  —  Ellsbury CF  —  Pedroia 2B  —  Gonzalez 1B  —  Youkilis 3B  —  Ortiz DH  —  McDonald RF  —  Saltalamacchia C  —  Navarro LF  —  Scutaro SS  —  Pitching: LHP Andrew Miller (3-0, 3.57)

New K-Rod deal removes games-finished clause  —  The Milwaukee Brewers and Francisco Rodriguez have negotiated a new structure of the reliever's contractual clause, and the end result now is that the Brewers can use K-Rod in any role — including closer — without being locked into $17.5 million deal for the 2012 season.

Owner Jeffrey Loria will consider Jack McKeon to manage Florida Marlins in 2012, promises changes to minor league system  —  Owner Jeffrey Loria just spoke to Marlins beat writers at Wrigley Field and offered his first public comments since June.  —  I'll have a story up later.

FLOYD OUTDUELS VERLANDER AS WHITE SOX ROUT TIGERS  —  DETROIT — Gavin Floyd allowed six hits into the eighth inning, outpitching Justin Verlander and leading the Chicago White Sox to an 8-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.  —  Carlos Quentin had three hits and three RBIs for the White Sox.

Mayberry Jr. drives in five as Phillies thump Mets  —  NEW YORK — John Mayberry Jr. drove in five runs to set another career best, Vance Worley pitched well enough and the Philadelphia Phillies got off to a strong start after the all-star break by beating the New York Mets 7-2 on Friday night.

Indians extend Orioles' losing streak to nine games  —  BALTIMORE — Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore homered, Lonnie Chisenhall singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning, and the Cleveland Indians defeated Baltimore 6-5 Friday night to extend the Orioles' losing streak to nine games …

Clemens gets out of a jam  —  Mistrial is Rocket's biggest victory ever  —  Call it the biggest win of Roger Clemens's career.  —  The Rocket won 354 games in the big leagues.  He won 192 games for the Red Sox, still a franchise record (along with Cy Young, which is somehow fitting).

Pence relishes All-Star experience  —  HOUSTON — Considering Hunter Pence was given an excused absence from Thursday's workout at Minute Maid Park because he played in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday in Phoenix, the right fielder got a chance to discuss his experience Friday with the Houston media.

Dempster throws eight scoreless innings as Cubs beat Marlins  —  CHICAGO — Canada's Ryan Dempster pitched four-hit ball over eight scoreless innings, and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky performance by closer Carlos Marmol to beat Florida 2-1, snapping the Marlins' season-high, six-game winning streak on Friday.

Beltran, Reyes are top names for unpredictable trading season … The trading season began rather bizarrely, with the Mets rushing to trade Francisco Rodriguez, their star high-priced closer with the scary vesting option, a new agent and a missing no-trade list.

Coors Field rolls out Wok in the Park, the first food truck inside a baseball stadium  —  ​The latest food truck to hit Denver will either have you shaking your head because the craze has gone mainstream, or nodding it for the same reason.  —  On Thursday, Aramark Corporation …

After K-Rod trade, Mets may close by committee with Bobby Parnell, Jason Isringhausen, Pedro Beato  —  It did not take long to replace Francisco Rodriguez - in the Mets' clubhouse at least.  As the team reconvened for the first time since its former fiery closer was shipped off to Milwaukee …

Pirates, Rockies interested in Twins' Slowey  —  Kevin Slowey's future with the Minnesota Twins was in question from the moment he failed to make the major-league rotation coming out of spring training.  —  Now, it's looking more likely that he will be dealt prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Latest On Extension Talks For J.J. Hardy  —  4:34pm: One holdup in the talks between Hardy and the Orioles has been concern on Hardy's part that the Orioles will trade him, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  —  4:02pm: The Orioles and Hardy are progressing on a three-year deal …

Postgame notes: “I've been thinking about my leg too much”  —  After tonight's game, Joe Girardi compared Bartolo Colon to Derek Jeter.  Both have a hard time admitting when they're hurt.  —  Colon has told the Yankees that he has recovered from a strained left hamstring …