Karstens pitches gem as Pirates beat Astros 4-0  —  HOUSTON (AP)—Jeff Karstens(notes) shut down the Houston Astros and pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates into a tie for first place in the NL Central.  —  Karstens threw a five-hitter and Andrew McCutchen(notes) tripled and drove in two runs …

Giants hire Jim Riggleman as a scout  —  SAN DIEGO — The San Francisco Giants have hired former Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman as a special assignment scout.  —  The move came less than a month after Riggleman abruptly resigned as Nationals manager.

Ben Zobrist's slam helps Rays beat Red Sox 9-6  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — All-Star David Price pitched six solid innings and Ben Zobrist hit his fifth career grand slam, helping the Tampa Bay Rays tighten the AL East standings with a 9-6 victory Friday night that snapped first-place Boston's six-game winning streak.

Numbers don't point to A-Rod resurgence  —  While the Yankees were busy celebrating Derek Jeter's ascension into the 3,000-hit club last weekend, a more sobering reality now confronts them in the second half.  The question isn't will the Bombers still score runs with Alex Rodriguez …

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.

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.

Prado returns from DL, hits homer to help Braves whip Nats  —  ATLANTA — Martin Prado had two hits, including a homer, in his return from five weeks on the disabled list and the Braves beat the error-prone Washington Nationals 11-1 on Friday night for the 10,000th win in franchise history.

Martin blames himself if Blue Jays knew signs  —  TORONTO — Yankees catcher Russell Martin claimed the Blue Jays were relaying signs on Thursday, Toronto skipper John Farrell said he wasn't aware of it, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi had no comment.  —  Here's one thing they all agreed on, though: Stealing signs is part of baseball.

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.

A's hold off Angels 5-3  —  OAKLAND, Calif.—Josh Willingham homered and drove in two runs, Jemile Weeks singled twice and scored, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 on Friday night.  —  Brandon McCarthy (2-5) pitched into the sixth inning and matched his season-high …

Rookie Hosmer's homer in ninth lifts Royals over Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning off Matt Capps to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 victory Friday night over Minnesota, the seventh blown save this season for the Twins' closer to match the major-league lead.

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 …

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 …

Kemp drives in 4 in Dodgers' 6-4 win  —  PHOENIX - All-Star Matt Kemp homered and drove in four runs, Clayton Kershaw pitched around a costly error in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the second half of the season with their fifth straight win, 6-4 over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.