BOX SCORE  —  “The players you talk to say he is the best setup man in the game,” Damon said of his former teammate and housemate with the Yankees.  “He has opened some eyes.”  —  Scheduled to work in front of Joba Chamberlain and Soriano when the season opened, Robertson was pushed …

LAPD exonerates suspect in Bryan Stow beating, source says [Updated]  —  Los Angeles police have arrested two men on suspicion of beating baseball fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium and have concluded the suspect they took into custody in May was not responsible, a law enforcement source familiar …

Danny Duffy: second-half breakout candidate  —  All stats current through July 21.  —  Royals |  SP |  1 percent Yahoo ownership  —  YTD: 4.58 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.8 K/BB, 41.1% GB%  —  Oliver ROS: 4.89 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 2.1 K/BB

Verlander, Peralta leads Tigers to win over Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Verlander threw eight dominant innings, Jhonny Peralta drove in three runs with three hits and the Detroit Tigers beat Minnesota 6-2 on Thursday for their 10th straight win over the Twins.

Will Cubs take hit on Alfonso Soriano?  —  The Chicago Cubs would be willing to absorb a high percentage of left fielder Alfonso Soriano's contract if the right trade offer came along, a source familiar with the situation told ESPNChicago.com.  —  Soriano has more than $60 million remaining …

Champions Japan Threaten WBC Boycott Over Revenue  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - Champions Japan may boycott the next World Baseball Classic (WBC) if they are not paid a greater share of the tournament revenue, the players' union said on Friday.  —  The union planned to negotiate with Major League Baseball …

Ian Kennedy wins 11th, Diamondbacks beat Brewers 4-0  —  PHOENIX — Ian Kennedy gave up four hits over seven innings to earn his 11th victory and the Arizona Diamondbacks got home runs from Justin Upton, Miguel Montero and Kelly Johnson to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 on Thursday night and split the four-game series.

Johnny Damon Tells MLB Network He Would Prefer to Enter the Hall of Fame as a Royal  —  Tonight on MLB Network Johnny Damon did a pregame interview with Matt Vasgersian.  The interview touched on the end of Damon's career, and if he ever thinks about getting close to the Hall of Fame.

Will run-starved Mariners move pitching for offense?  —  The Mariners, mired in a 12-game losing streak with the worst offense in baseball, aren't in a position to declare that vast numbers of their players are “untouchable.”  —  Indeed, many rival executives believe only three players …

Braves hit three homers, beat Rockies  —  DENVER — Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman each homered and had two hits and the Atlanta Braves overcame a shaky start by Tommy Hanson to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-6 Thursday.  —  Brooks Conrad homered and Nate McLouth had two hits apiece for Atlanta …

Theo Epstein: Red Sox would like to lock up Jacoby Ellsbury with a long-term deal  —  Theo Epstein did an interview on WEEI this morning.  There were three notable answers.  —  On signing Jacoby Ellsbury long term: “Yeah, I think with all of our young players that we see as core members …