Phillies acquire Hunter Pence  —  PHILADELPHIA — Hunter Pence is adding his big bat to a pennant race.  —  Pence  —  Philadelphia is counting on its latest All-Star acquisition from Houston to do what Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt did before him — help take the team with the best record in baseball deep into the postseason.

Rockies waiting for a decision on Jimenez  —  Ubaldo Jimenez is a Rockie — for now.  But other teams are ready to snatch him up.  —  The Denver Post  —  SAN DIEGO — Ubaldo Jimenez never thought it would come to this.  When he jogs onto the mound tonight at Petco Park, it could be for the last time as a Rockie.

TEAMS STILL ON BEDARD DESPITE BRUTAL START  —  Mariners left-hander Erik Bedard, in his first start since June 27, retired just four of the 11 batters he faced, permitting three hits and four walks while striking out two before leaving with his team trailing the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-0 …

Dodgers prepared to trade Kuroda  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers continue to work toward a deal to give Hiroki Kuroda a chance for postseason glory, general manager Ned Colletti said Friday.  —  “I want to do what's good for him, what he's comfortable with, if it can help us,” said Colletti.

Smith: Ubaldo is more A.J. than answer  —  There was a 1-hour, 49-minute rain delay to the start the Bombers' game against Baltimore at Yankee Stadium Friday night.  —  Unlike the two rain delays that derailed CC Sabathia's potential perfect game on Tuesday night, no one anxiously awaited …

Brewers Acquire Jerry Hairston Jr.  —  The Brewers acquired infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. from the Nationals for Double-A outfielder Erik Komatsu today, the teams announced.  —  Hairston, 35, gives the Brewers additional depth at second base in the wake of Rickie Weeks' injury …

Floyd's pitching sends White Sox to victory over Red Sox  —  CHICAGO — Gavin Floyd outpitched Tim Wakefield, A.J. Pierzynski hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Friday night.  —  Chicago's seventh straight victory over Boston …

Tigers Acquire Doug Fister, David Pauley  —  10:40am: Larry Stone of the Seattle Times tweets that the Mariners will also get a player to be named later, and it could be a “pretty significant name.”  The Tigers may make one more trade before tomorrow, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.

Reynolds and Lee homer as Orioles beat Yankees  —  NEW YORK — Jeremy Guthrie shut down the New York Yankees for seven innings, perhaps driving up his price in a trade, and the Baltimore Orioles got homers from Mark Reynolds and Derrek Lee in a 4-2 victory Friday night.

Hammel helps Rockies top Padres 3-2  —  SAN DIEGO—Jason Hammel listened to some smart advice, and it paid off in a big way.  —  Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night.