James Loney's future in L.A. at risk  —  Once the cornerstone of the Dodgers' future, an early exit may be in the cards … SAN DIEGO — It was the top of the seventh inning of a game most of the baseball world ignored, and the chess match was just beginning.

Cubs' 7-6 Win Completes 4-Game Sweep of Pirates  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Carlos Pena hit one of Chicago's three home runs and walked with the bases loaded during a three-run eighth-inning rally as the Cubs won their season-high fifth straight, a 7-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.

Padres should trade Bell in August  —  Three options remain for the Padres with closer Heath Bell, none of them appealing:  —  1) Sign Bell to a contract extension, which the team has declined to do even though Bell has said he is willing to accept a steep discount.

Blue Jays call up Brett Lawrie  —  Canadian infielder Brett Lawrie will soon make his long-awaited debut with the Toronto Blue Jays.  —  The team selected his contract from Triple-A Las Vegas shortly after the Jays dropped a 7-6, 12-inning decision to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon.

Jays relievers cough up late leads, Rays win in extras  —  The Sports Network  —  St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Robinson Chirinos singled home the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift Tampa Bay over Toronto, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Rob Dibble will not shut up about Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals  —  Fired as the Nationals' television analyst in the middle of last season after saying Stephen Strasburg should “stop crying” and “suck it up” to play through what proved to be a torn elbow ligament that required Tommy John surgery …

MLB investigating Alex Rodriguez's reported involvement in high-stakes, illegal poker games  —  Major League Baseball wants A-Rod to show his cards about whether he played in illegal poker games, officials said Wednesday.  —  MLB investigators and the FBI are looking into a supermarket tabloid report …

Angels remove struggling Pineiro from rotation  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels pulled struggling pitcher Joel Pineiro from their starting rotation before Thursday's game with the Minnesota Twins.  —  Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Pineiro will work out of the bullpen …

Postgame notes: “Five days to be better, and I will be better”  —  A.J. Burnett should have won tonight.  Shoot, anyone should have won tonight.  He had a 13-1 lead before he walked to the mound in the third inning, but he still couldn't last long enough to get a decision.

Ogando helps Rangers end 3-game losing streak  —  DETROIT—Alexi Ogando shut down Detroit once again and the Texas Rangers ended a three-game losing skid by topping the Tigers 5-2 Thursday in a matchup of AL division leaders.  —  Ogando (11-5) allowed two runs in 6 1-3 innings, walking none and striking out seven.

Time to start figuring out the MVP races  —  When the baseball writers hand out their annual league MVP awards, what is the trophy supposed to symbolize?  It's called the Most Valuable Player, but does that mean most valuable to his team, sort of an ambiguous definition used mostly to suggest players on non-playoff teams have no value?

Cards' Molina suspended five games  —  Since the incident happened in Milwaukee, I thought Brewers fans may be interested in this news release from Major League Baseball:  —  St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has been suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount …

Harper: Wally sees Mets armed for future  —  The Mets' dream of a miracle wild-card run is fading quickly, and Johan Santana isn't walking through that door anytime soon.  So the 2011 storyline begins to shift to places like Port St. Lucie, where newly acquired Zack Wheeler has landed …