Source: David Ortiz feels neglected  —  BOSTON — Since the start of the season, David Ortiz has become increasingly concerned with the Boston Red Sox because of his contract situation, a source close to the player told ESPNdeportes.com Saturday.  —  “David is (too) proud and respectful …

Astros option J.A. Happ to minors  —  HOUSTON — The Houston Astros optioned left-hander J.A. Happ to Triple-A Oklahoma City before to Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  Happ  —  Happ, who came to Houston in the trade that sent Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia in July 2010 …

Verlander gets out of a jam to win 16th, Tigers beat Royals  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justin Verlander lasted seven innings despite some balky defence behind him and the Detroit Tigers hung on to beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Saturday night, moving their ace into a tie for the major league lead in wins.

Cubs rough up Reds for seventh straight win  —  CHICAGO—Carlos Zambrano homered and pitched six solid innings, and the streaking Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-4 on Saturday.  —  The Cubs pounded Reds starter Johnny Cueto for five runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings …

Pujols, Carpenter lead Cardinals to 2-1 win  —  MIAMI—Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning, then Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis bullpen made it stand up Saturday night in a 2-1 win over the Florida Marlins.  —  Carpenter (7-8) gave five hits over 6 2-3 innings …

McCarthy allows five hits over eight as A's blank Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brandon McCarthy pitched five-hit ball for eight innings, David DeJesus homered twice and the Oakland Athletics earned a rare road victory by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 8-0 on Saturday night.

Uggla, Freeman both push hit streaks forward  —  NEW YORK — Over the past week, Dan Uggla and Freddie Freeman have owned the two longest hitting streaks at the Major League level.  Now they own a piece of Braves history.  —  With the consecutive singles they produced during Saturday night's …

Cole Hamels crisp as Phillies beat Giants again, 2-1  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Cole Hamels pitched a five-hitter for his first win in two weeks and the Philadelphia Phillies made a pair of first-inning runs hold up in a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, extending their season-high winning streak to nine games.

Braves put RHP Jair Jurrjens on 15-day DL  —  NEW YORK—Atlanta Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens has been placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right knee.  —  The All-Star right-hander is 0-1 in his last four starts, allowing 16 earned runs over 23 innings.

Rays have surplus of catchers moving forward  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Suddenly the Rays seem to have plenty of catchers, but there is still a lot of room for figuring out which one or two they will go forward with for the remainder of this season and in 2012.  —  Kelly Shoppach …

Rangers' Beltre aggravates hamstring injury  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre aggravated his strained left hamstring while running the bases Saturday afternoon.  He is scheduled to see Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister Saturday night for further examination.

Hisanori Takahashi in line to join Angels rotation  —  The left-handed reliever appears to be the leading candidate to replace struggling Joel Pineiro, with triple-A right-handers Trevor Bell and Jerome Williams and top prospect Garrett Richards also in mix.