Zambrano ‘retires’ after dismal 10-4 loss  —  Cubs ‘respect his wishes’ after he gives up 5 homers to Braves  —  Carlos Zambrano looks to first base vs. the Braves.  —  ATLANTA — Carlos Zambrano cleaned out his locker and told friends he was retiring Friday night after serving up five home runs …

New York Yankees lefthanded throwing ace CC Sabathia says his dominant hand is actually his right  —  We wonder if CC Sabathia will ever spin around on the mound and throw a few breaking balls with his dominant right hand.  That certainly would change some scouting reports.

Livan Hernandez leads Nationals over Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA - Livan Hernandez had a feeling in batting practice that he would do some damage at the plate.  Oh, by the way, he did just fine on the mound, too.  —  Hernandez pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and drove in two runs with a pair of singles …

Wells homers in return to Toronto, Angels beat Blue Jays  —  TORONTO — Vernon Wells homered on the first pitch in his return to Toronto as an Angel and Ervin Santana pitched his fourth complete game of the season as Los Angeles beat the Blue Jays 5-1.  —  Right-hander Santana (9-8) …

Game 117: Red Sox at Mariners  —  Here are the lineups as the road trip continues:  —  RED SOX (72-44)  —  Ellsbury CF  —  Pedroia 2B  —  Gonzalez 1B  —  Youkilis 3B  —  Ortiz DH  —  Crawford LF  —  Saltalamacchia C  —  Reddick RF  —  Scutaro SS  —  Pitching: RHP John Lackey (10-8, 6.14)

Stark: The road to October  —  AL East race is meaningless, future of wild-card expansion and realignment uncertain  —  It ought to be the best race in baseball.  Ought to be.  —  It's Red Sox and Yankees — two teams you might have heard about — separated by one game in the standings, with 46 games to play.

Butler, Cabrera Homer to Lead Royals Over ChiSox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Billy Butler and Melky Cabrera homered to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 5-1 win over the Chicago White on Friday night.  —  Bruce Chen continued his mastery of the White Sox, holding Chicago to one hit over six innings.

Greinke Sharp as Brewers Top Pirates 7-2  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder hit back-to-back homers and Zack Greinke remained perfect at Miller Park to lift the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Legendary Braves broadcaster Johnson dies - updated  —  A day meant to celebrate Bobby Cox's induction into the Braves Hall of Fame, turned bittersweet on Friday evening when word came that legendary Braves broadcaster and fellow Braves Hall of Famer Ernie Johnson Sr. died.  He was 87.

Hollandsworth rips Ramirez for lack of effort  —  Although Aramis Ramirez continued his second-half surge with a two-run homer Thursday in the Chicago Cubs' 4-3 victory over Washington, his intensity and commitment have been called into question by analyst and former Cubs outfielder Todd Hollandsworth.

First-Place Tigers Edge Last-Place Orioles 5-4  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — Wilson Betemit homered, rookie Andy Dirks had a career-high four hits, and the Detroit Tigers overcame two home runs by J.J. Hardy in a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

Roenicke is right for Brewers  —  Ron Roenicke spent a decade on Mike Scioscia's staff in Anaheim and watched as a World Series championship in 2002 led to managerial jobs for fellow assistants Joe Maddon in Tampa in 2006 and Bud Black in San Diego in 2007.  —  Several other jobs opened through …