Red Sox place Youkilis on DL  —  Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury.  —  Youkilis has been hampered by discomfort in his lower back and will take a couple weeks to rest.  The All-Star has just four hits in his last 32 at-bats with one homer and two RBI.

Torre on home run call: “He just missed it”  —  Major League Baseball acknowledged that umpires muffed the home run call in the Yankees' 5-4 loss to the Royals Wednesday night, but given that Joe Girardi opted not to file a protest, there's nothing that can be done about it.

Minor Leaguer Tests Positive for H.G.H.  —  Mike Jacobs, a first baseman in the Colorado Rockies organization who has played for the Mets, is the first baseball player to test positive for human growth hormone, a banned performance-enhancing substance.  Major League Baseball suspended …

Source: No deals for Izzy, Byrdak, Hairston  —  A source tells ESPNNewYork.com that (l to r) Jason Isringhausen, Scott Hairston and Tim Byrdak can no longer be traded this month.  —  Outfielder Scott Hairston and relievers Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak, all free agents this winter …

Royals Sign Francoeur To Two-Year Extension  —  12:36pm: The two-year deal is worth $13.5MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City (via Twitter).  —  10:18am: The Royals have signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a two-year extension, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).

David Wright homers, Dillon Gee gets 11th win vs. Padres, but Jason Bay says dugout has ‘lull’ feel  —  SAN DIEGO - Quiet teammates, lost in thought, drifting from the game.  Scanning the dugout during Tuesday night's loss to San Diego, Jason Bay finally saw it: dead energy.

Mets notes: Jose Reyes ready to go  —  The Mets' plan was to proceed carefully with Jose Reyes, and every time manager Terry Collins was asked about a return date for his energetic shortstop, he mentioned a longer stay on the disabled list.  —  But with the return date now just five days away …

Pirates' Tabata yearns to honor Clemente  —  If only for one game, Jose Tabata would like to play right field at PNC Park wearing No. 21 on the back of his Pirates jersey.  —  “That's my dream,” Tabata said Wednesday.  —  No Pirates player has worn 21 since Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente.

Phillies need lefthanded bat off the bench  —  The second-guessers had it all wrong when they questioned whether Roy Halladay stayed in too long Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  —  In fact, it might have been the least educated second guess in the history of the game when you consider …

No Matter The Slots, Teams Spent Freely In 2011  —  Like a chemically enhanced Barry Bonds, major league teams crushed record after record at the Aug. 15 deadline for signing 2011 draft picks.  —  With teams swinging for the fences in their quest to mine one of the most talented drafts in recent memory …

Matt Cain goes 8 strong innings, Giants beat Braves 7-5  —  ATLANTA - Matt Cain snapped his three-game losing streak with five-hit ball over eight innings, and the San Francisco Giants barely avoided another loss to Atlanta in the final at-bat, holding on for a 7-5 victory over the Braves on Wednesday night.