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.

Masterson goes six strong; Indians top White Sox to win series  —  CHICAGO — Justin Masterson pitched six effective innings, Kosuke Fukudome had a tiebreaking RBI triple and the Cleveland Indians inched closer to the top of the AL Central with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

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.

Harper injures hamstring, likely headed to DL  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals top prospect Bryce Harper had to leave Thursday's game against Double-A Akron because of a right hamstring injury.  He will be re-evaluated on Friday.  —  The injury occurred in the eighth inning, according to reports.

Sabathia snaps skid, Yankees hit three homers to beat Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS — CC Sabathia stopped his two-start losing streak with nine strikeouts over seven innings, and the New York Yankees hit three home runs to support him in an 8-4 victory over the depleted Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

Mayberry Jr. goes deep, Phillies beat Diamondbacks  —  PHILADELPHIA — John Mayberry Jr. hit a two-run homer, David Herndon tossed three scoreless innings in relief and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 Thursday night in a matchup of division leaders.

MLBPA files grievance on behalf of Zambrano  —  Players Union seeks lesser penalty for Cubs starter on DQ'd list  —  CHICAGO — The Major League Baseball Players Association has filed a grievance on behalf of Carlos Zambrano, who was placed on the disqualified list after he cleaned …

Ex-congressman: Roger Clemens has ‘suffered enough’  —  A former U.S. representative who prodded the Justice Department investigation that led to charges against Roger Clemens for lying to Congress said the seven-time Cy Young Award winner has paid his dues, and he doesn't see a reason to continue putting him on trial.

Minor throws six scoreless, Jones homers as Braves top Giants  —  ATLANTA — Mike Minor pitched six crisp innings to outduel Tim Lincecum, and Chipper Jones homered for the only run as the Atlanta Braves defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 Thursday night.  —  The Braves appeared …

Randy Choate likely done for season  —  SAN DIEGO — The Marlins placed Randy Choate on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation, and it's unlikely the lefty specialist will pitch again this season.  —  “I doubt it,” Choate said after undergoing a MRI in South Florida on Thursday.

Tying a Century-Old Record  —  Baseball is dependent on its numbers and has legions fascinated with its statistics, but it turns out some of those numbers were written in pencil.  One hundred-plus years ago.  —  Such was the case with Bill Bergen's epic hitless streak in 1909.

Mets Won't Trade Izzy, Byrdak, Hairston  —  Relievers Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak, and outfielder Scott Hairston will remain with the Mets for season's balance, a source tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  The players were placed on waivers, claimed and pulled back by the Mets …