Giants designate Rowand, Tejada … SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Outfielder Aaron Rowand and infielder Miguel Tejada have been designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants, a major shake-up for the stumbling defending World Series champions.  —  The Giants made the moves Wednesday …

Rangers trying to beat clock with August 31 acquisition  —  Rangers club officials acknowledge they are currently working on a deal to fine tune their roster in advance of the 11 p.m. deadline tonight for having playoff pools set.  In short, anybody acquired after Sept. 1 can't be eligible for the postseason roster.

Such a tease: Albert Pujols taunts, denies Brewers fan a souvenir  —  No matter if he's killing the Milwaukee Brewers with another home run, or flashing his Gold Glove at first base, St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols(notes) hasn't made a lot of friends at Miller Park over the past decade.

Red Sox angered by Cervelli's clap dance  —  BOSTON — Red Sox pitcher John Lackey and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia thought Francisco Cervelli's celebratory clap following his fifth-inning home run was a tad over the top.  But the Yankees catcher said he wasn't trying to taunt or show anybody up.

Mets' Jason Bay could move to center field in 2012, team up with Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda in OF  —  Imperfect circumstances call for creative solutions, and in recent weeks the Mets have kicked around many ideas for 2012.  In that spirit, a well-placed front office source said it is …

Twins Hold On for 7-6 Win Over White Sox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Jason Kubel and Luke Hughes homered during Minnesota's six-run first inning, and the Twins beat the White Sox 7-6 on Wednesday to snap Chicago's five-game winning streak.  —  Kubel and Hughes each hit a two-run shot off Jake Peavy …

Pirates trade Matt Diaz to Braves  —  Outfielder Matt Diaz was traded to the Atlanta Braves by the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later on Wednesday.  —  Diaz  —  Diaz signed with the Pirates last offseason after spending the previous five seasons with the Braves.

Orioles To Acquire Pedro Strop In Gonzalez Deal  —  Right-hander Pedro Strop will go to the Orioles as the player to be named in the deal that sent Mike Gonzalez from Baltimore to Texas, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  —  Strop, 26, has appeared in 11 games for Texas …

Franco to Piazza for first pitch before game on Sept. 11  —  “John Franco will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza during the September 11 remembrance ceremony before the Mets host the Cubs at Citi Field,” the team just announced.  —  The team says they will mark …

Indians demote 1B LaPorta  —  CLEVELAND (AP)—Manager Manny Acta said the Cleveland Indians' demotion of first baseman Matt LaPorta(notes) to the minors Tuesday is a case of roster numbers.  —  LaPorta's mediocre production numbers didn't help.  —  Batting .238 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 97 games …

Titanic HR puts S.F. in deep trouble  —  Power display at AT&T - by softball hitters, Soriano  —  It probably sounded good at the time.  A group of softball legends would come to AT&T Park and stage a power-hitting show at dusk, putting everyone in a festive mood for the Cubs-Giants game to follow.

Netherlands to present Bid Book to MLB next Week in New York  —  Just before play-off game 8 of his Hoofdklasse team Vaessen Pioniers on Monday night, acting president Ilja Schinkel of Hoofddorp Pioniers replied positively about realization and schedule of the construction of the new Pioniers stadium and complex south of Hoofddorp.