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 …

Rios' frustration boils over in sixth inning  —  CHICAGO — Alex Rios took a called third strike from Joe Nathan to end Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Twins, after singling home Juan Pierre in the eighth.  —  But his best connection may have come after a called third strike from starter Scott Diamond …

Pedro Strop is player to be named  —  Pedro Strop, a hard-throwing right-hander who has appeared in 25 games for the Texas Rangers in the past three seasons, is the player to be named later in Wednesday's deal that sent Michael Gonzalez to the Texas Rangers, according to an industry source.

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.

John Lackey, Red Sox insist they weren't throwing at Francisco Cervelli, but didn't mind hitting him  —  BOSTON - The Red Sox insist they were not trying to hit Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli with the first pitch of the seventh inning, a play that brought both teams out of their dugouts and bullpens.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Father Time and the Philadelphia Phillies  —  The 2011 Phillies are great, but an aging lineup makes their future look bleak  —  There's never been a better time to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan.  Granted, the bar has been set pretty low.  —  The Phillies, after all, are the losingest franchise in major league history.

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.

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 …