Top News:
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Final: Blue Jays 1, Red Sox 0 (11 innings) — Game over: Blue Jays 1, Red Sox 0 — Rookie Brett Lawrie crushed a Wheeler pitch into the stands in center with two outs to end it. Knew that was coming eventually. — Back later with a report on Beckett. The Sox are now 2.5 games out and have dropped four of five.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Yahoo! Sports
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Canadian Press:
Blue Jays activate right-hander McGowan off 60-day DL — TORONTO — Dustin McGowan's long road back to the major leagues is complete. — The Toronto Blue Jays activated the right-hander off the 60-day disabled list prior to Monday's home game against the Boston Red Sox.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and Bluebird Banter
Associated Press:
Red Sox RHP Beckett Leaves With Sprained Ankle — TORONTO (AP) — Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett left in the fourth inning of Monday's game against the Blue Jays with a sprained right ankle. — Manager Terry Francona and trainer Mike Reinold came to the mound after Beckett threw a ball to Toronto third baseman Brett Lawrie.
Discussion:
ESPN, Boston Globe, baseballmusings.com and TSN.ca
Associated Press:
Tigers top Indians, 4-2, extend lead — CLEVELAND - Doug Fister struck out a career-high 13, Victor Martinez hit a three-run homer and the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 4-2 on Monday to extended their AL Central lead to 7½ games. — Fister (7-13) improved to 4-1 …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Associated Press, Bless You Boys and boston.stats.com
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Associated Press:
Humber throws 7 shutout innings, White Sox win 2-1 — MINNEAPOLIS—Philip Humber pitched seven scoreless innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Monday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. — Juan Pierre had three hits and scored a run for the White Sox, who ended a four-game skid.
Discussion:
South Side Sox
Associated Press:
Yankees win 5th straight behind Jesus Montero, Robinson Cano — NEW YORK - Jesus Montero broke a fifth-inning tie with his first major league home run, then hit a two-run drive in the seventh to help the New York Yankees outlast the Baltimore Orioles 11-10 Monday for their fifth straight win.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, Pinstripe Alley and TSN.ca
Associated Press:
Tampa Bay's Shields Throws 11th Complete Game — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — James Shields pitched a four-hitter for his major league-best 11th complete game and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 5-1 on Monday. — Shields (14-10) struck out six and walked two.
Discussion:
DRaysBay
NY Daily News:
Joe Girardi sticking with six Yankees starters for now; A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes get another start — Ah, the joy of six. The Yankees just can't get enough of it. — The Bombers once again have canceled plans to move one of their six starting pitchers to the bullpen; they will continue to go with a six-man rotation indefinitely.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, HardballTalk and Bronx Baseball Daily
Kuiperfan / Joe Posnanski:
In Praise Of Wins (Sort Of) — Every now and again here, you might have noticed, I will throw a few body blows at the bloated concept of “pitcher wins.” But — and I don't know if I've ever made this clear — I would not want pitcher wins to go away. For one thing, they are fun to argue about.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Fox Sports:
Playoff seeding races heating up — Seven of the eight playoff teams are all but determined, but the rest of the season will not be without drama. — The races are just taking on a different form, that's all. — Postseason seedings are up for grabs, and the intrigue extends far beyond …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
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Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
Orioles notes: Reynolds commits two more errors at third base — Most recent struggles help make case for full-time move to first base next season — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Mark Reynolds is making the Orioles' pending decision this offseason on whether he'll play first or third base in 2012 an easy one.
Discussion:
Camden Chat and HardballTalk
Jim Souhan / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Shake-up needed to save Twins from complacent ways — Bill Smith needs to hire someone to make tough decisions for him; might I suggest Wayne Krivsky? — ANAHEIM, CALIF. - Joe Mauer's illness this weekend prompted one of his teammates to play a prank, so when he walked to his locker Sunday, he found a handful of surgical masks.
Discussion:
Twinkie Town
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals hope to keep Furcal — General manager John Mozeliak confirmed strong organizational interest in retaining pending free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal and indicated Sunday he plans to “explore” a pre-emptive move within the next month. — “When you look at our club since he came to our team …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Viva El Birdos and MLB Rumors
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Despite Jered Weaver's struggles, his arm seems fine — Ace right-hander has had some tough outings recently. 'Sometimes you're going to be out of sorts,' Manager Mike Scioscia says. — Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver delivers during the fourth inning of Sundays game against the Texas Rangers.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
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Mike Berardino / Sun-Sentinel:
Umpire Joe West explains Marlins-Phillies replay flap — Veteran umpire Joe West just answered a few questions about the controversial play in the sixth inning of today's 5-4 Marlins win over the Phillies in 14 innings. — And you know what? I'm as confused as ever.
Discussion:
Bats
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Fox Sports:
Angels rotation could be key to success — BOSTON — Know what I'm starting to think? That if the Angels win the AL West, they actually might sneak their way into the World Series. — The Angels feature three ace-caliber starting pitchers — Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
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