Howard Homers as Phillies Top Brew, 5-3  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Howard homered in his return to the lineup and Roy Halladay continued the Phillies' pitching dominance in Milwaukee, leading Philadelphia to a 5-3 victory over the Brewers on Friday night.  —  The NL East's top team won …

Wang would like to return to Nationals  —  WASHINGTON — Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang is a free agent after this season, and said through an interpreter that he would like to return to the Nationals next season.  —  Wang said he feels loyalty toward the team because it took care of him when he had shoulder problems the last two years.

Youkilis may have additional injury; Lackey out with calf contusion  —  Kevin Youkilis went back to Boston to have his hip examined, but he may also be dealing with another injury to his groin and/or sports hernia type injury according to a team source.  The Sox may have more details after the game.

Tigers rally to beat Twins 8-4  —  DETROIT—Alex Avila hit a three-run homer in the second inning and Ramon Santiago added a two-run shot in the fourth to help the Detroit Tigers rally for their seventh straight victory, 8-4 over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Source: Cubs to draw 3 million  —  The Chicago Cubs will draw 3 million fans for the eighth straight season, according to a team source, yet the team will lower prices on bleacher seats in 2012.  —  The Cubs have sold just over 2.8 million tickets, which is about 500 fewer per game than in 2010.

Lonnie Chisenhall homers twice in Indians' 8-4 win  —  CHICAGO - Lonnie Chisenhall hit a pair of two-run homers and the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 8-4 on Friday night.  —  Chisenhall, Cleveland's rookie third baseman, set career highs with his two homers and four RBIs …

Jeremy Guthrie earns win Orioles beat Blue Jays 2-0  —  TORONTO - Jeremy Guthrie pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Vladimir Guerrero and Nick Markakis each drove in a run and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 Friday night, their third straight win.

MVP debate will have no clear winner  —  I understand why some sabermetricians freak out over the MVP voting every year, howling for the mainstream media to get a clue.  —  But you know what?  —  Those analysts need to get over it.  —  Ignoramuses in the MSM, including yours truly …

Youkilis getting left hip examined  —  Kevin Youkilis returned to Boston to get his left hip examined.  No word on his return.  —  Erik Bedard also is back in Boston.  He now has a lat strain to go along with a sore knee.  But Terry Francona didn't feel it was a major issue.

Yankees' Swisher out with elbow soreness  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Concerned with how sharp the pain in his left elbow is when he throws, New York Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher didn't start Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels and instead went for an examination.

Miguel Tejada wants to play in 2012  —  Former MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada, who was recently released by the San Francisco Giants, said he hopes to keep playing baseball in 2012.  —  “I will not retire,” Tejada told ESPNdeportes.com Friday.  “I didn't have a good time in San Francisco, but there are always highs and lows in life.”

Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees will win World Series … Here in the northeast corner of America, where the Hub of the Universe and the City That Doesn't Sleep stare at one another from a distance of 200 miles, the popular notion is that the Red Sox and Yankees are among the frontrunners to win the 2011 World Series.

Carpenter clarifies  —  Chris Carpenter felt he needed to make a point this afternoon.  —  Shortly after the clubhouse opened, Chris Carpenter called a couple of reporters over to his locker to clarify his explanation of the events from Wednesday night.  It had been reported (including on MLB.com) …