Rays beat Orioles 5-2 for 5th straight win  —  BALTIMORE - B.J. Upton doubled twice and took two walks to set a Tampa Bay record by reaching base in nine straight plate appearances, and the resurgent Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

Saunders pitches Diamondbacks past Dodgers 7-2  —  LOS ANGELES—Gerardo Parra tied a career high with four RBIs to back seven strong innings by Joe Saunders and the Arizona Diamondbacks rode a five-run sixth inning to a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night …

Lee's HR Leads Astros Over Phillies, 5-1  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer off former teammate Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 on Monday night.  —  Despite the loss, Philadelphia's magic number for gaining at least a wild-card playoff spot dropped …

Cano, Teixeira power Yankees past Mariners 9-3  —  SEATTLE—Robinson Cano hit a three-run double, Mark Teixeira and Chris Dickerson homered and the New York Yankees rolled past Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners 9-3 Monday night.  —  Phil Hughes pitched six strong innings to help …

Jonathan Broxton done for season  —  LOS ANGELES — Although it had become increasingly clear in recent weeks, it became official on Monday that erstwhile Los Angeles Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton won't return this season, a fact that could mean he has pitched his last game for the team …

Pirates Rally in 8th to Stun Cardinals, 6-5  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pedro Ciriaco hit a tiebreaking double to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates stunned St. Louis 6-5 on Monday night, damaging the Cardinals' playoff chances.

The Future Of C.J. Wilson  —  For years, the Rangers would have killed — or at least gamed the living hell out of the system — to have just one pitcher like C.J. Wilson wedged into the topmost slot of their starting rotation.  For years, that caliber of pitcher eluded their grasp …

Giants Hit 3 Home Runs, Top Padres 8-3  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants outfielder Cody Ross wants his teammates to openly talk about making the playoffs, even if the defending World Series champions still have a lot of ground to make up.  —  At least now San Francisco has an offense to back up Ross' confidence.

Diamondbacks' turnaround makes Towers my pick for GM of the year … Nobody besides maybe the Arizona Diamondbacks themselves figured they'd sniff the playoffs this year, but here they are, within a whisper of clinching an improbable postseason berth.  Everyone associated with the team …

Wins and WAR and MVPs  —  I got back-to-back emails last week from Brilliant Readers that pretty much sums up my frustration with so many gripes about baseball statistics.  The first was written to defend the pitcher's win.  I was actually glad to get that because I obviously …

Peralta, Raburn homer to lift Tigers to 10th straight win  —  CHICAGO — Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn ignited the Detroit Tigers offence with back-to-back homers in the second inning as the Detroit Tigers routed the Chicago White Sox 14-4 for their 10th straight win on Monday night.

“Wonderfully improbable,” and other thoughts from principal owner Stu Sternberg  —  Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg was at the game, and answered questions about a variety of subjects during a more than 20-minute chat with reporters.  Here are some excerpts:

Arrested for Domestic Violence  —  Former World Series MVP Manny Ramirez has been arrested for allegedly committing domestic violence ... TMZ has learned.  —  Witnesses tell TMZ Ramirez was taken out of his Weston, Florida home at around 7 PM ET in handcuffs.  We're told Ramirez' wife was in the house.

Tampa Bay Rays call up top pitching prospect Matt Moore  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Three-and-a-half games out is apparently close enough, as the Rays are calling up fireballing LHP Matt Moore in an attempt to bolster their bullpen.  —  Moore, 22, emerged as one of the top prospects …

Major League Baseball prohibits New York Mets from wearing first responders hats on 9/11 anniversary  —  Ronny Paulino wears an FDNY cap during batting practice.  Former Met John Franco (below, leading first responders at Citi Field) says the Mets should have worn the hats during the game.