Royals rally for 4-2 victory over White Sox  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Luis Mendoza is pitching so well the Kansas City Royals are having some fun with his unorthodox hairstyle.  —  Mendoza tossed seven effective innings, Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking two-run double and the Royals rallied …

Club paying for David Ortiz's absence  —  NEW YORK — For 31⁄2 months, David Ortiz [stats] was as powerful a force in the middle of the Red Sox [team stats] batting order as he ever has been.  —  But his true value has been seen over the past four weeks.

C.J. Nitkowski ‘in the conversation’ to join NY Mets rotation says team officials  —  'If he keeps doing what he's doing, he'll be up,' one team official said  —  Terry Collins runs into some trouble upon arriving to the nation's capital.  —  WASHINGTON — The Mets' most interesting September call …

Francisco's Single Gives Braves 4-3 Win Over LA  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Pinch-hitter Juan Francisco's two-out single in the 11th inning gave the Atlanta Braves their fourth straight win, 4-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.  —  Backup catcher David Ross and light-hitting Paul Janish kept …

Reds hit 3 HRs in 7-3 win over Cubs  —  CINCINNATI—Todd Frazier hit a two-run home run, Ryan Ludwick and Jay Bruce added solo shots, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Friday night in the opener of a four-game weekend series.  —  Bronson Arroyo survived a shaky start to improve to 5-1 in his last six starts.

Wells finds contentment in new role  —  ANAHEIM — For essentially the first time in his baseball-playing life, Vernon Wells is a part-time player.  So, since being activated from the disabled list exactly three weeks ago, the 33-year-old Angels outfielder has tried to adjust to an entirely different …

Happ gets payback against Rangers striking out eight  —  J.A. Happ remembers well the last - and only other - time he had faced the Texas Rangers.  —  It still makes him squirm.  —  Friday night was payback time.  —  Happ was superb in outpitching Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers …

Fielder's 2 HRs Help Tigers Beat Orioles 5-3  —  DETROIT (AP) — Prince Fielder hit a pair of two-run homers to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 5-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.  —  Fielder hit a soaring shot to right in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead.

Mariners give up runs, but still beat Twins 5-3  —  SEATTLE—John Jaso and Miguel Olivo homered, and Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 5-3 on Friday night.  —  Iwakuma (4-3) gave up four hits, but didn't allow an earned run …

Cain Is Dominating in Giants' 10-1 Win Over Padres  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Matt Cain pitched eight dominating innings and the San Francisco Giants scored eight runs in the third inning to move into first place in the NL West with a 10-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Stanton, Reyes, Homer, Marlins Beat Rockies, 6-5  —  DENVER (AP) — Jose Reyes and Giancarlo Stanton homered, Wade LeBlanc won for the first time as a starter and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 on Friday night.  —  John Buck and Gorkys Hernandez had two hits each for the Marlins …