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 …

Perez hits two-run double as Royals beat White Sox  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking two-run double with two out in the seventh inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Friday night.  —  Luis Mendoza pitched seven effective innings as Kansas City won for the third time in four games.

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.

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.

Jeter hits 250th HR to lead Yanks over Red Sox 6-4  —  NEW YORK—Derek Jeter hit his 250th home run, Nick Swisher connected twice and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4 on a lightning-filled Friday night for their eighth win in 10 games.  —  Swisher, Curtis Granderson …

Final Score: Nationals 6 Mets 4  —  The Mets (56-63) lost to the Nationals (74-45) by the score of 6-4 tonight in Washington.  —  The Least You Should Know: … Michael Baron, MetsBlog.com  —  At this point, it's fair to wonder what Santana has left in the tank.

Exclusive: MLB to test two different advanced replay systems during games next week  —  Major League Baseball owners have agreed to test two different advanced replay systems live during games starting next week, and if they prove accurate they could precede an overhaul of the system for the 2013 season, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Measure the Mets' Progress in Inches  —  CINCINNATI—The worst thing about the monotony is how familiar it is.  If you've followed the Mets at all, you know it well by now.  It's the realization in August that your team is headed nowhere.  It's looking at seven more weeks of mostly meaningless baseball.

Felix Hernandez and arbitrarily historic performances  —  Wednesday afternoon, as I made my way to the digital pages at ESPN.com to check some of the early box scores, my eyes were directed toward the main article on the site's home page, notifying those who were unaware that Felix Hernandez was in the eighth inning of a “perfect game.”

Galvis' suspension over, but will go on DL  —  MILWAUKEE — Thursday represented the 50th game of Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis' 50-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance.  —  He will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a strained lower back.

Jon Lester, Sox brass ponder if woes will keep talent away  —  BALTIMORE — For most of the past decade, the Red Sox [team stats] have been regarded by a vast majority of players as a desirable team for which to work.  —  And now?  —  “I don't know,” ace lefty Jon Lester [stats] told the Herald yesterday.

Down the stretch they come  —  A look at postseason odds, potential matchups, impact of one-game showdown  —  What lies ahead is another fabulous baseball stretch drive.  And that's always a beautiful thing.  —  But what lies ahead is also a stretch drive unlike any other we've ever witnessed.

Cherished Tradition or a Colossal Waste of Time?  —  Derek Jeter is one of the players who enjoys batting practice.  “I think it's vital,” he said.  “I like to hit every day.”  —  Baseball is a sport defined by routines and traditions, and there are few more entrenched than batting practice …

Kap: Cubs, Castro working on long-term deal  —  With the focus of the Cubs management team of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer clearly on a long term plan of overhauling the Cubs organization, nearly every move they have made since taking control of the team has been with a vision towards the future.