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.

Braun's 32nd Homer Lifts Brewers Over Phillies 6-2  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 32nd home run, Yovani Gallardo won his fourth straight start, and the Milwaukee Brewers extended their home winning streak to nine with a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

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 …

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 …

Pirates Edge Cardinals 2-1 Behind James McDonald  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — James McDonald halted a string of ineffective starts with six innings of two-hit ball, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 Friday night in a matchup of NL Central playoff contenders.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.