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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.