A defiant Alex Rodriguez lets loose: ‘I refuse to quit’  —  CHARLESTON, S.C. — New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez tilts his head, starts to speak and breaks into a clumsy smile.  —  He deliberates whether to share his feelings, and when he finally speaks, it's almost in a whisper …

Dodgers, Giants make offers for Nolasco  —  LA willing to take on whole contract; SF would send two prospects to Miami  —  ST. LOUIS — At least two offers are on the table for Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco.  —  According to a league source familiar with the talks …

Ruben Amaro, Jr. calls out Ryan Howard for own mistakes  —  STAY CONNECTED WITH SB NATION FOLLOW @SBNATION  —  Sometimes a general manager makes a mistake, and with Ryan Howard, Amaro, Jr. made a doozy when he extended a very limited player.  —   SHARE -

Mike Scioscia says Yasiel Puig hasn't earned All-Star berth yet  —  Angels Manager Mike Scioscia says the Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers' rookie phenom, will be an All-Star ‘for years to come.’  —  Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Thursday he would not include Dodgers outfield phenom Yasiel Puig on the National League All-Star team.

Liriano Leads Pirates to 6-2 Win Over Cubs  —  CHICAGO — Francisco Liriano pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game in more than two years, and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the 11th time in 13 games, beating the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Friday.  —  Liriano (8-3) went the distance …

Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez injured in 9-5 win over Dodgers, but expects to play Friday  —  The baseball gods giveth and the baseball gods taketh away.  —  Although the Rockies got a much-needed 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night at Coors Field, they lost …

Dodgers Sign Ian Stewart  —  The Dodgers have signed third baseman Ian Stewart, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Since being jettisoned by the Cubs, Stewart was most recently rumored to be in discussions with the Yankees, who USA Today's Bob Nightengale says (Twitter link) …

Nolasco among pitchers who could move this month  —  As usual, much of the Trade Deadline focus will be on several available hurlers  —  Before the July 31 Trade Deadline even peeked over the horizon, good chunks of a couple of rotations already were up for grabs and there were a few pitchers …

Dunn's homer in ninth lifts White Sox over Orioles  —  CHICAGO — Adam Dunn hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Tommy Hunter to give the Chicago White Sox a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.  —  Chicago starter Jose Quintana had a career-high 11 strikeouts …

Sports and patriotism  —  President George W. Bush stood on the pitcher's mound at Yankee Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the World Series.  An American flag waved in the background.  The President wore a jacket with the New York Fire Department logo on it and a bulletproof vest underneath.