Bright lights, big Citi to be teeming with Stars  —  The Baltimore Orioles, locked in a tight race in the American League East, placed three starters on the American League All-Star team, while the Reds, Cardinals and Nationals have two starters apiece on the National League squad.

Indians send Carrasco down day after romp  —  CLEVELAND — The Indians have sent inconsistent starter Carlos Carrasco back to Triple-A Columbus.  —  One day after he was clobbered in a loss to Detroit, Carrasco was designated for assignment for the purpose of rejoining the Clippers.

Howard injury may signal end of Phillies era  —  It was just a simple transaction:  —  “Philadelphia Phillies transferred 1b Ryan Howard (knee) to the 15-day disabled list.”  —  If it felt like something more momentous, there are reasons for that.  Howard finally crossed his pain threshold during …

Dodgers In Serious Talks For Ricky Nolasco  —  7:14pm: Another right-handed reliever, Josh Wall, is also likely to be included in the deal, according to another Frisaro tweet.  Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com was the first to report (Twitter link) Wall's potential inclusion …

Brewers aiming for Thursday with Braun  —  After a good day in the batting cage on Saturday, Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun was on track to beat the earlier estimates and return to the Brewers' lineup before the All-Star break.  Thursday's series opener in Arizona looked like a good bet.

Ike Davis gained confidence because of visit by COO Jeff Wilpon  —  MILWAUKEE — The Mets still consider Ike Davis a major part of the future.  —  And in case there was any doubt about that, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon took the unusual step of dropping in on the first baseman in Las Vegas last week …

The Hamilton Hammer  —  Josh Hamilton drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth to help the Angels score four that inning to tie the Red Sox, then hit a two-run homer in the 11th to win the game as LAnaheim comes back to a 9-7 victory over Boston.  Hamilton started an 11 game tear on June 25.

Miley, Goldschmidt help Diamondbacks rout Rockies  —  PHOENIX — Wade Miley pitched eight effective innings and had a three-run double, first-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer and the Arizona Diamondbacks jumped on Colorado early in an 11-1 rout of the Rockies on Saturday night.

Soriano hits two, two-run homers as Cubs beat Pirates  —  CHICAGO — Alfonso Soriano hit two-run homers in consecutive innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Saturday.  —  Edwin Jackson and three relievers combined on a five-hitter …