Miller hits first two career homers as Mariners top Astros  —  HOUSTON — Rookie Brad Miller hit his first two major league homers and drove in five runs, and the Seattle Mariners overcame rookie Brandon Barnes' cycle for the Astros in a 10-7 win over Houston on Friday night.

Final Score: Phillies 13 Mets 8  —  The Least You Should Know:  —  Jeremy Hefner was rocked for 8 runs on 10 hits and was knocked out of the game with no outs in the the third.  The defense did him no favors, but he wasn't fooling the Phillies at all.  —  Burke and Edgin combined …

Rafael Betancourt goes on disabled list; Mitchell Boggs promoted  —  Rockies pitcher Rafael Betancourt was placed on the disabled list Saturday with an appendicitis.  (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)  —  The Rockies received an unexpected bit of bad news Saturday …

Dodgers' Yasiel Puig faces $12-million lawsuit filed by man in Cuba  —  Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig is being sued by a man who alleges the outfielder made false accusations against him.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times / July 14, 2013)  —  WASHINGTON - Yasiel Puig is being sued …

Yankees' Alex Rodriguez could end up pariah in baseball like Lance Armstrong in cycling  —  The Daily News reported Sunday that Rodriguez and his lawyers have had internal discussions about pursuing a plea deal to reduce the looming suspension, possibly hoping to save Rodriguez from Armstrong's fate.

Westbrook's Pitching, Hitting Lead Cardinals  —  ST. LOUIS — Jake Westbrook pitched 6 1-3 innings of two-run ball and contributed three hits, All-Star Matt Carpenter continued his strong season with three hits and three RBIs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 9-6 on Friday night.

Chad Gaudin Delivers as Giants Beat Diamondbacks  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Chad Gaudin struck out eight in seven scoreless innings to build on his impressive monthlong stretch, All-Star Buster Posey hit an RBI double, and the San Francisco Giants beat the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 on Friday night.

Rockies fall to Cubs as Chicago's Jeff Samardzija shackles offense  —  A drought of Dust Bowl proportions has enveloped the Rockies.  —  Returning from the all-star break to open a critical 10-game homestand loaded with expectations, the Rockies' bats were nearly silent Friday night.

Phillips Drives in 3, Reds Beat Pirates 5-3  —  CINCINNATI — Brandon Phillips drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double on Friday night, and Mike Leake got the better of left-hander Francisco Liriano for the third time this season, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 victory …

Francisco and Gomez go deep as Brewers blank Marlins  —  MILWAUKEE — Juan Francisco and Carlos Gomez each hit home runs and Kyle Lohse blanked Miami for six innings as the Milwaukee Brewers started the second half of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Marlins on Friday night.

Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight Blog Is to Join ESPN Staff  —  Nate Silver, the statistician who attained national fame for his accurate projections about the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, is parting ways with The New York Times and moving his FiveThirtyEight franchise to ESPN …