Carlos Zambrano was yelling and pumping his arms, looking as if he might go into another full-fledged meltdown. Instead, he kept his composure. He also kept a good run going. Zambrano passed Kerry Wood on the Cubs' strikeouts list, Starlin Castro became the club's first rookie in 66 years with six straight multi-hit games and Chicago beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Saturday.

No matter what uniform Manny Ramirez wears to Fenway Park, he keeps on hitting. The slugger the Chicago White Sox hope will help them to the playoffs singled twice in a 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Saturday. In June, Ramirez returned to his former stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers and went 5 for 12 with a solo homer in a three-game series.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus left Saturday's game as a precautionary measure with tight hamstrings.

Carlos Zambrano has been reborn. Big Z, who moved into third on the Cubs' all-time K's list, won for the fourth time since rejoining the rotation in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Mets.

Jim Thome has passed Mark McGwire for ninth place on baseball's all-time home run list, hitting a pair of homers for Minnesota to reach 584 for his career. Thome sent a pitch from Texas starter Colby Lewis soaring into the second deck above right field leading off the third inning of Saturday's game.

Fenway Park, one of the more boisterous locales in all of Major League Baseball, was temporarily reduced to library-like silence for most of the White Sox 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon before the stadium's 617th consecutive sellout crowd.

Jim Thome blasted career home runs No. 583 and No. 584 on Saturday afternoon against the Rangers, passing Mark McGwire for ninth on the all-time home run list.

Rockies first baseman Jason Giambi had a flashback to his Yankees days on Friday night. It helped his current club.

Ian Kinsler was sidelined for over a month with a strained left groin muscle. Now that he is off the disabled list and playing again, he found that the time off proved to be a big help to his right ankle.

The Padres haven't needed to tinker too much with their starting rotation this season, though they'll make a change for their upcoming series starting on Monday against the Dodgers.

Manny Ramirez has made a quick contribution on his return to Fenway Park with the Chicago White Sox. The former Boston Red Sox slugger singled to right field in the second inning Saturday, sending Paul Konerko to third with no outs. Konerko then scored the first run of the game when A.J. Pierzynski grounded into a double play against Clay Buchholz.

Johan Santana threw off of flat ground for 10 minutes before the watchful eyes of Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen without any apparent difficulty, stretching himself out to about 100 feet for a few long tosses.

Carlos Silva is scheduled to start Tuesday for the Chicago Cubs against Houston after missing more than a month because of a heart problem. He takes the spot of Tom Gorzelanny, who will miss at least one turn in the rotation after being hit in the left hand by a line drive against Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Andy Pettitte said it was a little weird to look into home plate and see a hitter dressed in the same navy batting practice uniform he was wearing. Indeed, it had been a while since Pettitte had to go up against Alex Rodriguez.

Injured stars Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte are getting closer to rejoining the New York Yankees. Pettitte threw 50 pitches in a simulated game Saturday morning at Yankee Stadium and said he had no problems with the strained left groin that's kept him out since July 19. "I didn't feel anything," Pettitte said.

The most important at-bats on Saturday at Yankee Stadium may have taken place between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. That's when Andy Pettitte matched up with Alex Rodriguez in a simulated game, with both trying to return from nagging injuries.

J.J. Putz has made a good living and carved out quite a successful niche as a reliever. But in the matter of his recent bout with tendinitis in his right kneecap, being a starter might have helped him avoid any game inactivity.

Cole Hamels and Curtis Granderson made a complicated game look easy on Friday and in the process, helped their club to important wins. For the Padres, on the other hand, things look awfully tough.

Jason Giambi homered and made a key defensive play to back Aaron Cook in Friday night's victory over the National League West-leading Padres.

Propelled by a six-run seventh inning, the A's picked up an 8-0 victory over the Angels on Friday, as lefty Gio Gonzalez went six innings to earn the win.