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.

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.

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.

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.

Chad Billingsley tossed a two-hitter over eight innings and singled home the decisive runs as the Dodgers beat the Giants on Friday night, 4-2.

Luke French didn't make history with a no-hitter Friday, but his seven-inning, one-hit performance helped the Mariners eke out a 1-0 victory over the Indians.

Will Rhymes snapped a tie with a two-run triple in the 11th inning to boost the Tigers to a 9-5 victory over the Royals on Friday at Kauffman Stadium.

A sacrifice fly by Augie Ojeda in the bottom of the eighth helped lead the D-backs past the Astros, 4-3, on Friday night in front of 24,748 at Chase Field.

The Cardinals' survival series started appropriately on Friday night, with the home team clinging to victory by its fingernails, with a 3-2 win over the Reds.

If Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips isn't Public Enemy No. 1 in St. Louis, he's probably No. 1-A. It was one of the least surprising subplots to surface from of Friday's important series opener between the first-place Reds and second-place Cardinals.

Matt Garza yielded a run on five hits to win his third straight decision, and the Tampa Bay Rays didn't lose any ground in the playoff race, earning a 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night in the opener of a nine-game road trip.

Led by Garrett Jones' pair of RBI doubles, the Pirates rolled to an 8-5 win over the Nationals as they opened up a homestand at PNC Park on Friday night.

Cole Hamels carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning against the Brewers and allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings in Friday's 1-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park.

A's veteran Eric Chavez confirmed on Friday he won't be playing again this season and is still very much considering retirement.

Kenshin Kawakami got the Braves on the board Friday with a second-inning RBI single, but back from a stint in Triple-A, he lasted just three innings in a 6-1 loss to the Marlins.