Thanks to Matt Holliday, the St. Louis Cardinals are surviving quite nicely during Albert Pujols' post-All-Star break slump. Holliday had four hits for the second time in his eight games with his new team, one of them foiling an intentional walk to Pujols, and scored the go-ahead run on Rick Ankiel's eighth-inning single in a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Pedro Martinez allowed five runs — four earned — and three hits in five innings of a rehab start Friday night for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies' top minor league affiliate. Using a fastball that reached 93 mph on the stadium radar gun and an effective changeup, Martinez breezed through four innings against the Columbus Clippers, allowing only one run.
Jason Schmidt, plagued by self-doubt, wasn't sure he wanted to be on the mound. Six scoreless innings, his longest start in more than two years, lifted Schmidt's spirits and Andre Ethier hit a homer and drove in four runs to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Friday night.
Roy Halladay is staying with the Toronto Blue Jays — at least for now. On a day that featured several last-minute trades before baseball's non-waiver deadline, Halladay was the most talked-about player who wasn't dealt away. Toronto listened to offers for the ace right-hander, but didn't find anything suitable.
Jake Peavy finally agreed to pitch for the White Sox. The San Diego Padres traded their ace to Chicago on Friday, barely beating the deadline to make deals without waivers. The Padres got four young pitchers for the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner — Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.
His No. 41 jersey hanging a few feet away, Victor Martinez sat stunned in front of his locker in Cleveland's clubhouse — for the last time. He squeezed his young son to his chest and wiped tears from both of their faces. The moment he feared, the one he wasn't prepared for, had arrived. Martinez had been traded by the Indians, the team that signed him as a 17-year-old shortstop in Venezuela,…
The Boston Red Sox traded recently acquired Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman in a swap of first basemen on Friday. The Braves, who rank 23rd in the majors with 91 homers — including only six from Kotchman — hope LaRoche's power can boost the team's chances in the NL wild-card race.
Looking for leadership and a right-handed hitter, the Cincinnati Reds got Scott Rolen from the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in a swap of third basemen. Edwin Encarnacion was part of a package of three players the Reds gave up to acquire Rolen, who is batting .320 with eight homers and 43 RBIs. They also sent right-handed reliever Josh Roenicke and a minor leaguer to the Blue Jays, who included cash…
After days of debate, the Seattle Mariners traded left-handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn to the Detroit Tigers for two young pitchers, giving the Tigers another veteran for their rotation as they try to hold on to the AL Central lead. With Washburn's trade value at its highest, the Mariners sent the 34-year-old to the Tigers for left-hander Luke French and minor leaguer Mauricio Robles.
The Milwaukee Brewers reacquired reliever Claudio Vargas from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. The Dodgers got minor league catcher Vinny Rottino in the trade between playoff contenders. The deal was completed hours before baseball's non-waiver deadline. The 31-year-old Vargas was 0-0 with a 1.64 ERA in eight games for the NL West-leading Dodgers.
