Eric Wedge

■Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff , who has a team-leading 23 RBIs but only three in the last 16 games, did not start and manager Bruce Bochy said he might sit tonight, too. ■Slumping Braves second baseman Dan Uggla was given a day off. Uggla has just four hits in his last 47 at-bats. ■ Domonic Brown and John Mayberry hit back-to-back homers to lead off the fifth inning for Philadelphia. It was the second consecutive game — and the second time this season — the Phillies had back-to-back home runs.

Grady Sizemore's latest comeback has already stalled. The Indians' oft-injured, hard-luck outfielder is hurt again. Sizemore will likely miss opening day for Cleveland with a strained lower back, an injury the former All-Star sustained while fielding ground balls as he prepared for what he hoped would be a healthy season. "I feel awful for the guy," Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said Friday. The Indians revealed Sizemore's injury one day before they hold their first full-squad workout.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Whatever value winning a World Series has -- and countless New Englanders have called it a life-transforming experience -- it has yet to be reflected in Terry Francona's contract. A feat last accomplished 86 years ago -- before 24/7 news coverage, nightly sellouts, talk radio, clubhouses full of multimillionaires -- has not resulted in the kind of windfall many fans may have assumed would come Francona's way. Francona's salary is laughably low compared with the compensation received by Bill Belichick of the Patriots and Doc Rivers of the Celtics.

At times it can be painful for their manager to watch, but the young Seattle Mariners are growing up. Eric Wedge can only hope these kids don't stop. Hours after another heartbreaking loss, the Mariners bounced back and beat the Cleveland Indians 12-7 in the second game of a day-night doubleheader Tuesday, a nine-plus-hour marathon that will be remembered for the earthquake that swayed the upper deck of Progressive Field. Anthony Vasquez won his major league debut with a ton of run support and fellow rookie Dustin Ackley had three RBIs as the Mariners won the night game, just...

Milton Bradley might soon be someone else's center fielder -- and problem. The Cleveland Indians have apparently had enough of his antics. The club is trying to trade Bradley, who was barred from Cleveland's training camp in Winter Haven, Fla., yesterday, one day after he was pulled from an exhibition game by manager Eric Wedge for not running out a pop fly that dropped for a single. Indians general manager Mark Shapiro has discussed a trade involving Bradley with as many as eight teams, and "four or five are legitimate and serious.

The Seattle Mariners continue to search for offense and keep coming up empty. Paul Konerko homered and John Danks pitched into the eighth inning for his first victory of the season, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. The Mariners are tied for last in the American League, scoring fewer than four runs per game. “It’s getting real old waiting until late in the game to make things happen,’’ said Brendan Ryan. “I don’t know what the answer is to that, I can only speak for myself.

Seattle's slump is quickly approaching the worst in franchise history. The Mariners' losing streak reached 13 with a 7-4 loss at Boston on Friday night, putting Seattle just one loss away from tying the longest skid the club has ever had. Felix Hernandez pitched six strong innings, but Boston got to him in the seventh with five runs, breaking open a 2-1 game and extending the Mariners' month of frustration. "We had multiple opportunities throughout the course of the game, which in its own right is a good thing because we're creating opportunities, but we've got to finish those innings...

As the bad news continued to roll in for the Seattle Mariners, manager Eric Wedge was comforted by sending ace Felix Hernandez to the mound. Only Hernandez couldn’t stop the wave this time. Hernandez was knocked around for 10 hits, three by Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, and the Braves completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 win over the Mariners on Wednesday. “I felt like Felix was really good early on, then kind of slipped out of it a little bit,’’ Seattle manager Eric Wedge said.

Rick Ankiel couldn't find the plate, and now he won't take the mound. The St. Louis Cardinals lefthander surprised the team yesterday when he turned his back on a pitching career derailed by injuries and record wildness, saying he'll try to hit his way back to the major leagues as an outfielder. "The frustration that built up, it seems like it was really eroding my spirit and starting to affect my personality off the field," Ankiel said. "It just became apparent that it was time for me to move on and pursue becoming an outfielder.

Tony La Russa ended the usual postseason suspense, agreeing to a 16th season as St. Louis Cardinals manager. The team announced a deal yesterday that included a mutual option for the 2012 season. Financial terms were not disclosed on the new contract, finalized 15 days after the end of a disappointing season that left the 66-year-old La Russa wondering if he’d worn out his welcome. “For the last 10 days or so, Tony and I have had daily dialogue,’’ general manager John Mozeliak said.

Seattle's slump is quickly approaching the worst in franchise history. The Mariners' losing streak reached 13 with a 7-4 loss at Boston on Friday night, putting Seattle just one loss away from tying the longest skid the club has ever had. Felix Hernandez pitched six strong innings, but Boston got to him in the seventh with five runs, breaking open a 2-1 game and extending the Mariners' month of frustration. "We had multiple opportunities throughout the course of the game, which in its own right is a good thing because we're creating opportunities, but we've got to finish those innings...

On days he doesn't start, Rajai Davis gives the Blue Jays speed off the bench late in the game. Turns out that's not all he offers. Davis hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays handed the Seattle Mariners their 12th straight defeat, 7-5 on Thursday. Brought on as a pinch-runner in the seventh after Eric Thames injured his ankle, Davis sparked the winning rally for the second time this series. He swiped two bases and scored on a sacrifice fly as Toronto won in 14 innings on Tuesday.

Josh Bard got his first chance to catch Michael Pineda since spring training and saw what the rest of baseball has been seeing from Seattle’s overpowering rookie the first half of the year. Pineda and three relievers combined on a three-hitter and Bard hit his first home run of the season to lead the Mariners to a 2-1 victory over the Athletics on Monday. “He’s really maturing,’’ said Bard, who came up from the minors last week. “He’s becoming that big horse, inning-eater guy that we need him to be. We talked to him hard today, making sure he came out ready to pitch in...

As the bad news continued to roll in for the Seattle Mariners, manager Eric Wedge was comforted by sending ace Felix Hernandez to the mound. Only Hernandez couldn’t stop the wave this time. Hernandez was knocked around for 10 hits, three by Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, and the Braves completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 win over the Mariners on Wednesday. “I felt like Felix was really good early on, then kind of slipped out of it a little bit,’’ Seattle manager Eric Wedge said.

The Seattle Mariners have struggled at the plate so frequently it’s been hard to distinguish one night from the next. The lackluster effort Monday against Atlanta seemed to particularly bother manager Eric Wedge. “We’ve had some tough nights this year offensively, but tonight was particularly disappointing,’’ Wedge said. “We gave away some ABs and didn’t have people step up when we had some opportunities.’’ The Mariners wasted another stellar pitching performance, this time from Erik Bedard, in their 3-1 loss to the Braves to open...

Jason Vargas had accomplished everything he needed to in his start against the Philadelphia Phillies. What he wanted most was to finish the game. Vargas, left in to close out the ninth inning, tossed a three-hitter for his second shutout of the season, outdueling Cole Hamels while leading the Seattle Mariners to a 2-0 victory Sunday. Vargas (5-4) not only kept pace with Hamels, he exceeded and outlasted him in his third career complete game. He allowed just two singles and six baserunners.

CLEVELAND - Jhonny Peralta took an easy approach and lined a hard game-winning hit. Cleveland's third baseman drove in three runs with three hits, including a one-out RBI single in the ninth inning as the Indians defeated the New York Yankees, 5-4, yesterday. "The only thing I thought is: We really need a hit to win, so don't try too hard," Peralta said. "I figured they would pitch inside. That's where it was, so I just swung. " Peralta pulled the 3-1 offering from David Robertson past diving third baseman Alex Rodriguez on the backhand side to score Trevor Crowe from second base.

Michael Pineda once again gave Seattle a great chance to win. That was more than the Mariners’ hitters accomplished Wednesday. Locked in another close game, the Mariners wound up with a 2-1 loss. Adam Jones had three hits, including the go-ahead homer into the upper deck in the eighth inning, and a highlight-reel catch against the wall in center field against his former team. Seattle lost for the third time in 14 games, many of them decided by a run or two. “Every game we are playing is tight,’’ manager Eric Wedge said.

The Seattle Mariners continue to search for offense and keep coming up empty. Paul Konerko homered and John Danks pitched into the eighth inning for his first victory of the season, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. The Mariners are tied for last in the American League, scoring fewer than four runs per game. “It’s getting real old waiting until late in the game to make things happen,’’ said Brendan Ryan. “I don’t know what the answer is to that, I can only speak for myself.

Michael Pineda once again gave Seattle a great chance to win. That was more than the Mariners’ hitters accomplished Wednesday. Locked in another close game, the Mariners wound up with a 2-1 loss. Adam Jones had three hits, including the go-ahead homer into the upper deck in the eighth inning, and a highlight-reel catch against the wall in center field against his former team. Seattle lost for the third time in 14 games, many of them decided by a run or two. “Every game we are playing is tight,’’ manager Eric Wedge said.