How much faith do the Orioles have in closer Jim Johnson, who entered Saturday tied for the Major League-lead with 39 saves? Setup man Pedro Strop puts it best.

Orioles designated hitter Jim Thome (herniated disk in neck) isn't progressing as quickly as hoped, and could get a second epidural injection.

Infielder Jeff Bianchi returned from what amounted to a three-day vacation on Saturday and found himself in the Brewers' starting lineup.

Lee Tunnell saw John Axford solve his command issues once before, and expressed a high degree of confidence Saturday that Axford will do it again.

When Tom Wilhelmsen lost the game in the ninth inning of Friday's 9-8 setback to the White Sox, it was just his second blown save since taking over as the Mariners closer at the start of June.

With 111 home runs, the Mariners have already surpassed their home run total (109) from last season. While that total still ranks near the bottom of the American League, manager Eric Wedge expects the power to only get better and more consistent.

Center fielder Michael Saunders and right fielder Eric Thames were both out of the lineup Saturday after the two collided on the final play of Friday's 9-8 Mariners loss to the White Sox.

R.A. Dickey will have no control over whether the Mets parlay his latest shutdown outing into a positive run. All the Mets know is that at the nadir of one of their least productive stretches in history, Dickey set them right in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Astros at Citi Field.

Chris Carter's two-run homer gave the A's an early cushion and starter Brandon McCarthy took it from there, holding the Rays to two runs in seven innings, as Oakland took the rubber game in St. Pete, 4-2, winning a crucial series as far as postseason aspirations are concerned.

The Red Sox likely never thought they'd be in selling mode as the playoff races heated up, but the talent they received from the Dodgers should help them in the relative short term.

If Ben Cherington succeeds in trading his three highest-paid players — Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett — to the Dodgers, he'll have the opportunity every general manager dreams of.

There is no greater honor a team can give a player than retiring his number. And in their 143-year history, the Reds had done it only eight times out of approximately 2,100 players who have worn the uniform. The ninth person to have his number retired was Barry Larkin, who was honored on the field at Great American Ball Park on Saturday.

Ben Sheets' improbable comeback story was put on hold Saturday when the Braves placed him on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.

After the way things unfolded Friday night in Cincinnati, the Cardinals announced Saturday that Joe Kelly will be returning to the club's starting rotation, replacing Lance Lynn.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and first baseman Jason Giambi each had a hit in limited duty on Friday night as they began injury rehab assignments at Double-A Tulsa.

The A's weren't even on the same continent the last time Josh Reddick started in the sixth spot of the batting order. Reddick started there again on Saturday and responded with a 3-for-4 performance.

Brett Jackson still has more strikeouts than hits, but Cubs manager Dale Sveum is seeing progress from the young center fielder.