Right-hander Daniel Bard told the Red Sox he could work out his mechanical troubles in the big leagues, that he didn't need a trip to the Minors. The team didn't want to take any chances.

Victor Martinez isn't doing real baseball activities yet. But the follow-up appointment coming up in two weeks with the doctor who performed his knee surgery isn't a bad sign.

Dodgers reliever Javy Guerra underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery Tuesday to repair a small tear of the lateral meniscus and will be sidelined four to six weeks. Dodgers team physician Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery.

Past All-Stars Matt Kemp of the Dodgers, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano of the Yankees and Matt Joyce of the Rays sat in front of 15 TV screens at the MLB Fan Cave and watched on Tuesday as the first ad spot, called “The Pledge,” was screened during the live All-Star Leadoff event.

On Tuesday morning, the Dodgers' No. 1 “cheerleader” woke up at the team hotel in Philadelphia, got into a car and rode about 100 miles up the Jersey Turnpike to have some fun and show a little National League pride.

Dodgers Hall of Fame former manager Tom Lasorda suffered a heart attack in New York on Monday and is hospitalized, the team confirmed Tuesday.

MLB, Habitat for Humanity, State Farm Insurance and the Tuscaloosa Fire Department joined to build a house for the Patrice Johnson family in Alabama. The family lost their previous home in a devastating tornado.

At this year's Midsummer Classic, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on July 10, Major League All-Stars will be using such Twitter hashtags as #ASG and #HRDerby as they interact with fans through social media from the All-Star Game for the first time.

It will be years before we know if, indeed, Carlos Correa is the fulcrum in the reconstruction of the Houston Astros. Someday we may learn that Astros GM Jeff Luhnow decided not to devote weeks of his life dealing with Scott Boras on Mark Appel, but what we watched Monday night was a decision that Houston fans should embrace.

Josh Hamilton is the top overall vote-getter with 2,587,991 votes and is one of five players from the American League-champion Rangers who are on pace to start the 83rd All-Star Game on July 10 in Kansas City, as the largest balloting campaign in pro sports reached a milestone Tuesday with the first tally update.

View pick-by-selections of first round and the first compensatory round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

The Braves picked a kid from their own backyard in the first round, selecting right-hander Lucas Sims from Brookwood High School with the 21st selection.

The Blue Jays selected college right-hander Marcus Stroman with their second pick — No. 22 overall — of the First-Year Player Draft on Monday night.

Kicking off a night in which they'll make five of the first 59 selections in the First-Year Player Draft, the Cardinals selected right-hander Michael Wacha, a 20-year-old right-hander out of Texas A&M University.

The Giants opted for collegiate talent for the third consecutive year in Monday's opening round of the First-Year Player Draft, selecting right-hander Chris Stratton of Mississippi State with the 20th overall pick.

The Pittsburgh Pirates pulled a stunner in Monday's first round of the First-Year Player Draft, picking Stanford right-hander Mark Appel from Stanford University at No. 8 overall.

The Dodgers broke with their recent history and selected high school shortstop Corey Seager with the 18th overall pick in Monday night's first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.