Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz chases San Francisco Giants Eugenio Velez after a foul tip third strike during the eighth inning of National League MLB baseball action in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.

Royals manager Hillman to return in 2010 despite team’s struggles
Kansas City manager Trey Hillman hasn’t put a whole lot of thought into job security, certainly hasn’t lost any sleep over it. He’s been too busy trying to get the Royals headed in the right direction.

Once again, Cain gets tough draw
Once again, Cain gets tough draw Matt Cain has been pitching well during his streak of seven starts without a victory, posting a 3.10 ERA in that stretch. He’ll have his work cut out for him Saturday, as the Brewers send Yovani Gallardo to the mound.

Vote Zito for Man of the Year

Former FSU star Posey called up to majors

Former Florida State baseball All-American Buster Posey is expected to join the San Francisco Giants today after the team purchased his contract from their Triple-A affiliate in Fresno, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Martinez beats Lincecum, Phillies edge Giants 2-1 (AP)

This was vintage Pedro. Pedro Martinez tossed seven impressive innings to outpitch Tim Lincecum, Ryan Howard doubled in the tiebreaking run and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Thursday night. Martinez (3-0) struck out a season-high nine in his fifth start since signing with the Phillies during the All-Star break, allowing one run and five hits.

NL Capsules (AP)
Pedro Martinez tossed seven impressive innings to outpitch Tim Lincecum, Ryan Howard doubled in the tiebreaking run and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Thursday night. Martinez (3-0) struck out a season-high nine in his fifth start since signing with the Phillies during the All-Star break, allowing one run and five hits.

Power Rankings: Cardinals get boost (Yahoo! Sports)
Only the Yankees can keep the team that’s running away with the NL Central from ascending to the top.

Giants hope to change Miller Park hex
Giants hope to change Miller Park hex Having left Philadelphia, where they entered the series having lost 10 of their previous 14 games at Citizens Bank Park, the Giants will resume activity at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, where they have dropped 14 of 18 games since the start of the 2006 season.

Sanchez set to start rehab assignment

Second baseman Freddy Sanchez was expected to begin what the Giants hope will be a brief injury rehabilitation assignment Thursday night with Triple-A Fresno in Las Vegas.

Sanchez set to start rehab assignment
Sanchez set to start rehab assignment Second baseman Freddy Sanchez was expected to begin what the Giants hope will be a brief injury rehabilitation assignment Thursday night with Triple-A Fresno in Las Vegas.

San Jose trio combines on no-hitter
San Jose trio combines on no-hitter San Jose’s David Mixon struck out 10 over six innings and combined with Ryan Shaver and Rafael Cova for the first Cal League no-hitter since 2007.

Lopes a big part of Hamels’ thievery

Davey Lopes started things in the fifth inning Tuesday with a simple question for Cole Hamels: When was the last time you slid? “It’s been a long time,” Hamels replied.

Misch earns first big-league win as Mets topple Rockies
David Wright drove in three runs in his second start since coming off the disabled list and the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on Thursday.

Buchholz helps Bosox top Rays, increase wild-card lead
Clay Buchholz pitched six effective innings, Jason Bay drove in two runs and the Boston Red Sox hurt Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes with a 6-3 win over the Rays on Thursday night.

Giants minor league suspended after drug test

San Francisco Giants minor league pitcher Diego De La Cruz has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Giants thwarted in bid for Wild Card tie
Giants thwarted in bid for Wild Card tie Missing an opportunity to tie Colorado for the National League Wild Card lead Thursday, the Giants were subdued by Philadelphia’s Pedro Martinez, who bested Tim Lincecum in a 2-1 Phillies triumph.

Familiar theme for Smoltz in Cards’ loss to Brewers
Rookie Casey McGehee hit a two-run homer off John Smoltz after St. Louis failed to turn a double play, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

http://giants.baseballcoachingclub.com/giants-baseball-news/mcgehee-homers-off-smoltz-brewers-beat-cardinals/ McGehee homers off Smoltz, Brewers beat Cardinals
Rookie Casey McGehee hit a two-run homer off John Smoltz after St. Louis failed to turn a double play, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Sabathia wins 16th as Yankees pound Orioles
CC Sabathia allowed one run in seven innings to earn his AL-leading 16th victory, Alex Rodriguez got his 2,500th hit and drove in four runs, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-2 Wednesday night for a three-game sweep.

Rested Lincecum is bad news for foes
Rested Lincecum is bad news for foes Extra rest occasionally hampers some starting pitchers, who struggle to cope with the disruption in their routine. Tim Lincecum isn’t one of them. He’s 10-2 with a 2.31 ERA and a .198 opponents’ batting average on five days’ rest.

Rays avoid collapse, beat Red Sox 8-5
Pat Burrell snapped an eighth-inning tie with a RBI single and Evan Longoria followed with a two-run homer Wednesday night to help Tampa Bay avoid falling farther back in the AL playoff race with an 8-5 victory over Boston.

Top prospect Heyward has Braves excited
For 11 years, Andruw Jones sewed together the Atlanta Braves outfield with remarkable consistency. He won 10 Gold Glove Awards and averaged 33 home runs and 157 games played from 1996 until he left after the 2007 season.

Prodding Hanley Ramirez is a team effort (Yahoo! Sports)
The Marlins’ Dan Uggla and Wes Helms confront their supremely talented shortstop about his uneven effort.

Back-to-back HRs in 9th help Chisox beat Twins
Joe Nathan gave up back-to-back home runs to Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Chicago White Sox got to Minnesota’s four-time All-Star closer to win 4-2 on Wednesday.

Rangers’ Young out at least two weeks with hurt hamstring
Texas Rangers All-Star third baseman Michael Young will miss at least two weeks because of a strained left hamstring, a significant blow for a team in the hunt for its first playoff appearance in 10 years.

http://giants.baseballcoachingclub.com/giants-baseball-news/giants-bring-up-top-prospect-posey/ Giants bring up top prospect Posey
Giants bring up top prospect Posey Buster Posey’s speedy ascent to the Major Leagues reflects the Giants’ concern about their injury-afflicted catching corps, manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday.

Penny planning return to American League East? (Yahoo! Sports)
Just traded to the San Francisco Giants from the Boston Red Sox, starting pitcher Brad Penny has got to be glad…

Baseball roundup: Tuesdaya s action on the diamonds

San Francisco Giants’ pinch runner Andres Torres, top, reacts after getting caught stealing second base as Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins holds up the ball in the ninth inning.

Rested Lincecum is bad news for foes
Rested Lincecum is bad news for foes Extra rest occasionally hampers some starting pitchers, who struggle to cope with the disruption in their routine. Tim Lincecum isn’t one of them. He’s 10-2 with a 2.31 ERA and a .198 opponents’ batting average on five days’ rest.

Giants Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

The Giants entered their three-game series in Philadelphia knowing they’d need to shut down the Phillies’ big hitters and eke out enough runs on their own.

Well, Jonathan Sanchez did his part Tuesday, limiting the Phillies offense to one run. But the Giants offense shot a blank.

Without Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco collected all of two hits against Cole Hamels, who had his way over nine innings, and the Giants dropped the first game of a weeklong journey through Philly and Milwaukee while trying to keep pace with the Rockies (beginning a long homestand) in the wild-card race. Colorado beat the Mets 8-3 Tuesday to take a one-game lead.

Ryan Garko was the only player in the Giants’ starting lineup to collect a hit, but he was stranded after his…

Zito nominee for 2009 Clemente Award
Zito nominee for 2009 Clemente Award Barry Zito is the Giants’ 2009 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, one of baseball’s highest honors. The award recognizes the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.

San Francisco Giants’ pinch runner Andres Torres, top, reacts after getting caught stealing second base as Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins holds up the ball in the ninth inning.

http://giants.baseballcoachingclub.com/giants-baseball-news/royals-greinke-pitches-one-hitter-to-beat-mariners/ Royals’ Greinke pitches one-hitter to beat Mariners
Zack Greinke pitched a one-hitter, allowing only a second-inning single by Kenji Johjima, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 3-0 Sunday.

Renteria’s slam pulls Giants even in wild-card race
Edgar Renteria hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants pulled even in the NL wild-card race with Colorado, beating the Rockies 9-5 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

Pena, Rays’ big first inning leads to win over Tigers
Carlos Pena hit his AL-best 38th homer and drove in four runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 11-7 on Monday for a split of their four-game series.

http://giants.baseballcoachingclub.com/giants-baseball-news/cards-wainwright-shoots-for-win-no-16-vs-nats/ Cards’ Wainwright shoots for win No. 16 vs. Nats

Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on May 31, 2009 in San Francisco, California.

Giants add Penny for pitching depth
Giants add Penny for pitching depth Brad Penny has signed a Minor League deal with the Giants, and is expected to start against the defending World Series champion Phillies on Wednesday night.

Pettitte retires first 20 as Yankees top Orioles
Andy Pettitte retired his first 20 batters before a lamentable seventh-inning sequence spoiled both his perfect game and no-hit bid, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Monday night.

11-run lead almost not enough for Toronto in Texas
Adam Lind hit a grand slam among his two home runs and had a career-high eight RBIs, powering Toronto to a big early lead before the Blue Jays held on for an 18-10 victory over the slipping Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Wild Giants are all over the map

For most of Sunday afternoon, the Giants played as if they had a plane to catch.