OAKLAND, Calif. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson is getting his due from the Oakland Athletics.

The Seattle Mariners on Thursday optioned left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas to Triple-A Tacoma and selected infielder Chris Shelton from Tacoma.

CHICAGO Kelly Shoppach hit a grand slam and had a career-high five RBIs, and the Cleveland Indians built a big lead Thursday before holding on for a 10-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino and Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge were chosen by fan voting as the final two All-Stars, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic Pedro Martinez says his agent is negotiating with the Philadelphia Phillies, trying to get the pitcher back into the major leagues.

NEW YORK Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge have been elected by fans to Tuesday's All-Star game in record-shattering voting exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual club sites.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Former Yankees star Jim Leyritz burst into tears during a court hearing after learning a postponement would keep him in jail for at least another weekend.

NEW YORK Top prospect Fernando Martinez is the latest New York Mets player to go down with an injury.

MINNEAPOLIS Mark Teixeira ended a 23-game homerless drought and the New York Yankees completed a season sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 6-4 victory Thursday. Teixeira connected on the first pitch of the fifth inning. It was his 21st homer of the season and first in 96 at-bats, dating to June 12 against the Mets.

CHICAGO The Cleveland Indians have sent struggling left-hander Jeremy Sowers to Triple-A Columbus and activated reliever Rafael Betancourt from the disabled list.

NEW YORK Pop star Sheryl Crow will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Tuesday night's All-Star game in St. Louis.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The Toronto Blue Jays' game against the Tampa Bay Rays was delayed for 20 minutes in the middle of the seventh inning by a thunderstorm that knocked out power to some of the lights at Tropicana Field.

Clarence Eckstein grew up in Ohio, when a great summer day meant driving 2 1/2 hours with his dad to see Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine.

The Cleveland Indians activated pitcher Rafael Betancourt from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday and optioned pitcher Jeremy Sowers to Triple-A Columbus.

MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota Twins starter Glen Perkins was still sick when he arrived at the ballpark Thursday and will not start against the White Sox on Friday.

Early-season success story Russ Ortiz tries again to regain the magic tonight when his Houston Astros host the Washington Nationals in game one of a four-game series at Minute Maid Park.

The New York Mets' offense delivered what could be viewed as a breakthrough performance last night. Whether or not the team's moderate scoring burst was an aberration or a sign of things to come will be determined in this evening's finale of a three-game series with Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers from Citi Field.

The Philadelphia Phillies seem to have solved their home woes and will close out a four-game series tonight versus the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park.

Righty ace Roy Halladay begins what could be the final stages of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays today, when they head to Tropicana Field for the finale of a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.