Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans are students of hitting who display an earnest eagerness to learn that has impressed their manager and their veteran teammates.

St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - The Toronto Blue Jays designated Matt Stairs for assignment following Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays and are expected to trade the designated hitter within the next two days. The Blue Jays were mum on

ighthander Chris Withrow, the Dodgers' first-round draft choice last summer, was activated for the first time this season on Aug. 7 and assigned to high Class A Inland Empire, an unusually high level for a player with such limited experience. He made his debut for 66ers on Aug. 10 and yielded one run, one hit and one walk in an inning of work.

Cody Ransom hit a home run in his first Yankee Stadium at-bat against Kansas City, and then another in his second against the Orioles in Baltimore.

Cristian Guzman hit for the cycle, and Elijah Dukes had two home runs, helping the Washington Nationals to a rare romp -- an 11-2 clubbing of the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. Guzman finished the cycle with an RBI triple in the eighth

White Sox general manager Ken Williams wanted to add Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes or another arm before the July 31 trade deadline. But he wasn't willing to give up the one pitching prospect that other teams coveted: 21-year-old lefthander Aaron Poreda.

Brandon Backe was sharp into the seventh, leading the host Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, on Thursday.

Pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki doubled in the winning run with one out in the ninth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Thursday night to win back-to-back games for first time since July 10-11. Joey Devine (4-0) pitched the eighth

Chris Dickerson hasn't changed his batting stance. He hasn't cut down on his swing. But Dickerson is hitting like he's never hit in his career. Dickerson, a Triple-A Louisville outfielder, put together a recent, 10-game surge in which he hit .361. That had him at .287/.387/.479. Dickerson, 26, came into this year as a .255 career hitter. He hit .236, .242 and .263 the past three seasons.

Pinch-hitter Juan Rivera doubled off the wall in right-center to drive in three runs in a five-run eighth inning and help the Los Angeles Angels rally for a 7-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday night. The game was one of three designated for