Lance Berkman

SAN FRANCISCO - Not long after the San Francisco Giants sent the St. Louis Cardinals home for the winter, one of the Cardinals players provided his pick to win the World Series. The Detroit Tigers, and it won't be close. That was the prediction from injured St. Louis first baseman Lance Berkman. He noted that the Giants cannot use their top two starters, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain, until the series shifts to Detroit, and the Tigers get to put a designated hitter in their lineup.

ARLINGTON, Texas - There were plenty of aces in the hole Sunday afternoon, as five of the game's best pitchers - Matt Cain, David Price, Cole Hamels, R.A. Dickey and Stephen Strasburg - were torched for 38 earned runs in 241/3 innings. Jered Weaver followed suit Sunday night. The Angels ace, fighting mechanical issues that seem to have sapped him of some velocity, was knocked around by the Texas Rangers, giving up five runs and seven hits, including two home runs, in five innings of a 7-3 loss at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Lance Berkman hit a grand slam to highlight a seven-run fourth inning, sending Wade Miller and the Houston Astros past the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-3, Thursday. Berkman drove in five runs, giving him a major league-leading 62 runs batted in. The Astros avoided being swept in the four-game series. Miller (3-2) was 7-0 against the Brewers coming into the season, but Milwaukee beat him in the season opener at Houston.

SAN FRANCISCO - Not long after the San Francisco Giants sent the St. Louis Cardinals home for the winter, one of the Cardinals players provided his pick to win the World Series. The Detroit Tigers, and it won't be close. That was the prediction from injured St. Louis first baseman Lance Berkman. He noted that the Giants cannot use their top two starters, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain, until the series shifts to Detroit, and the Tigers get to put a designated hitter in their lineup.

An error by Miguel Tejada in the 11th inning made former Nationals reliever Joel Hanrahan a winner Thursday night as Washington defeated the Houston Astros, 11-10, in the completion of a suspended game. Hanrahan was traded by the Nationals on June 30 to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a deal for Nyjer Morgan, who scored the winning run for the Nationals on Thursday as a pinch-runner. Hanrahan was pitching for the Nationals when the game was suspended by rain in Washington on May 5.

Claude Brochu, Montreal team president, said the Expos would be put up for sale unless the government agrees to construct a $250-million stadium. "The Expos cannot survive at Olympic Stadium," Brochu said Friday. "We have the choice of a new ballpark downtown or no ballclub in Montreal." Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard said this week the government won't invest in stadiums while it is closing down hospitals in Montreal. "I'm very aware of our social problems," Brochu said.

The Houston Astros have exercised the 2012 option on the contract of Manager Brad Mills and added a club option for 2013. The Astros went 76-86 in Mills' first year as manager, including a terrible 17-34 start. But Houston went 59-52 after June 1 with a lineup that routinely included four rookies ? and without Roy Oswalt ( Phillies) or Lance Berkman (Yankees), who left in trades. General Manager Ed Wade said Friday that Mills has every quality needed to be a successful manager.

Lance Berkman hasn't been in the majors long enough to know when a slump is officially over. He's only guessing, but a grand slam and two-run homer ought to do it. Berkman went four for five and set a career high with six runs batted in Thursday night in the Houston Astros' 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Berkman, who has 16 homers in the first season that he started with Astros, had not hit a homer in June, and had only two RBIs. More telling, Berkman had walked only three times.

Lance Berkman hit a three-run home run off Dustin Hermanson in the ninth inning, and the Houston Astros rallied from a late three-run deficit for a 7-3 victory Thursday night over the San Francisco Giants. Carlos Beltran had three hits for the Astros, who gave their flagging playoff hopes a boost by scoring five runs in the ninth. Houston was in danger of being swept and falling four games behind the Giants in the National League wild-card race.

Lance Berkman became the first major leaguer this season to homer three times in a game, driving in five runs as the Houston Astros hit five home runs in beating the Reds, 8-3, Tuesday night at Cincinnati. "Tonight was a good night," Berkman said. "But the season's built around singles and base hits. You can't always hit the ball out of the ballpark." The first two Tuesday night were off starter Jose Acevedo, and they cost Acevedo (2-1) his job.

Some off-season acquisitions, such as the Rays' signing of free agent Johnny Damon have worked out well. Others, such as the Rays' signing of free agent Manny Ramirez? Well, not so much. Kevin Baxter lists the 10 best and worst winter acquisitions given performances to date (through Friday's games): Best 1. LANCE BERKMAN (Cardinals, free agent): Leads majors in slugging (.770), second in batting (.402), home runs (8), fourth in RBIs (22). 2. JOHNNY DAMON (Rays, free agent)

The Houston Astros have exercised the 2012 option on the contract of Manager Brad Mills and added a club option for 2013. The Astros went 76-86 in Mills' first year as manager, including a terrible 17-34 start. But Houston went 59-52 after June 1 with a lineup that routinely included four rookies ? and without Roy Oswalt ( Phillies) or Lance Berkman (Yankees), who left in trades. General Manager Ed Wade said Friday that Mills has every quality needed to be a successful manager.

The New York Yankees put designated hitter Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of a sprained right ankle. The move is retroactive to Monday, one day after Berkman was injured while running out a ground ball against the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees recalled infielder Eduardo Nunez from triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cardinals get Feliz The St. Louis Cardinals acquired third baseman Pedro Feliz from the Houston Astros for minor league pitcher David Carpenter . Feliz is batting .221 with four home runs and 31 runs batted in in 97 games.

National League Central-leading St. Louis was the prime player in a three-team deal Saturday, getting pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and sending outfielder Ryan Ludwick to NL West-leading San Diego ahead of the 1 p.m. PDT nonwaiver trading deadline. "I'm excited to go to a club that's contending for a playoff spot and pitch in some meaningful ballgames," Westbrook said. "That's why you play the game, to get a chance to play in the playoffs, and I look forward to doing that."

The New York Yankees are working on a trade to acquire Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros and expect the deal to be completed Saturday. New York will send a couple of prospects to the Astros, a baseball executive familiar with the discussions said. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were continuing. "Nothing's been completed," Berkman said Friday in Houston, before the Astros played Milwaukee. A five-time All-Star, Berkman has full no-trade rights and his approval is necessary for a trade.

The fans at Dodger Stadium rose and roared as the left fielder stepped into the batter's box. The left fielder was Juan Pierre. That Manny Ramirez didn't receive the loudest ovation of the night in his first game back from a 50-game suspension was perhaps an indication that The Circus had become secondary to The Team. But Pierre's pivotal seventh-inning pinch-hit at-bat also highlighted something else: the Dodgers' inability to hit with men on base.

Lance Berkman tied Sammy Sosa for the major league lead with his 15th homer, and Roy Oswalt struck out a season-high 11 in eight innings as the Houston Astros beat Pittsburgh, 3-1, Thursday night at Houston. Oswalt (5-2) gave up one run and seven hits and one walk in his longest outing of the season. He struck out his last four batters. With the score tied 1-1 in the eighth, Richard Hidalgo led off with a single against reliever Brian Boehringer (0-1).

Houston Astro right fielder Lance Berkman may not be ready for the start of next season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing flag football. Berkman will undergo surgery within 10 days, the Astros said Friday, and will need five to six months to recover. The injury occurred during a church-related function, new Astro General Manager Tim Purpura said. A three-time NL All-Star, Berkman batted .316 last season with 30 homers and 106 RBIs.

An error by Miguel Tejada in the 11th inning made former Nationals reliever Joel Hanrahan a winner Thursday night as Washington defeated the Houston Astros, 11-10, in the completion of a suspended game. Hanrahan was traded by the Nationals on June 30 to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a deal for Nyjer Morgan, who scored the winning run for the Nationals on Thursday as a pinch-runner. Hanrahan was pitching for the Nationals when the game was suspended by rain in Washington on May 5.

Houston Astro right fielder Lance Berkman may not be ready for the start of next season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing flag football. Berkman will undergo surgery within 10 days, the Astros said Friday, and will need five to six months to recover. The injury occurred during a church-related function, new Astro General Manager Tim Purpura said. A three-time NL All-Star, Berkman batted .316 last season with 30 homers and 106 RBIs.