Yunel Escobar

Major League Baseball is checking reports that Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar played Saturday's game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish. Photos posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at anyone in particular. MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirmed Monday that the commissioner's office is looking into the reports.

How good is the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera? So good that the other team's players are fans. The 2012 AL Triple Crown winner hit three home runs in the Detroit's 11-8 loss to Texas on Sunday night. Rangers outfielder David Murphy was impressed. "Big game, fun game, national TV," he said. "We got to witness the best hitter in the game hit three homers. " Probably helped that Murphy had a three-run dinger of his own in the sixth - though that one barely cleared the wall.

MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball is checking reports that Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar played Saturday's game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish. Pictures posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at any person in particular. The Cuban-born shortstop's eye black read, "Tu ere . . . " followed by a seven-letter Spanish word that's a derogatory term for a homosexual.

Manager: Bobby Cox 2008 finish: 72-90, fourth, 20 GB In: RHP Derek Lowe, RHP Kenshin Kawakami, OF Garret Anderson, LHP Tom Glavine, RHP Javier Vazquez, C David Ross, LHP Eric O'Flaherty Out: 1B Mark Teixeira, RHP John Smoltz, OF Mark Kotsay PROJECTED LINEUP Josh Anderson, cf .294-3-12 Yunel Escobar, ss .288-10-60 Garret Anderson, lf .293-15-84 Chipper Jones, 3b .364-22.75 Brian McCann, c .301-23-87 Jeff Francoeur, rf .239-11-71 Casey Kotchman, 1b. .237-2-20 Kelly Johnson, 2b .287-12-52 - with Angels - with Braves following trade from Angels PROJECTED ROTATION Derek Lowe 14-11, 3.24 Javier Vazquez.

Talk about two improbable pitching performances. Just back from the minors, Florida's Rick Vanden Hurk took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for his first career win last night. A few hours earlier, Atlanta's Buddy Carlyle pitched one-hit ball over seven innings for his first victory since 1999, then was shipped back to the minors before he had time to celebrate. The result was a doubleheader split, the host Braves winning the opener 3-1 behind Carlyle before the Marlins rode the big Dutchman to a 5-1 victory in the nightcap.

YUNEL ESCOBAR was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Toronto Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox. Pictures posted online showed the Blue Jays shortstop with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at any person in particular. "I'm sorry for the actions of the other day," Escobar said through a translator during a news conference at Yankee Stadium.

Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during a game last weekend against Boston. Escobar apologized to his team and "to all those who have been offended" for what he said was meant to be "just a joke. " Escobar insisted the word is often used within teams and by Latinos and "I didn't see it as something bad. " The suspension was to have started Tuesday night.

Mark Teixeira hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves roughed up a rusty Orlando Hernandez in a 13-5 victory over the host New York Mets last night. Yunel Escobar also went deep for Atlanta, which played without Chipper Jones for the second straight night but still managed 13 hits. Willie Harris drove in three runs, and Jeff Francoeur was 2-for-3 with two RBI. The Braves, clinging to their slim playoff hopes with 17 games left, pulled within 8 1/2 of NL East-leading New York.

The Atlanta Braves finally figured out Oliver Perez. Beaten three times by Perez - the only games they have lost to the Mets this season - the Braves got some revenge last night, ripping the lefthander for two home runs and 10 hits in a 7-3 victory in New York. Matt Diaz hit a solo home run and Jeff Francoeur added a three-run shot. The victory, Atlanta's seventh in 10 games against New York this season, moved the second-place Braves within 3 1/2 games of the Mets in the National League East.

Mark Teixeira singled off the wall in left-center with the bases loaded in the 17th inning, giving the host Atlanta Braves a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros yesterday in the longest game in Turner Field history. Rain delayed the start of the game by 1 hour, 50 minutes, and solid pitching extended it much longer. The Braves rallied with two runs in the eighth inning to tie it, and each team had several chances to score the go-ahead run. Gregor Blanco finally did, after singling off Tim Byrdak (2-1)

How good is the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera? So good that the other team's players are fans. The 2012 AL Triple Crown winner hit three home runs in the Detroit's 11-8 loss to Texas on Sunday night. Rangers outfielder David Murphy was impressed. "Big game, fun game, national TV," he said. "We got to witness the best hitter in the game hit three homers. " Probably helped that Murphy had a three-run dinger of his own in the sixth - though that one barely cleared the wall.

YUNEL ESCOBAR was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Toronto Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox. Pictures posted online showed the Blue Jays shortstop with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at any person in particular. "I'm sorry for the actions of the other day," Escobar said through a translator during a news conference at Yankee Stadium.

Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during a game last weekend against Boston. Escobar apologized to his team and "to all those who have been offended" for what he said was meant to be "just a joke. " Escobar insisted the word is often used within teams and by Latinos and "I didn't see it as something bad. " The suspension was to have started Tuesday night.

Major League Baseball is checking reports that Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar played Saturday's game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish. Photos posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at anyone in particular. MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirmed Monday that the commissioner's office is looking into the reports.

MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball is checking reports that Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar played Saturday's game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish. Pictures posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at any person in particular. The Cuban-born shortstop's eye black read, "Tu ere . . . " followed by a seven-letter Spanish word that's a derogatory term for a homosexual.

ATLANTA - Tim Hudson pitched eight scoreless innings and hit his second career home run in the Atlanta Braves' 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night. Hudson (6-6) allowed two hits, one walk and struck out a season-high eight, including the 1,600th of his career. He took Ricky Romero (6-7) deep to make it 2-0 with two outs in the sixth. Toronto has lost two straight and five of seven. Hudson retired 20 straight batters before Mike McCoy walked to lead off the ninth and advanced to second on Yunel Escobar's infield single.

On the day major-league teams reassembled in the cities where they will resume their seasons, the Atlanta Braves made a bold statement that should resonate with the Phillies and their fans. The Braves, back atop the division they owned for a decade, plan to stay there. In Atlanta, Wednesday's shortstop swap was met with mixed emotions. Yunel Escobar was considered the Braves' best player last summer. At 27, he still has a high upside, his career mostly ahead of him. So it was no small risk for general manager Frank Wren to ship Escobar to Toronto for 33-year-old Alex Gonzalez.

Yunel Escobar picked a good time to break out of his slump. Escobar was hitless in his last 15 at-bats before stepping to the plate in the seventh inning last night. He led off with the single, one of two he had in a six-run inning that lifted the visiting Braves over the Florida Marlins, 7-3. "This might be the game that sparks everything and helps me move forward," said Escobar, who had three hits in his previous 36 at-bats since coming off the disabled list on May 15. "I know the team counts on my offensive production.

His face and head covered in shaving cream and his first home run ball stashed safely away, Jason Heyward stood in front of his locker and beamed. "I had a blast," he said. He stole the show on Opening Day. Minutes after catching the ceremonial first pitch from Hank Aaron, Heyward hit a three-run homer in his first major league at-bat to spark the Braves to a 16-5 opening win yesterday over Carlos Zambrano and the visiting Chicago Cubs. Heyward, the rightfielder who also had a run-scoring single in the eighth, was 2-for-5 with four RBI. "It was the first of many career highlights for him," said Atlanta's Chipper Jones.

Todd Helton received a lengthy standing ovation from fans and his teammates after smacking his 500th career double. That was simply a warmup act. Helton followed up the milestone double by hitting the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, propelling the Colorado Rockies to a 4-3 win over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday. "It was a good day," he said. A good day, indeed. Yet the ever-modest Helton downplayed the landmark hit. The homer was a different story.