Boston Red Sox minor league pitcher Victor De La Cruz was suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The commissioner’s office said Thursday that De La Cruz tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol. His penalty took effect immediately. A 19-year-old right-hander, De La Cruz is 3-0 with three saves and a 1.25 ERA in 11 relief appearances for Boston’s Dominican…

Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi wants Cito Gaston to return as manager in 2009.

New York Mets catcher Ramon Castro left Thursday’s game against the San Diego Padres after the fourth inning with recurring pain in his right ankle.

The Texas Rangers placed rookie outfielder David Murphy on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee sprain prior to Thursday’s game against the New York Yankees.

Clayton Kershaw went right after St. Louis Cardinals hitters who had put up 15 runs the previous two games. It turned out to be the perfect game plan. The 20-year-old rookie worked seven dominant innings and Manny Ramirez homered for the fourth time in six games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who averted a three-game sweep in a 4-1 victory over the Cardinals and 13-game winner Kyle Lohse on Thursday.

Apologies for the delay in the Big Ballpark Review series, but it’s been a busy month. We continue our trip…

Cito Gaston will return as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays next year. “Cito’s definitely going to be back,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Thursday. “He’s done a good job. We’re six games over .500 since he took over. We’ve got a long way to go offensively, but he’s really laid the groundwork for some of the right stuff offensively.

Lastings Milledge homered twice and drove in a career-high four runs, and Jason Bergmann earned his first win in nearly three months to help the Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday. It was Milledge’s second multihomer game. The other one came on Sept.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk and Skip Caray’s longtime broadcast partner Pete Van Wieren are among those scheduled to speak at a tribute to Caray at Turner Field on Tuesday morning. Caray, 68, died Sunday. He was the son of well-known Cubs Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and a member of the Braves broadcast team for 33 years.

Boston Red Sox minor league pitcher Victor De La Cruz was suspended 50 games on Thursday for testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance.