mark teixeira

Scott Boras has a winning hand in this free-agent season. And Mark Teixeira will be the first card played, Ken Rosenthal says.

As teams continue to play the hot stove waiting game, Ken Rosenthal says the first big domino to fall will be slugger Mark Teixeira.

The Angels want Mark Teixeira back, but Ken Rosenthal says they'll pass on re-signing the first baseman if negotiations drag on.

ATLANTA -- He stood at his locker with his crisply pressed Georgia Tech polo shirt on, in front of the Braves' jersey with his name across the back that he probably never will wear again, and Mark Teixeira looked ... what?

Happy? Sad? A little of both? Maybe neither?

The Los Angeles Angels acquired slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, a trade that further bolsters the team with the best record in the major leagues.

The Angels, with a whopping 11 1/2 -game lead in the AL West and clearly aimed at making a World Series run, sent first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steve Marek to Atlanta.

Hiroki Kuroda was nearly perfect in lifting the under-.500 Dodgers into a first-place tie in the NL West.

Pedro Martinez was sharp, too.

The Mets bullpen, though, almost denied New York its first winning record in a month.

Kuroda took a perfect game into the eighth inning and settled for a one-hitter, leading Los Angeles to a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.

The right-hander retired the first 21 batters before Mark Teixeira lined his 70th pitch into the right-field corner for a double.