UNDATED (AP) - Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline came and
went, with a flurry of activity before the market closed.
     The Atlanta Braves acquired speedy outfielder Michael Bourn from
the Astros in a five-player trade. Houston gets outfielder Jordan
Schafer and three minor league pitchers. The 28-year-old Bourn is a
two-time Gold Glove winner. He's hitting .303 and leads the majors
with 39 stolen bases.
     Bourn went from the bottom of the NL Central in Houston to the
top of the wild-card standings with Atlanta - and he wasn't the
only player who suddenly found himself in a pennant race.
    
     Elsewhere:
     -- The St. Louis Cardinals fortified their infield by acquiring
veteran shortstop Rafael Furcal (fur-KAHL') from the Los Angeles
Dodgers in exchange for a minor league prospect. The 33-year-old
Furcal is a two-time All-Star, but is batting just .197 in 37 games
while struggling with injuries this season. Furcal has a career
batting average of .283 with 298 stolen bases and has been
considered one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.
     -- The Boston Red Sox are adding a much-needed starter to their
rotation. The AL East leaders acquired oft-injured left-hander Erik
Bedard (beh-DARHD') from Seattle in a three-team trade that
included the L.A. Dodgers. Bedard was 15-14 with a 3.31 ERA in 46
appearances with the Mariners. He missed most of the 2009 season
and all of 2010 after surgery on his throwing shoulder. He was 4-7
with a 3.65 ERA in 16 starts this season but spent most of July on
the disabled list due to a knee injury.
     -- The AL West-leading Rangers continue reworking their bullpen.
Texas acquired right-hander Mike Adams from San Diego for a pair of
minor league pitchers. Adams is 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA over 48 relief
appearances with the Padres this season.
     -- Pittsburgh acquired outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the San
Diego Padres for a player to be named or cash considerations.
Ludwick batted .238 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 64 RBIs in
378 at-bats.
     -- The Oakland Athletics dealt reliever Brad Ziegler to Arizona
for a pair of minor leaguers. The 31-year-old Ziegler is 3-2 with a
2.39 ERA and one save in 43 appearances and 37 2-3 innings.
     -- Ubaldo Jimenez (yoo-BAHL'-doh hih-MEN'-ez) passed his
physical, completing a trade that sent him from the Colorado
Rockies to the Cleveland Indians. The Rockies got four minor
leaguers, including the Indians' top two pitching prospects for
Jimenez.