Braves make tempting offer to Rangers  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The game is now, "Can you top this?"  —  The Braves, major-league sources say, have made the Rangers a whopper of an offer for first baseman Mark Teixeira.  —  The Rangers evidently would receive three highly regarded young players …

Utley breaks right hand  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies All-Star second baseman Chase Utley broke his right hand when he was hit by a pitch during Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals.  —  Utley was hit in the fifth inning by Washington's John Lannan, who was making his major league debut.

Smith's Pitches Are Up, So the Mets Send Him Down  —  Joe Smith's career has followed the opposite trajectory of his best pitch, the sinker.  A blindingly quick ascent from a college closer to a minor league stopper to a spring training phenom earned him a job in the Mets' bullpen without facing the downs to balance the ups.

IT'S TY FOR TRADE  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Yankees fans may be tired of watching Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth pitch ineffectively for their team, but that hasn't stopped other major league clubs from being interested in the erratic right-handers.  —  According to talent evaluators from AL …

Reliever gets brief taste of AAA baseball  —  JUPITER — Jupiter reliever Jeff Gogal's first trip to the Class AAA level wasn't quite how he imagined it.  —  Gogal found out Sunday night he was heading to Albuquerque, N.M.  —  "They told me, 'I've got good news and bad news,' " said Gogal …

Benitez blows game  —  PHOENIX — Armando Benitez gave up a three-run homer to Eric Byrnes with two outs in the ninth inning as the Diamondbacks rallied to a 7-4 victory and four-game series sweep of the Marlins.  —  Benitez was one strike from sending the game into extra innings when Byrnes lined …

Power Surge by Matsui Delights Japanese Fans  —  Hideki Matsui hit at least 34 home runs in each of his last seven seasons in Japan.  In five seasons with the Yankees, he has exceeded 23 homers only once.  —  This month, though, Matsui is hitting the way he did with the Yomiuri Giants.

Bonds aims for history vs. Marlins  —  PHOENIX — Barry Bonds has the Marlins backed up to the warning track.  —  Three more home games.  Three more home runs to pass Hank Aaron.  —  If not, Bonds hits the road in his pursuit of the home run record, starting in Los Angeles, where Dodgers fans will be jeering instead of cheering.

Notes: Depleted 'pen feeling effects  —  Rodney heads to Triple-A, Tigers unsure of his return to club  —  CHICAGO — Sometimes it takes a blown six-run lead to put things in perspective.  —  The Tigers squandered a 7-1 lead in Tuesday's, 8-7, loss to the White Sox, with six of the runs coming …

A-Rod's 499th homer could become No. 500  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Just in case his 499th homer turns out to be No. 500, Alex Rodriguez already has the ball.  —  The Yankees' third baseman, set to become the youngest member of the 500-homer club, hit an eighth-inning drive off Gil Meche …

Pirates Notebook: Torres' grievance could affect trade  —  NEW YORK — A trade of reliever Salomon Torres might be a messy proposition.  —  The grievance he filed against the Pirates in March, one in which he complained that the team deceived him when negotiating his contract in the spring of 2006 …