X-ray reveals fractured leg for Hirsh  —  Pitcher suffered injury in first inning of Tuesday's victory  —  DENVER — A line drive that hit the right leg of Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh during the first inning of Tuesday night's 11-4 victory over the Brewers did more damage than originally believed.

Who Better to Give Up a Sleezball the Record, Than Another Sleezball?  —  By now, there has been much reaction to Barry Bonds' record breaking night last night.  Some people enjoyed it, some, not so much.  This is not a piece on Barry and his record hitting 756 th homerun, but rather 'the other guy'.

Career over?  'Boomer' Wells, Pads set to cut ties  —  SAN DIEGO — David Wells is finished with his hometown San Diego Padres, and it's possible that the career of one of baseball's most boisterous characters could be over.  —  General manager Kevin Towers said Wednesday that the Padres …

Pie heading back to Cubs  —  Prospect expected to make third trip to bigs on Wednesday  —  HOUSTON — The Cubs were expected to tweak their roster Wednesday, calling up outfielder Felix Pie from Triple-A Iowa and placing outfielder Angel Pagan on the disabled list.

Alou's HR in 8th gets Mets by Braves 4-3  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Bases loaded, nobody out, one-run game.  Billy Wagner never lost his cool on a sweltering night at Shea Stadium, and the New York Mets hung on for a big victory against Atlanta.  —  Wagner escaped a major jam in the ninth inning …

Angels rip through Wake: Sox' lead trimmed to five in AL East  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - While San Francisco cheered last night, and much of baseball booed, the Red Sox [team stats] simply tried to find a way out of the fifth inning.  —  But they couldn't escape the pivotal, five-run fifth for the Angels …

Pedro roughed up in rehab start  —  Right-hander dismisses tough line as part of process  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Pedro Martinez was hit hard Wednesday night in his first professional regular-season game since rotator cuff surgery last Oct. 5, but the Mets right-hander didn't seem concerned afterward.

Marlins to activate outfielder De Aza  —  Kensing sent to Triple-A; Borchard designated for assignment  —  PHILADELPHIA — After Tuesday's 11-1 loss to the Phillies, the Marlins made a few roster moves that will become official on Wednesday.  —  Outfielder Joe Borchard was designated for assignment …

Buscher on DL.  Here comes Tommy Watkins.  And lineups....  Brian Buscher's right leg infection worsened on Wednesday, so he's been sent to the Twin Cities to be hospitalized.  He'll be hooked up to an i.v. so he can get medicine in him to attack the infection.

Shields helps Rays end 8-game road skid  —  DETROIT (AP) — Jim Leyland almost picked Tampa Bay's James Shields for the All-Star game last month.  —  On Wednesday night, Shields reminded him why.  —  Shields allowed one run over seven innings as the Devil Rays snapped an eight-game road losing streak …

Vasgersian's prattle ignites ire in Ozarks  —  Matt Vasgersian was in his hotel room at midday yesterday in St. Louis, preparing for last night's Channel 4 San Diego broadcast in an unusual way.  —  "I'm mail-ordering a bulletproof vest so I can go to the ballpark," Vasgersian said.

Dale Murphy: Bonds 'terrible example for our kids'  —  Salt Lake City — Two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy thinks Barry Bonds is a "terrible example for our kids" and that the San Francisco Giants used performance-enhancing drugs "without a doubt."  —  "Barry's a great player, there's no question about it …

Evolving the Save Rule  —  Back in 1973, in the days when Sparky Lyle and Tug McGraw toiled in the late innings for the New York teams, Bruce Stark of the New York Daily News drew a series of caricatures of the Yankees and Mets.  (Here's the Tom Seaver drawing from the series.)