Mets swept by Braves in Atlanta  —  ATLANTA - Willie Randolph's job wasn't considered in imminent danger Thursday afternoon, but the manager will be in trouble if the Mets don't salvage the remainder of their seven-game trip that continues tonight in Colorado, the Daily News has learned.

Cano delivers walk-off heroics vs. O's  —  Yanks second baseman cashes in Kennedy's strong start  —  NEW YORK — From the comforts of his manager's office, with its wide desk and leather couch, Joe Girardi sat on Thursday night and watched about five minutes of baseball.

Andrew Miller, Marlins finish stifling sweep of Diamondbacks  —  MIAMI GARDENS — The ball settled into right fielder Jeremy Hermida's glove to end the top of the seventh inning when the crowd began to rise.  —  With the applause building, Andrew Miller walked slowly to the dugout having allowed …

Who's Calling the Shots, the Yankees or Ortiz?  —  David Ortiz is a mammoth, powerful and gregarious left-handed hitter, the kind of slugger who would not need acting lessons to imitate Babe Ruth.  Ortiz, the modern-day Ruth from the Boston Red Sox, will get that interesting chance …

Ramirez tops order, but who'll bat third?  —  MIAMI GARDENS - Hanley Ramirez was back atop the lineup for Thursday's game.  His statistical history suggests he'll dominate there, so while the Marlins have solved their need for a dynamic presence in that spot, now they're faced with remedying a deficiency in another key position.

Kershaw could be called up to bigs  —  Lefty exits Minors start after one frame, prompting speculation  —  Dodgers phenom left-hander Clayton Kershaw had the kind of start for Double-A Jacksonville on Thursday night that will only fuel speculation he's about to become a Major Leaguer.

Baseball's Nerd Machine  —  The baseball box score, bless its little numerical heart, is dead.  It lived a nice, long life — about 140 years — but it has outlived its usefulness.  Its archaic statistics, pilloried for years by serious statisticians, tell you only what players have done, not what they're capable of doing.

What are the odds?  —  At last, a clubhouse fit for Pete Rose.  —  While Major League Baseball says it's doing all it can to keep tabs on packages coming in and out of stadium clubhouses, always on the lookout for performance enhancers, there apparently is less interest in the betting odds …

Day indoors brings sunny outcome for Texas Rangers  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  MINNEAPOLIS - After looking at Josh Hamilton's statistical splits and watching him struggle in the field during the Rangers' recent bevy of day games, manager Ron Washington thought it would be prudent to rest the outfielder for Thursday's noon start.

Jekyll and Hyde Pitching Staff  —  The Cincinnati Reds lost to the San Diego Padres Thursday night 8-2.  It's another example of a very strange season for the Reds pitchers.  Look at the home/road splits for the team:  —  Reds 2008HomeRoad Runs per Game  —  4.5  —  Runs Allowed per Game

Yanks keep ‘Joba Plan’ close to vest  —  Righty will throw Saturday, but details remain a mystery  —  NEW YORK — The surprise of Joba Chamberlain's reassignment to the rotation has faded.  Now for the logistics.  —  Chamberlain will pitch on Saturday — that much is all but certain.

Piniella: Edmonds needs to start hitting  —  The relationship between Jim Edmonds and Lou Piniella may be in the incubation stage, but it's off to an interesting start.  —  Edmonds is 2-for-15 in his first four games as a Cub, which is worse than the production Piniella received …

Quentin helps ChiSox win eighth straight  —  CHICAGO (AP)—You won't find Carlos Quentin's name on an All-Star ballot, but he's right where he belongs in the middle of a first-place lineup.  —  The White Sox weren't positive their new outfielder would even make the roster out of spring training …