Hoffman must take Macha off hook  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Cincinnati - It's up to Trevor Hoffman now.  —  Hoffman has to go into manager Ken Macha's office Wednesay and tell him to remove the 42-year-old right-hander from his role as the Milwaukee Brewers' closer.

Red Sox bats take offense  —  Maligned lineup comes through when pitching, defense doesn't  —  NEW YORK - Until further notice, all permits and licenses for the Red Sox [team stats]' run prevention program have been pulled.  —  Taking over like Al Haig, the team's run production unit …

Game Time … ATLANTA — The Braves struggled with the fundamentals in the ninth inning.  —  No worries.  David Wright made the biggest blunder of all.  —  After failing twice to get down sacrifice bunts, Atlanta still beat the New York Mets 3-2 when Wright's throwing error allowed pinch …

Don't make Epstein face the music for this  —  NEW YORK — No, Theo Epstein was not with the Red Sox last night.  —  The general manager was seen at the Pearl Jam concert at TD Garden Monday night, which led some to question where his priorities are.  Well, relax.

Dodgers look for more solid pitching to make up for loss of Andre Ethier  —  Joe Torre says team will need pitchers to continue doing well while the outfielder is on the disabled list.  —  Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier signs autographs prior to the Dodgers' game against the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

Marlins' Ramirez benched heading into Cards series  —  Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez accidently kicks a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks' Tony Abreu.  Ramirez is defending his play a day after he was pulled from a game by manager Fredi Gonzalez for not hustling …

CUBS IN BRIEF: Hendry looking, but no relief in sight  —  The return of Carlos Zambrano to the starting rotation figures to ratchet up the Cubs' need for a late-inning right-hander.  That doesn't mean general manager Jim Hendry is any more likely to pull off a trade in May than he was last week.

Jays gear up for first Draft of Anthopoulos era  —  GM preparing as club holds most high-round picks in Majors  —  TORONTO — When Alex Anthopoulos strolled into the visitors' clubhouse at Fenway Park last week, it was noticeable.  The invisible general manager had materialized …

O'S RALLY PAST ROYALS IN 10 INNINGS  —  The Sports Network  —  Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Nick Markakis hit an RBI single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the Baltimore Orioles rallied past the Kansas City Royals, 4-3, to split a brief two-game set from Camden Yards.

Updating the Top 25 MLB prospects  —  With Jason Heyward and others no longer mere prospects, the rankings change  —  We're about a fourth of the way through the minor league season, and a number of players from my ranking of the Top 100 prospects for 2010 have already made an impact …

DOWNS COMES THROUGH FOR GIANTS IN 12TH INNING  —  The Sports Network  —  San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Matt Downs went 3-for-5, drove in two runs in the 12th and scored the eventual game-winning run later in the frame, as the Giants held on to defeat the Padres, 7-6, for the first time this season.

SUZUKI DRIVES IN WINNING RUN IN 10TH AS A'S OUTLAST MARINERS  —  The Sports Network  —  Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Kurt Suzuki's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Athletics a 6-5 win in a back-and-forth battle with the Seattle Mariners in the finale of a two-game set.