Coffey gets warm welcome from Brewers  —  MILWAUKEE — Nationals reliever Todd Coffey was touched by the warm welcome he was given by the Milwaukee Brewers and their fans when he entered Wednesday's 6-4 loss in the seventh inning.  —  The crowd of 34,419 cheered loudly while Coffey sprinted …

Orioles use 8-run 4th to beat Royals 9-2  —  BALTIMORE — Adam Jones had two hits and two RBIs in an eight-run fourth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.  —  Baltimore sent 13 batters to the plate in the fourth …

After 19 Innings, Phillies Strecth to Beat Reds, 5-4  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Wilson Valdez acted like a seasoned closer.  —  He hit 90 mph on a fastball to Joey Votto.  He shook off catcher Dane Sardinha.  And he showed no fear.  —  “If he hits a home run, they're not going to say anything to me,” said Valdez, laughing.

Dustin Pedroia dives in  —  Bad ankle and all, he kick-starts Red Sox bats  —  CLEVELAND — It took only five pitches for Dustin Pedroia [stats] to dispel any lingering concerns about his left ankle.  —  Pedroia twisted his ankle Monday night and briefly lost feeling in his surgically repaired left foot …

Mets' selloff coming, so who's going?  —  Perhaps you've heard: It's been a lousy week for the New York Mets.  —  On Monday, The New Yorker published a story in which embattled owner Fred Wilpon criticized three of his star players — outfielder Carlos Beltran, shortstop Jose Reyes and third baseman David Wright.

Young's bat, glove help Diamondbacks edge Rockies  —  DENVER — Ian Kennedy tossed eight crisp innings, centre-fielder Chris Young robbed Ty Wigginton of a game-tying homer and the surging Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1 on Wednesday night.

The Classic Second-Guess  —  “If Jose Valverde is not better in the ninth inning than Rick Porcello after eight innings, and Jose Valverde's a top closer, then we might as well not have a closer.”  —Jim Leyland  —  “Never is (Colon) your best chance, because on his best day, he's never as good as Rivera.”

Towles breaks out of slump, leads Astros to victory Dodgers  —  HOUSTON — J.R. Towles broke out of an 0 for 32 slump with three hits, including an RBI single with two outs in the ninth that gave the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

Running and Runs: A Look at UBR Data  —  Yesterday, the great Mitchel Lichtmen gave us a look into how FanGraphs' latest toy, Ultimate Base Running (UBR).  This nifty base-running stat is now on the player pages and a part of WAR.  As Dave Appleman noted, UBR (or Bsr, short for base running …

Homers From Hunter, Callaspo Lead Angels Past A's  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Torii Hunter and Alberto Callaspo hit back-to-back homers, Ervin Santana allowed one run in six solid innings, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 Wednesday night for their fourth win in six games.

Marlins Run Over Posey, Giants 7-6 in 12 Innings  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Scott Cousins went to college at the University of San Francisco.  He lives in the Bay Area, and he had almost a dozen friends and family at AT&T Park on Wednesday night to witness the biggest moment of his professional career.

De La Rosa determined to be diligent  —  DENVER — Rockies left-handed pitcher Jorge De La Rosa welcomed the expectations that came with the multi-year contract he signed during the winter.  He was meeting them, too, until suffering a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow on Tuesday.

Rafael Soriano out 6-8 weeks  —  NEW YORK — Yankees setup man Rafael Soriano will be out another 6-8 weeks after being diagnosed with an inflamed ligament in his right elbow.  —  Dr. James Andrews, after seeing Soriano on Wednesday, prescribed rest for two more weeks and then a conservative throwing program.

The official MLB owner rankings  —  Fred Wilpon furthered his candidacy for worst owner in baseball this week when he ripped everyone but Mr. Met in The New Yorker, then told Sports Illustrated that the Mets are “bleeding money.”  He thus violated two cardinal rules of ownership.

Geren's time could be running out  —  Billy Beane isn't going to fire Bob Geren simply because of complaints from current players, former players or, heaven forbid, media critics.  —  But Beane, the Oakland Athletics' general manager, isn't tone deaf, either.  —  Yes, Geren was the best man in Beane's second wedding.

Headley, Latos pace Padres past Cardinals to end skid  —  SAN DIEGO — Chase Headley doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, leading Mat Latos and San Diego over the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Wednesday and ending the Padres' season-worst five-game losing streak.  —  The Cardinals had won four in a row.