National League News

The St. Louis Cardinals hope to pad their NL Central lead while the Los Angeles Dodgers look to climb out of the NL West basement, as the two are set to begin a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

Three's a crowd atop the NL West standings, but the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants will both try to change that as they meet up Friday at AT&T for the opener of a three-game series.

Ike Davis has heard the talk, the quotes, the sound bites and the opinions about what the Mets should do with him.

"My personality won't let me do it," he said recently. "I'm not a numbers type of guy.

"There goes Roy Hobbs," Gattis said, chuckling at the thought of being compared to the mythical figure played on screen by Robert Redford.

Here's hoping Orioles pitching prospect Kevin Gausman , who will make his major league debut tonight against the Blue Jays, lives up to the hype, because this year's American League rookie class is one of the weakest in recent memory.

Jeanmar Gomez tries to pitch the Pittsburgh Pirates to a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs Thursday when the National League Central foes close their set from PNC Park.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has heard the cascade of criticism washing down upon his high-priced, underperforming roster and he seems to have had enough.

Weeks had a day off Tuesday and utility man Jeff Bianchi showed Roenicke what he could do, collecting two hits.

We talked privately to several Dodger front office officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation, and they couldn't figure out the motive behind Mattingly's pre-game outburst, either, knowing only that he violated everything we've been taught about job security.

Delmon Young homered and Ryan Howard added three hits and three RBIs to help carry the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Carlos Gonzalez homered and drove in two runs, Jorge De La Rosa pitched effectively into the sixth inning and the Colorado Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 4-1 on Wednesday to take two of three in the series.

Peralta was knocked out in the second inning and Milwaukee went on to a 9-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

Carlos Gonzalez homered and drove in two runs, Jorge De La Rosa pitched effectively into the sixth and the Colorado Rockies beat Arizona 4-1 on Wednesday to take two of three from the Diamondbacks.

The St. Louis Cardinals look to become the first 30-win team in the majors when they shoot for a fourth straight series triumph Wednesday in the finale of a three-game set against the San Diego Padres.

Joey Votto homered and Zack Cozart had a career-high four hits, all off Matt Harvey, in a game that featured a little bit of everything - including a testy exchange in the dugout between Cincinnati starter Mat Latos and teammate Jay Bruce.

Not that scoring two or more runs is difficult to do, but the Atlanta Braves are 5-0 when doing so with Paul Maholm on the mound.

Misplaced pitches. Punishing walls. Unyielding lockers. All sorts of factors are conspiring against the Washington Nationals, who are finding new ways to turn big preseason expectations into sheer mediocrity.

The Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers are dominating in the first month and a half of the 2013 Major League Baseball season because they are striking out a majority of the batters they face.

CONFESSION IS good for the soul, we are told. Besides, there is no realistic alternative, seeing as how the words written in 2010 will live forever in cyberspace.