Church's heroics lead Nats  —  Slugger belts pair of homers, including game-winner in ninth  —  MIAMI — Ryan Church said that his confidence was waning entering Sunday's action, and the lack of it started when the Nationals optioned him to Triple-A New Orleans on March 28.

Mets cream of NL East?  Braves say hold on  —  Atlanta has talent, attitude to show Pedro, mouthy N.Y. who owns division  —  Pedro Martinez and the Mets may be riding high right now, but the Braves will likely show them who's boss during their series this week, writes NBCSports.com's Ray Glier.

Notes: DiNardo slated to start  —  Left-hander to fill in for ailing starter Wells on Monday  —  BOSTON — Hopefully Jason Varitek has better luck catching Lenny DiNardo than first-base coach and former big league catcher Bill Haselman.  —  Red Sox manager Terry Francona confirmed Sunday morning …

Are Pirates running out of patience with underperforming Snell?  —  PITTSBURGH - Patience.  Patience.  Patience.  —  The Pittsburgh Pirates have preached patience with their young pitching staff since the day spring training started, an understandable sentiment given that only one of their five starters is older than 24.

Notes: Gagne makes clubhouse visit  —  Two roles for Saito; Izturis' rehab assignment pushed back  —  LOS ANGELES — Eric Gagne on Sunday made his first clubhouse appearance since surgery last week to remove a nerve near his elbow.  —  Gagne said he finally acknowledged the discomfort …

No more tarp sliding for Buehrle  —  Southpaw reportedly fined for Sunday's rain-delay actions  —  CHICAGO — Mark Buehrle's tarp-diving days officially came to a close Sunday afternoon, now slipping and sliding in its fourth year of rain delay theater.  —  During the second of two rain delays …

Garcia gets a win, lecture  —  With the rain pelting down in the top of the fifth and the dirt of the U.S. Cellular Field infield a quagmire, White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi fumbled an easy grounder that would have ended the inning.  —  Sox starter Freddy Garcia raised his hands …

Dodgers edged in series finale  —  Kent beaned, Hamulack ejected in low-scoring contest  —  LOS ANGELES — The Giants beat the Dodgers on Sunday night, 2-0, a game in which cleanup hitters Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds were hit by pitches, resulting in the ejection of Dodgers reliever Tim Hamulack.

Notes: Pagan to DL; Aardsma recalled  —  Cedeno tweaks throwing motion; Williamson healthy, confident  —  PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Cubs decided to add another arm and go with 12 pitchers on Sunday when they recalled right-hander David Aardsma and placed outfielder Angel Pagan on the 15-day disabled list.

Ponson's first win ends his seven-game losing streak  —  Up next: 1:15 p.m. Sunday vs. Cincinnati, KPLR (Ch. 11)  —  Before Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium, the last time Sidney Ponson won a game was ...  Good question.  —  "The date of my last win?

A Learning Experience for Batters as Games Wear On  —  Last Sunday started poorly for David Wright.  In his first two at-bats against the Florida Marlins and their All-Star left-hander, Dontrelle Willis, Wright grounded out both times as the Mets fell behind, 2-0.  —  But Wright, the Mets' third baseman, was paying attention.

Honoree Baker reflects on '81 Series  —  Cubs skipper to be recognized before Dodgers game Monday … I started that season with an injury, and I ended with an injury.  We didn't think we were going to go on strike that year.  Jay Johnstone hit two pinch-hit home runs right before …

Lackey, Guerrero cruise against O's  —  BALTIMORE — Vladimir Guerrero played a big part in breaking the Angels' three-game losing streak on Sunday.  Guerrero went 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs as the Angels snapped their recent skid with a 9-3 victory over the Orioles before 19,904 at Camden Yards.

Sox could use starter like Arroyo  —  David Wells is back on the 15-day disabled list.  He's receiving injections of the joint lubricant Synvisc in his right knee.  And Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein could not give an exact date for his return.  —  That means the Sox are down one starter for at least two weeks.

For Now, Wright Happily Forgets How to Strike Out  —  As magnificent as David Wright's first two weeks have been, the number that impresses him most is not .421 (his batting average), .816 (his slugging percentage) or 13 (his runs batted in).  It is the loneliest number, one, which is how many strikeouts he has in 38 at-bats.