Mets report: Notes, quotes  —  The Sports Xchange  —C Paul Lo Duca's appeal hearing on his two-game suspension will be held Friday.  If the suspension isn't overturned, he must serve it immediately and would miss one or two games of the Houston series.

Rockies finish rare sweep of N.Y. teams  —  DENVER (AP) — If they can do it against New York, the Colorado Rockies figure they can knock anybody around.  —  Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins both drove in a season-high five runs and the Rockies pounded out 20 hits and routed the Mets again Wednesday night …

Johnson headed to disabled list  —  Right-hander exits after five scoreless innings vs. Padres  —  SAN DIEGO — Sailing along through five stellar innings on Wednesday, Josh Johnson's night came to a close while throwing warmup pitches before the sixth inning.

Beltran seeing Stars  —  DENVER — When David Wright was selected to the National League All-Star team last year, it signified a public relations coming-out party, jetting from David Letterman to the home run derby.  But for Carlos Beltran, the invitation meant business.

Lugo: Playing here has great a-peel  —  He didn't have any hits, but Julio Lugo [stats] still considered last night a success.  —  "Bananas," Lugo said when asked how he was doing after the Red Sox [team stats]' 7-3 win against Texas.  "I feel bananas every day.

Buehrle wants no-trade protection  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The staredown continues.  —  Jeff Berry, the agent for White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, said Wednesday night that Buehrle will not sign a proposed four-year, $56 million contract with the Sox unless it includes complete no-trade protection.

Ailing Smoltz to skip All-Star Game  —  Righty will combat soreness with trainers during break  —  LOS ANGELES — Even though he knew he wasn't going to be able to pitch, John Smoltz still wanted savor his eighth All-Star selection next week with his son.  But after feeling prolonged tightness …

The Kazmir conundrum  —  It may well be the most lopsided trade ever made: On July 30, 2004, trailing the Atlanta Braves by seven games in their division with a 49-53 record, the New York Mets decided to pull the trigger to send top prospect Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay for veteran pitcher Victor Zambrano.

So, who said there's no clock in a baseball game?  —  Betancourt gets penalty for taking too much time  —  DETROIT - Twelve seconds seems like long enough to throw a pitch.  —  Then again, nobody actually put a stop watch on it until Tuesday night, when Indians reliever Rafael Betancourt …

Halfway Home (Part 2: The Offense)  —  Tuesday in this space I examined how the Twins' pitching staff performed through exactly one half of the season, concluding that they have a "championship-caliber" group that's capable of improving in the second half.  Today I'll take the same type …

Pirates Notebook: LaRoche asks fans to lay off Bay  —  Adam LaRoche was asked, after his big day in the Pirates' 5-3 victory against Milwaukee, how it felt to get cheered by the crowd of 35,878 after nearly half a season of being booed.  —  And he responded by calling upon the team's fans to lay off struggling left fielder Jason Bay.

Notes: Padilla works toward return  —  Team aims to send pitcher to Double-A Frisco by July 12  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers have set a schedule for pitcher Vicente Padilla, who was put on the disabled list on June 25 with triceps inflammation behind his right elbow.