My reactions to Wright/Collins situation  —  Last night, following a solo home run by Rickie Weeks, D.J Carrasco plunked Ryan Braun with the next pitch.  —  David Wright was scheduled to lead off the bottom of the inning, but Terry Collins pulled him from the game and put Jordany Valdespin in instead.

Ex-White Sox, Orioles pitcher Hickey dies at 56  —  CHICAGO — Kevin Hickey, who pitched in six major league seasons with the White Sox and the Orioles and who was a coach with Chicago, has died.  He was 56.  —  The team said Hickey died Wednesday at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Angels fire hitting coach Mickey Hatcher  —  From Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com comes word that the Angels have fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher.  —  Triple-A Salt Lake hitting instructor Jim Eppard has been promoted to serve as his replacement.  —  The news comes with odd timing considering …

Stephen Strasburg had issue with Hot Stuff ointment in rocky outing, Davey Johnson says  —  After Stephen Strasburg allowed four runs in four laborious innings against the Padres this afternoon, Nationals Manager Davey Johnson volunteered an unusual postgame revelation.

Lawrie Ejected After Wild Rage, Rays Beat Jays 4-3  —  TORONTO (AP) — Brett Lawrie slammed his batting helmet to the ground and it ricocheted into plate umpire Bill Miller as the ninth inning turned nasty Tuesday in Toronto's 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay.  —  Lawrie was ejected for arguing …

Josh Johnson Pitches Marlins Past Pirates 6-2  —  MIAMI (AP) — Josh Johnson allowed two runs over seven innings for his first victory in more than a year, and the Miami Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 on Tuesday night.  —  Johnson (1-3) had gone winless in 12 starts since his most recent victory on April 19, 2011.

Diamondbacks top Dodgers 5-1  —  LOS ANGELES—Wade Miley wiggled out of a couple jams while pitching into the seventh inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers' five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.  —  Miley (4-1) yielded eight hits and walked …

Appel No. 1 in first mock draft  —  Astros leaning toward a safer choice with the first overall pick  —  We're 20 days away from this year's Rule 4 draft, and virtually nothing is settled at this point, starting with the first overall pick.  As always, this is based on my conversations …

Tigers Hit 3 HRs in 8-Run Rally in 6th, Top Chisox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson homered during an eight-run rally in the sixth inning Tuesday and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 10-8.  —  The Tigers hung on in the ninth despite an injury to closer Jose Valverde.

Mets to Host 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field  —  Major League Baseball will announce on Wednesday that next year's All-Star Game will be held at Citi Field in Flushing, according to a person familiar with the decision.  —  The Mets were expected to be awarded the game after the Yankees hosted …