Padres' offense breaks out against Mets after rain delay … NEW YORK — Padres manager Bud Black tried spinning a tale about extra batting practice in the cages during the rain delay to explain why his offense came alive when the game resumed.  —  He couldn't do it.  The swings that counted were just too good.

Sources: Jones near megadeal with O's  —  The Orioles, building on their early season momentum, are close to signing center fielder Adam Jones to a club-record contract extension, major-league sources say.  —  The deal, according to one source, will be “well north” of the two largest deals in team history …

Yankees executive Lonn Trost off base by calling for MLB probe after Daily News reports team may be exploring sale  —  Such an investigation of a journalistic issue would seem to be out of bounds  —  Yankees COO Lonn Trost says he will ask MLB to investigate after Daily News reports chatter around baseball …

Pujols Homers, Haren Tosses Gem in Angels 3-0 Win  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Albert Pujols had three hits, including his 450th career home run, and Dan Haren struck out a career-high 14 to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.

SF Gets Season-High 15 Hits to Beat Marlins 14-7  —  MIAMI (AP) — Melky Cabrera had three hits and drove in four runs Thursday for the San Francisco Giants, who gave Ryan Vogelsong robust run support for a change to beat the Miami Marlins 14-7.  —  Vogelsong (3-2) allowed three runs in 6 1-3 innings, which hiked his ERA to 2.50.

The Stats Go Marching In  —  Reaching Back for a Little Extra  —  In my last article, I explored the rich subject of pitch velocities.  I tried to isolate the many factors influencing speed, from weather, to PITCHf/x calibration issues, to in-game situations.

The Nationals and Braves meet for first place  —  Starting tonight in Atlanta, the Nationals will receive the kind of test that has remained absent since their first season in Washington.  Sitting in first place, they will walk into the second-place team's stadium and have to fight to stay at the top.

Pomeranz yet to rediscover proper delivery  —  Young lefty has disjointed three-inning start at Colorado Springs  —  COLORADO SPRINGS — Left-hander Drew Pomeranz didn't feel like himself Thursday afternoon.  That was a tough place to be, since the Rockies sent him down to Triple …

Alderson: Team's offensive philosophy & lack of power  —  Last night, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson visited the booth with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling.  —  In his talk, he spoke about the team buying into Dave Hudgens' philosophy, the organization approach to hitting, and the lack of power from the lineup so far:

Cops: Curtis sex crimes were in school  —  Chad Curtis charged with 5 counts of CSCs  —  HASTINGS, Mich. (WOOD) - Former Major League Baseball player Chad Curtis was charged with five counts of criminal sexual conduct that investigators say happened inside Lakewood High School in Barry County.

Rays do the nerd thing  —  Here are a few early photos of the Rays dressed up with bowties for their Ken Rosenthal/nerd themed trip.  You can read more about it here.  —  Here is the team shot, courtesy Skip Milos, team photographer:  —  And a candid shot, with Joel Peralta in front of the group:

Marlins Looking For Help Following Bonifacio Injury  —  The Marlins announced today that Emilio Bonifacio will miss 4-6 weeks due to left thumb surgery, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the team is looking at “possible outside fits” to replace him.

Major League Baseball named Sports League of the Year at Sports Business Awards  —  MLB Fan Cave Also Recognized with “Best in Experiential Marketing” Award  —  Major League Baseball was named Sports League of the Year at the 2012 Sports Business Awards presented by SportsBusiness Journal …