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 …

Wainwright has a grip on a new pitch  —  TOWER GROVE  • Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright knows catcher Yadier Molina wasn't expecting it and it's possible Molina didn't think Wainwright had it anymore, but there it was on the fourth pitch to Yonder Alonso earlier this week.  —  It arrived at 92 mph.

Aroldis Chapman: Starter or closer?  —  Reds' fireballing left-hander a closer for now, but could be a starter next season … It's become the coolest scene in the grand panorama of Cincinnati sports.  Possibly even cooler than fans who catch two home-run balls in the space of about a minute and a half.

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.

Rockies place Hernandez on DL, Nieves called up  —  CINCINNATI — Ramon Hernandez had no issue playing through the tendinitis in his left hand.  Pain is one thing.  The lack of performance is another.  Hernandez could not help the team offensively.  —  “It wasn't fair to them or me.

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.

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.

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.

Expert says DNA on medical waste matched Clemens'  —  WASHINGTON (AP) -A forensic scientist testified that two cotton balls and a syringe needle allegedly saved after a steroids injection tested positive for Roger Clemens' DNA, a key moment on Friday as the government tries to prove the former pitcher used performance-enhancing drugs.

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 …

Carson & Carrasco out; Egbert called up from Buffalo  —  The Mets have optioned LHP Robert Carson to Double-A Binghamton, the team announced.  —  To replace Carson on the roster, the Mets purchased the contract of RHP Jack Egbert from Triple-A Buffalo.  —  In two relief appearances with the Mets …

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.

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: