Torii Hunter says he'll take big pay cut to stay with Angels next season  —  DETROIT — Torii Hunter, in the final year of a five-year, $90 million contract, would take a huge pay cut to remain with the Los Angeles Angels and promised that money “will not be an issue” in whether he returns in 2013.

After resting sore knee, Quentin back in action  —  SAN DIEGO — Outfielder Carlos Quentin was back in left field and the cleanup spot on Wednesday after missing two games with soreness in his left knee.  —  Quentin has had surgeries on both knees, though the most recent procedure …

Ross hits two three-run homers, Red Sox pound White Sox  —  BOSTON — Cody Ross hit three-run homers in consecutive innings and Felix Doubront pitched six solid innings, carrying the Boston Red Sox to a 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

An Inner Circle for the Hall of Fame  —  By standards of the museum, all players honored in the baseball Hall of Fame are equal.  Once a man's in, he's in and all players get the same plaque.  There is no delineation between the Mickey Mantles and Tommy McCarthys of Cooperstown.  Should this be?

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Baseball Wives’ star Anna Benson says husband filed for divorce; kids registered as ‘homeless’ for school  —  Anna and Kris Benson in 2006 after Kris was traded by the New York Mets to the Baltimore Orioles.AP  —  The woman who said she would sleep with the entire …

Kubel's 2 HRs Lead Dbacks Over Reds 7-1  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Jason Kubel returned from a sore hamstring and homered in his first two at-bats on Wednesday night, powering the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7-1 victory that dropped the Cincinnati Reds back into a first-place tie in the NL Central.

Giants Score 6 Runs in 11th to Beat Braves 9-4  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Crawford and Gregor Blanco hit three-run homers in the 11th inning and the San Francisco Giants recovered after blowing a two-run lead in the 10th to beat the Atlanta Braves 9-4 on Wednesday night.

Prado focused on baseball, not contract  —  ATLANTA — Martin Prado has impressively bounced back from the most disappointing season of his young career and provided reason to believe he could serve as Chipper Jones' successor as the Braves' starting third baseman next year.

Nats GM: Sitting Strasburg will be ‘my decision’  —  WASHINGTON — The decision whether the National League East-leading Washington Nationals will shut down prized starter Stephen Strasburg has apparently been made.  The when is all that remains.  —  General Manager Mike Rizzo told ESPN …

Five NL trades that must happen  —  Justin Upton to the Pirates, Cole Hamels to the Dodgers and other deals  —  Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline is a scant two weeks away, so it's rapidly becoming time for teams to start making some final decisions on the near-future comings and goings.

No resolution — or contract — close for Greinke, Brewers  —  Zack Greinke remains in limbo.  —  Greinke could leave the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent after this season.  He could sign a long-term contract extension with the team.  He could be traded before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Notebook: Boggs tinkers with pitch to add to arsenal  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • Somewhere on the list of popular spring training refrains beneath “best shape of his career” and “ready to show his versatility” is the hymn sung by so many pitchers as they take the mound in February.

Giants' Schierholtz not happy  —  Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle / SF  —  Atlanta —  With the trade deadline approaching, players get nervous about being dealt.  However, there is one Giant who is ready to move on if another team wants to give him a larger role.

Yanks cap sweep of Jays in rain-shortened win … NEW YORK — Hiroki Kuroda pitched four-hit ball, Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer in a four-run first inning and the New York Yankees completed a thorough sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 6-0, rain-shortened victory Wednesday.

Red Sox, Marlins Discussed Crawford, Hanley, Bell  —  1:10pm: There's no current discussion involving Crawford, Ramirez and Bell, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).  The idea surfaced briefly as a concept and immediately died.  —  12:57pm: The Red Sox and Marlins are discussing …