Quote: "If they win, I'll have to come back and do the magic little pep talk again."

-- Magician Jeff Scanlan after entertaining the Cubs during the rain delay yesterday.

It's a fact: The Brewers play 28 of their first 43 games on the road and have just 28 away games after the All-Star break.

Who's hot: After a 1-5 start on the road, the Diamondbacks went 8-2 in a homestand against Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia, including four straight wins heading into their longest road trip of the season.

Who's not: The Marlins, now 4-11, have given up 27 runs in the opening two innings of games this season.

On deck: The Padres' Tony Gwynn needs 48 more hits to become the 22nd major-leaguer to reach 3,000.

Pub Date: 4/23/99