NEW YORK: RF Gary Sheffield, who sat out Sunday's game against Toronto with a bruised left wrist, didn't start Monday and was listed as day-to-day. ``Sheff is still sore, getting a little more circulation in it, but still can't grip a bat,'' manager Joe Torre said. ``The only good news is the result of the tests.'' ... Torre downplayed reports the Yankees might have been trying to acquire C Doug Mirabelli, who was traded from San Diego to Boston on Monday. ``We're happy with Kelly Stinnett,'' Torre said of his backup. ... When Boston took a 1-0 lead in the first inning it marked the eighth straight game in which New York trailed. The Yankees won five of the first seven.
BOSTON: David Ortiz has 33 homers and 81 RBIs from last July 31 through April, more than any other player in both categories. ... The Red Sox committed 11 errors in April, their fewest in that month since they had nine in 1991. ... Boston is coming off a 3-6 road trip in which it batted .222 during the last five games. ... Alex Cora started at shortstop in place of Alex Gonzalez, who is batting just .186 with one run in 21 games.
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KANSAS CITY: The Royals designated RHP Luke Hudson for assignment before Monday's game, and purchased RHP Steve Andrade from Triple-A Omaha. Andrade had a 2.00 ERA in five relief appearances for Omaha, while Hudson was 0-3 with an 8.74 ERA in nine games with the Royals. ... The Royals went 5-17 in April, their worst record in the first month of the season since going 3-17 in 1992. ... Kansas City entered Monday's game trailing Chicago by 11 games - the fifth time in the last six years that they have been out of first place by double figures by May 15.
DETROIT: INF Omar Infante got his third start of the season at third base, replacing Brandon Inge. Inge is hitting .176 in his last 17 games. ... Detroit's April 30 shutout of the Twins was their fifth of the month, setting a team record. Detroit's 16 wins in April were the most since the World Series champion 1984 team went 18-2. ... Placido Polanco entered Monday's game needing one more run to reach 1000 for his career.
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TORONTO: Blue Jays manager John Gibbons expects reliever Scott Downs, who's been on the bereavement list since April 28 (following the hospitalization of his infant daughter) to rejoin the club on Tuesday. ... Tuesday's starter will be Casey Janssen, who made his big league debut on April 27 against Baltimore. Janssen, who allowed three runs in four innings and took the loss, expects his second start to be much better. ``Thursday night started fast - and ended fast,'' he said. ... Gibbons said he had no further word on the status of RHP A.J. Burnett, who has been on the DL since April 22 with a sore right elbow.
BALTIMORE: Miguel Tejada, who is nursing a hyperextended left knee, played DH for a second straight game Monday. He hopes to return to shortstop on Tuesday. ... Manager Sam Perlozzo said C Javy Lopez (back spasms) and 1B Kevin Millar (bruised right wrist) probably won't be ready to play before Wednesday. ... Despite closing April with six losses in eight games, the Orioles went 13-13 for the month and were only 1 1/2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. Given that Baltimore played three games against Boston, three against New York and four against the defending AL West champion Los Angeles Angels, Perlozzo said, ``I thought we did better than OK. We had a rough schedule thrown right at us. Everyone's still bunched together. That's a good thing.''
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CHICAGO: After starting the season 1-4, the White Sox finished April 17-7. ``Anytime you're over .500 after the start we had, you've done a very good job,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. ... OF Jermaine Dye was held out of Monday's lineup. He left Sunday's game in the fifth inning with a sore left hamstring. ``We want to give him another day and see how he is,'' Guillen said. Rob Mackowiak started in right. ... Guillen said the players will have an extra bunting session before Wednesday's home game. ``It's not where it should be,'' he said.
CLEVELAND: Seems like Ben Broussard has to share everything these days. Broussard, who splits the Cleveland Indians' first base duties with Eduardo Perez, was named the AL's co-player of the week Monday along with Texas outfielder Kevin Mench. Broussard batted .625 (10-of-16) and led the league with four home runs, 13 RBIs and 23 total bases. Mench hit four homers, drove in 10 runs and had a .957 slugging percentage. Broussard and Mench, who both won the weekly award for the first time, received watches for the honor. Broussard joked he might have to share that, too. ``I wonder if I get the band and Mench gets the watch,'' he said.
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TEXAS: INF Ian Kinsler (left thumb) is scheduled to hit off a tee for the first time Tuesday. ``It will be a good test,'' manager Buck Showalter said. ... LHP Brian Anderson (left elbow ligament replacement surgery) threw 53 pitches during a bullpen session. He could be ready around June 1. ... RHP Frank Francisco (right elbow ligament replacement surgery) struck out two in one inning of an extended spring training game. ... RHP Josh Rupe (right elbow) is scheduled for a bullpen session Tuesday. ... RHP Robinson Tejada will be called up from Triple-A Oklahoma to start Tuesday's game. A corresponding move will be made before the game.
TAMPA BAY: 2B Jorge Cantu (left foot broken bone) is not sure if he will be ready when eligible to be activated from the 15-day DL on May 8. He is taking batting practice. ... 3B Aubrey Huff (left knee) and SS Julio Lugo (abdominal strain) both played in an extended spring training game. They might return Friday. ... There is no timetable for when CF Rocco Baldelli (hamstring) will resume playing in extended spring games. Manager Joe Maddon downplayed the fact that Baldelli took grounders and worked on fielding fundamentals at first base. ``I guess he did that in junior high,'' Maddon said.
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SEATTLE: Former Twin Matt Lawton replaced Jeremy Reed in center field. Reed doesn't have a hit in his last 20 at-bats and is hitting .188. Manager Mike Hargrove said the move isn't permanent, but will probably last more than one game. ``Jeremy is really pressing,'' Hargrove said. ``I talked to him, and I'm sure he doesn't like (the move). I wouldn't either if I were him. But I'm sure he understands it.'' It's Lawton's first start in center since May 23, 2000, when he was with Minnesota.
MINNESOTA: The Twins were happy to be back at the Metrodome after a rough road trip and a brutal April. They went 6-3 on their first homestand of the season. ``That's your bright, shining light right now: We've played well at home,'' manager Ron Gardenhire said. ... The starting pitchers have struggled so badly that LHP Dennys Reyes was brought up when OF Ruben Sierra went on the DL. That left the Twins with only four bench players, and two of them are fighting injuries. C Joe Mauer has been playing with a sore foot and hamstring, and IF Nick Punto hasn't played since Thursday because of a sore groin. Punto was available to come off the bench Monday.
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COLORADO: Rockies 1B Todd Helton will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday. Helton was hospitalized April 21 with an intestinal problem. At the time, he was hitting .347 and leading the NL with a .529 on-base percentage. In his Colorado Springs debut, Helton is expected to start and play five innings against the Tacoma Rainiers. The team didn't say how long Helton would be in the minors. ... When Braves RHP Jorge Sosa was taking batting practice, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle yelled out: ``The one that got away, George Sosa! Tried to make him an outfielder. What were we thinking?'' Sosa was initially signed by the Rockies as an outfielder. After struggling as a hitter, he was shifted to the mound and wound up in Atlanta, where he went 13-3 last season.
ATLANTA: Lance Cormier was glancing at the Braves' minor league statistics when he spotted a familiar name. ``Man, look what Phil Stockman is doing,'' Cormier said Monday before Atlanta's game against the Colorado Rockies. ``Those are Bugs Bunny numbers.'' For the uninitiated, Cormier was referring to the classic ``Looney Tunes'' cartoon in which Bugs beats an entire team by himself with physics-defying pitches such as the ``stop ball.'' Stockman hasn't done anything that remarkable, but he's put up some impressive numbers out of the bullpen the first month of the season. The 6-foot-8 Australian pitched three games at Double-A Mississippi, where he allowed only one hit in 7 1-3 innings, striking out 12 and limiting opponents to a .043 batting average. The right-hander was just as impressive in his first five games at Triple-A - 9 1-3 innings, two hits with 13 strikeouts and opponents hitting .077. The 26-year-old Stockman signed with the Braves as a minor league free agent after failing to make it to the majors with Arizona. If he keeps this up, he might just get a look in the Braves' shaky bullpen.
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PHILADELPHIA: With Florida LHP Dontrelle Willis pitching Monday against the Phils, manager Charlie Manuel held left-handed hitters Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard out of the lineup. Abreu, who had started every game this season, said he dislikes taking a day off but acknowledged it made sense against Willis. ``He's a tough guy for a lefty with the motion he has,'' Abreu said. ... RHP Julio Santana (stomach ailment) is scheduled to make a rehabilitation appearance Tuesday for Double-A Reading in Trenton. He's eligible to come off the DL on Saturday.
FLORIDA: Rookie RHP Josh Johnson (1-2, 3.86 ERA) will make his first start of the season Thursday at Washington, bumping LHP Jason Vargas (1-1, 5.70) to the bullpen. ... Florida faces Philadelphia RHP Jon Lieber for the second time this season on Tuesday, and manager Joe Girardi said that should help his young lineup. ``Lieber is going to be the first pitcher most of our guys have seen twice,'' Girardi said. ``I feel a pitcher, the first time he sees a hitter, has the advantage.'' ... The return of rookie Carlos Martinez (elbow sprain) is likely more than month away, Girardi said. ... Miguel Cabrera, who moved to 3B this season from LF, began the week with six errors. His predecessor, Mike Lowell, had the same total for all of 2005.
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WASHINGTON: After finishing up a two-game series with the Mets on Tuesday night, the Nationals won't return to Shea Stadium until Sept. 22-25, the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. ... CF Ryan Church, who left Friday night's loss to St. Louis with flulike symptoms, will be available to pinch-hit Tuesday, though manager Frank Robinson doubts he'll play. ... Alfonso Soriano batted third in the lineup for the second time this season, with Marlon Byrd assuming the leadoff spot. Robinson said he's attempting to find a successful combination. ``We'll be having some changes in the lineup from here on out until we find something that works,'' Robinson said.
NEW YORK: RHP John Maine will be called up from Triple-A Norfolk to start Tuesday night's game against the Nationals in place of the injured Brian Bannister. It will be the first appearance with the Mets for Maine, who was acquired along with Jorge Julio in the offseason deal that sent Kris Benson to Baltimore. ``We feel like he's a kid that's still developing but I think has a chance to be a decent pitcher,'' Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. ``We're going to have an opportunity here with Bannister down to bring him up here and see how he does.'' ... CF Carlos Beltran was in the lineup for the third straight game after being out for 10 of the previous 12 with a sore right hamstring. ``He's going to play every day until he comes and says he doesn't feel right,'' manager Willie Randolph said. ... 3B David Wright made fun of his early struggles in the field when asked about the beginnings of a new goatee. ``(I'll) see if it helps me catch the ball a little bit,'' he said with a grin.
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ST. LOUIS: 3B Scott Rolen is expected to rejoin the Cardinals for the start of a series in Houston on Wednesday. He stayed back in St. Louis for the two-game series in Cincinnati, recovering from a viral infection that has sidelined him for a week and caused him to lose weight. ``That's the plan,'' manager Tony La Russa said. ``We'll see how he feels the next two days. We can always adjust the plan if it doesn't make sense.'' ... The Cardinals tied their franchise record with 17 wins in April even though several hitters are struggling. ``I don't feel like we've been red hot,'' La Russa said. ``We've won some games when it could have gone either way, and we made a good play or a guy had a good at-bat or we made a smart pitch. I think our best baseball's ahead of us.''
CINCINNATI: Ken Griffey Jr. remains on the 15-day DL, recovering from an inflamed tendon behind his right knee. He was eligible to be activated on Friday, but the leg doesn't feel back to normal. He works out every day, and the Reds see how he's feeling. There's no timetable for his return. ``He ran a lot today and felt pretty good,'' manager Jerry Narron said. ``He's just not 100 percent yet.'' ... RHP Paul Wilson will start for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday, the second start on his rehabilitation stint. Wilson is recovering from shoulder surgery last June 17. ... Juan Encarnacion's second-inning homer snapped Bronson Arroyo's streak of scoreless innings at 16, which had been the longest active streak in the NL.
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HOUSTON: Manager Phil Garner is not exactly thrilled about this year's schedule which includes a total of five three-city road trips and four two-game series. ``It's a bad schedule, it's the worst. I'm sure there is a reason for it but it stinks,'' he said. ``I don't like a two-game series, there is no flow. Last year was so convenient and this year is just a mess.'' ... SS Adam Everett (.250, 13 RBI) was named by a new book, ``The Fielding Bible,'' as ``quite simply the best shortstop in the major leagues.'' ``I don't know how they do it,'' Garner said, ``but according to the book, Adam saves us 20 to 25 runs a year defensively, more than any other shortstop in the league.'' The book conducted an in-depth statistical analysis of all major league defenders over the last three seasons from 2003-05.
MILWAUKEE: LHP Chris Capuano (4-2, 2.36 ERA) was named National League Player of the Week for April 24-30, 2006. In 16 IP, Capuano recorded two wins, striking out 12 while recording his first career complete game shutout in a 9-0 victory over the Cubs. He has gone 3-0 over his last three starts and has thrown a quality start in every one of his appearances this year. ... RHP Ben Sheets (1-2, 4.00 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season and his 18th career start against the Astros (9-6, 3.16 ERA) Tuesday night. Sheets has 25 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched this season.
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PITTSBURGH: Catcher Ryan Doumit will continue his rehab stint at Triple-A Indianapolis for three or four more days, manager Jim Tracy said. Doumit was originally expected to activated from the 15-day DL (strained left hamstring) on Monday. ... Jeromy Burnitz returned to Wrigley Field, where he patrolled right field last season for the Cubs. Burnitz is hitting .226 with five home runs and 14 RBIs for the struggling Pirates after signing a one-year deal with an option for a second. He signed a one-year deal with the Cubs before 2005 but wasn't pursued back after indicating a desire to play closer to his home in California. ``I would've loved to,'' said Burnitz of returning to Chicago. ``Especially as the winter wore on and I realized those job opportunities toward home weren't materializing. More and more, I wanted to come back.''
CHICAGO: The Cubs recalled Rich Hill from Triple-A Iowa on Monday and plan to start the left-hander Thursday in Arizona in place of Glendon Rusch. That would give the team three rookies in its starting rotation. Sean Marshall started Monday, followed by Angel Guzman on Tuesday. ``Everybody's a rookie sometime,'' manager Dusty Baker said. ``You just hope that they just pitch. The thing about it is they've all had starts now so they all know what it's about.'' Hill started four times last year for the Cubs in 10 appearances, but had few positive results. Marshall was 2-0 with a 4.22 ERA going into his start against the Pirates and Guzman (5.40 ERA) will be making his second start and looking for his first decision. ... Rusch will move back to the bullpen, where he's pitched in parts of the last two seasons with the Cubs. ``I feel like my stuff is as good as it's ever been,'' he said. ``What's even more frustrating is when it becomes a situation where you're feeling great physically, but mentally I'm not focused in on making the proper pitches like I should be.''
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SAN DIEGO: The Padres gathered in front of the television to watch the start of the Yankees-Red Sox game and Johnny Damon's return to Boston. But the Padres were focused on someone else's return. They watched their former teammate Doug Mirabelli take the field to a standing ovation after being traded earlier in the day to get to Boston in time to resume his role as knuckleballer Tim Wakefield's personal catcher. ``Did you see the standing 'O' Mirabelli got? I thought it was Ted Williams,'' manager Bruce Bochy joked before the game, adding that he wasn't taking a dig at his former player. ... The Padres acquired C Josh Bard, minor league reliever Cla Meredith and either cash or another player from Boston. Bard was expected to arrive just before the game, although not with the police escort Mirabelli got in Boston. Bard will be one of starter Mike Piazza's backups in San Diego. ``He's a solid receiver, a blocker and thrower and a guy who has some pop with the bat and is going to be a solid backup on this team,'' Bochy said.
SAN FRANCISCO: Even with Barry Bonds coming off a three-homer April, his worst opening month for home runs when healthy since 1997, Padres manager Bruce Bochy doesn't see much difference in Bonds' swing. He brushed aside the theory that Bonds can be exploited with outside pitches because of his surgically repaired knee. ``You can't go at him one way,'' Bochy said. ``He's that good of a hitter. It's not like he has a hole anywhere where you can attack him there. You have to mix up your patterns, make quality pitches. He has good power the other way.'' ... LHP Noah Lowry (strained right side) will make a second rehab start Wednesday for Triple-A Fresno and if that goes well will return to the team to start next Monday against Houston. ... Randy Winn returned to the leadoff spot and started in right field in place of Moises Alou, who hurt his left hip on a ninth-inning double play Sunday against the Diamondbacks. Alou expects to play Tuesday.
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