the yankees sweep the white sox
the cubs implode in the 6th inning, while giving up 2 grand slams and loses yet another game.
the Royals finally win a game against detroit.
both the cardinals and braves remain red hot after extending there winning streaks there on right now.
KANSAS CITY: Sunday's 9-6 win over Detroit was the Royals' first win over the Tigers this season after 11 losses. Kansas City's previous victory over Detroit was a 4-3 decision on Sept. 21. ... 1B Doug Mientkiewicz returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sore back. ... SS Tony Graffanino was 1-for-5 to stretch his hitting streak to 10 games (15-for-38), which matches his career high.
DETROIT: Marcus Thames homered twice and drove in five runs Sunday's loss to Kansas City. Thames has 19 home runs in 216 at_bats this season. ... Carlos Guillen also homered. It gave him home runs on consecutive pitches. He had a game-winning home run in Friday night's game and didn't play on Saturday. He hit the first pitch in the second inning out on Sunday. ... Before the game a new postage stamp featuring Hall of Famer and all-time Tiger great Hank Greenberg was displayed. Greenberg played first base and left field for Detroit in 1930, 1933-41 and 1945-46.He then played for the Pittsburgh Pirates the following season before retiring. Greenberg hit 331 home runs and batted .313 for his career.
---
---
CHICAGO: Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, the team's 3-4-5 hitters, went a combined 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. ... RHP Freddy Garcia has a 6.75 ERA in his last four starts. He dropped to 3-1 in five regular-season starts at Yankee Stadium. ... Chicago was swept in a series of at least three games for the first time since Sept. 9-11 against the Los Angeles Angels. ... The second-place White Sox trail AL Central-leading Detroit by 4 1/2 games, their largest deficit of the season. The teams open a three-game series Tuesday night in Detroit. Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said he likes to go there because he thinks his team plays well in spacious Comerica Park.
NEW YORK: Rookie LF Melky Cabrera recorded his eighth outfield assist. He began the day tied for the AL lead. ... It was the fourth time New York swept a series of at least three games from the defending World Series champions at Yankee Stadium, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Yankees swept three-game series against Detroit in 1936, Baltimore in 1984 and Florida in 1998. ... Robinson Cano took batting practice in Tampa, Fla., and said his injured left hamstring is ``90 percent.'' He plans to run the bases Monday, which might help determine when the All-Star 2B will start a minor league rehab assignment. ... RHP Octavio Dotel, working his way back from elbow surgery, felt ``excellent'' one day after resuming his rehab assignment by throwing a perfect inning for Class-A Tampa. ... OF Kevin Reese, who went 5-for-12 (.417) with the Yankees this season, separated his shoulder at Triple-A Columbus. The injury probably will end his season. ... Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard threw out the first pitch.
---
---
SEATTLE: The Mariners have lost eight of 10. ... C Rene Rivera started Sunday's game as Kenji Johjima got the day off after catching 14 innings on Saturday. ... RHP Felix Hernandez threw a season-high 112 pitches in his first start since July 3. With the Mariners wanting to limit Hernandez's innings this season, his turn in the rotation was skipped last Sunday.
TORONTO: 2B Russ Adams has lost a spot in the starting lineup for the second time this season. Adams started the season as the SS, but was sent down to the Triple-A Syracuse after he struggled to make throws to first. Adams later was recalled and became the starting 2B, but he struggled there as well and was hitting just .231 with three home runs and 25 RBIs. Utility INF John McDonald is now the SS and Aaron Hill has moved back to 2B. ... OF Reed Johnson has reached base in 45 of his 47 starts this season.
---
---
TEXAS: SS Michael Young stopped an 0-for-11 slump with a sixth-inning single in Sunday's 4-0 loss to Baltimore. The All-Star MVP went 2-for-16 in the series. ... The loss evened starter John Wasdin's career record at 38-38. ... DH Gary Matthews Jr. had two hits off Baltimore's Rodrigo Lopez and is 6-for-11 lifetime against the right-hander. ... After scoring 15 runs with 19 hits in the first game of the series against Baltimore, the Rangers scored just three runs on 15 hits in the final three games. ... Texas failed to get an extra-base hit in consecutive games for the first time since August 14-15, 2000.
BALTIMORE: Orioles relievers threw 5 1-3 innings of hitless ball with no walks and seven strikeouts over the weekend. ... OF Nick Markakis had his third homer of the season, his first since April 14, on Sunday. ... RHP Rodrigo Lopez allowed five hits in 5 2-3 innings, only the third time in 20 starts this season he yielded fewer than six hits. ... The Orioles got 11 hits Sunday, the 44th time in 94 games they've gotten at least 10 in a game.
---
---
OAKLAND: The A's won a series at Fenway Park for the first time since August 2003. ... OF Mark Kotsay was 10-for-18 in the four-game series to raise his average from .246 to .263.
BOSTON: RHP Kyle Snyder was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to start Sunday's game and LHP Craig Breslow was sent to Pawtucket to make room for him. ... Jason Varitek caught his 990th game, tying Carlton Fisk for the lead on the Red Sox's career list. ... Hall of Fame spokesman Jeff Idelson was at the game to meet with Red Sox reliever Keith Foulke over the spikes he wore in the 2004 World Series. Olympic snowboardcross gold medalist Seth Wescott threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
---
---
CLEVELAND: Veteran LF Todd Hollandsworth had trouble seeing Rondell White's soft fly in the Metrodome's tricky ceiling, and the ball fell for a double during a three-run fourth. ``I had an idea where it was, but I never saw it,'' Hollandsworth said. ``It's a tough place for an outfielder, and I got had.'' The Indians have one more trip to Minnesota, in the middle of August. ... 2B Ronnie Belliard, who is batting .308 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 51 games since May 16, got the day off Sunday. ... CF Grady Sizemore, who leads the league with 72 runs scored, hit his sixth career leadoff homer Sunday and his third of the season. ... DH Travis Hafner has a career-long 11-game hitting streak. He's batting .381 during that span.
MINNESOTA: 2B Luis Castillo, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a homer leading off the bottom of the first, is batting .375 during that span. ... DH Rondell White hit his first homer of the season and his first since Aug. 14, 2005, a span of 184 at_bats. ... RHP Carlos Silva, who struggled most of the first half, spent time between starts working on his changeup with friend and fellow Venezuelan Johan Santana, the left-hander who won the Cy Young Award in 2004 and is one of the best in baseball at changing speeds. Silva wound up throwing 25 changeups among 89 pitches in Sunday's win, more than he thought he had ever thrown in one game. ``Whatever it takes, you know?'' he said.
---
---
TAMPA BAY: After manager Joe Maddon and 1B Travis Lee were ejected by first base umpire Marty Foster in the fifth inning of Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Angels, Foster tossed DH Jonny Gomes in the sixth - but then gave him a reprieve. Gomes had thrown a towel onto the field for C Dioner Navarro to use after a collision at the plate. Lee explained: ``Navvy told Gomes to throw him a towel so he could wipe his face off. It landed in front of Marty (Foster), and Marty tossed Gomes. The guys explained it to him and he said, `OK, you can stay.' They actually ejected him and then retracted it.'' ... Two of Maddon's three ejections this year have been against the Angels, including their visit to Tampa Bay earlier this season. He was an Angels coach the previous 12 years. ... The Devil Rays are 9-49 in California against AL opponents since the start of the 2001 season.
LOS ANGELES: The Angels assigned INF Erick Aybar to Triple-A Salt Lake to clear a roster spot for RHP Dustin Moseley, scheduled to report from Salt Lake on Monday and make his major league debut in a start against Cleveland. He will fill in for rookie RHP Jered Weaver, who will miss his turn because of tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. ``These guys have such a good thing going right now that I just want to help contribute, whether it's one start or two starts or whatever it may be,'' Moseley said. ``I'm a part of the Angels organization. If I'm in Salt Lake or here, I just want to do something to benefit the ballclub and make the most of my opportunity.'' ... CF Darin Erstad plans to be examined by a foot specialist - who works with a lot of ballet dancers. Erstad has been sidelined since June 17 because of irritation in his right ankle and has appeared in only 27 games this year. ``We'll probably go to New York to see Dr. Bill Hamilton. He does a lot of stuff with the ballet dancers in New York, so I'm going to find out from him what he feels is the best procedure or the best next step, as far as what to do,'' Erstad said.
---
---
---
HOUSTON: Lance Berkman has 14 RBIs in his last 11 games. ... RHP Taylor Buchholz got his first loss Sunday since June 10. He was 3-0 in his previous four starts.
FLORIDA: RHP Yusmeiro Petit was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after the game and RHP Chris Resop was recalled from Triple-A. ... The Marlins have homered in 12 of 14 games in July. ... Sunday's game was the third time this season and the 28th in franchise history that the Marlins had four home runs in a game. ... SS Hanley Ramirez let go of his bat after a first-inning swing. It landed about five rows behind the third-base dugout.
---
---
COLORADO: The Rockies' seven-game losing streak is a season high, their longest since they dropped 10 in a row last year from April 24-May 7. That stands as the third-longest losing streak in club history. ... The last time the Rockies were swept in a four-game series in Cincinnati was 1993. They're 2-11 at Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. They've lost their last nine games in Cincinnati. ... The Rockies fell three games under .500 (44-47) for the second time this season. They were 27-30 on June 5, when they were a season-high seven games out of first place. ... SS Omar Quintanilla was out of the lineup with a bruised right shin, sustained when he fouled a pitch on Saturday night. He's day to day.
CINCINNATI: The Reds have won four in a row for the first time since June 8, when they finished an eight-game winning streak. ... Rich Aurilia's pinch-hit, bases-loaded single in the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. ... LF Adam Dunn has hit safely in his last five games (8-for-19 with three homers). ... The Reds placed C David Ross on the 15-day DL before the game to open a spot for Cincinnati starter Elizardo Ramirez, who returned from a one-start stint in the minors. Ross hasn't played since he strained abdominal muscles on July 7. ... Plate umpire Tony Randazzo warned both teams after RHP Josh Fogg hit Edwin Encarnacion with his first pitch to open the Reds' second inning. There were no more hit batters. Two were hit on Sunday and six overall in the series.
---
---
WASHINGTON: CF Alex Escobar was 3-for-3 with a homer July 9 against San Diego, but hasn't started since because of the All-Star break acquisition of OF Austin Kearns. Kearns started all three weekend games in Pittsburgh in CF. But with the Nationals looking to deal an outfielder - possibly Jose Guillen - before the deadline for trading without waivers, Escobar's time as a reserve might be limited. After Escobar hit a two-run pinch homer Sunday, manager Frank Robinson said, ``It would be nice to get him in there and get him four at_bats.'' ... By winning Sunday, the Nationals avoided being swept in a series for the seventh time this season.
PITTSBURGH: The Pirates hinted earlier this season they might sign 1B Sean Casey to a contract extension, but general manager Dave Littlefield said Sunday there have been no talks with Casey's agent. Casey, acquired from the Reds last year, is unsigned past this season. ... Littlefield also said he wouldn't ruling out trading any player, though players signed to affordable contracts would be difficult to deal. ... Pittsburgh went 3-3 vs. Washington and still hasn't taken a season series from the Nationals/Expos since 2000.
---
---
LOS ANGELES: INF Cesar Izturis left after Sunday's game to attend to the birth of his second child in Los Angeles while the rest of the team left for a four-game series in Arizona. He doesn't expect to rejoin the team until Thursday. He said his wife, Liliana, would have to stay in a hospital for three days. ``Hopefully, everything will go fine,'' Izturis said. ... RHP Aaron Sele, who makes his first start since the All-Star break on Monday against the Diamondbacks, is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA against Arizona. ... RHP Brett Tomko (strained left side muscle) is likely headed for bullpen duty when he comes off the DL perhaps in two weeks. He and manager Grady Little have discussed the possibility and Tomko said he had no problem with it. If he returned to the rotation, the Dodgers' options would be removing Sele or sending rookie RHP Chad Billingsley to the minors. ... The Dodgers are at .500 (46-46) for the first time since May 16 when they were 20-20.
ST. LOUIS: LHP Randy Flores threw in the bullpen before the game and could be cleared to pitch on Monday. He had hoped a sore elbow would clear up during the All-Star break and didn't mention the injury until after the team returned. ``I was testing it, so I went all-out,'' Flores said. ``I'll have to see what the trainers say.'' ... The Cardinals have homered in a season-best 13 straight games after pinch-hitter John Rodriguez's two-run shot off Odalis Perez in the eighth. They've totaled 22 homers in that span. ... The Cardinals are a major league-best 26-9 in day games. ... 3B Scott Rolen, who got the game-winning hit on Saturday, got a day off on Sunday. ... The bullpen threw 12 scoreless innings in the series before rookie Josh Kinney gave up a run in the ninth. ... Cardinals starters have allowed four earned runs in the last 39 innings.
---
---
ATLANTA: Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer Sunday to tie the big league record of 14 straight games with an extra-base hit set in 1927 by Pittsburgh's Paul Waner. ... Overall, Jones has a 16-game hitting streak. ... Manager Bobby Cox and OF Jeff Francoeur were ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire Bruce Dreckman. It was Cox's 123rd career ejection, which ranks third all-time among big league managers. It was Francoeur's first.
SAN DIEGO: SS Khalil Greene's homer in the fourth inning Sunday extended his hitting streak to a career-best nine games, eclipsing an eight-game streak last Aug. 25-Sept. 2.
---
---
PHILADELPHIA: RF Bobby Abreu drew two more walks Sunday to raise his season total to 87, tops in the majors. ... 3B David Bell had another banner day at the Giants' waterfront ballpark, hitting a seventh-inning homer and an eighth-inning triple. He is 45-for-130 at the park with five homers in his career. ... LF Pat Burrell went 6-for-10 with a homer and two doubles in the weekend series just north of his native San Jose. He reached base in seven straight plate appearances while improving his average in San Francisco to .450 in his last 40 at_bats here.
SAN FRANCISCO: 2B Ray Durham improved his July average to .391 with his 13th homer of the season Sunday, but he left the game in the sixth inning with a jammed right shoulder. Manager Felipe Alou said the injury is ``not good.'' ... 1B Chad Santos had an impressive major league debut after getting called up from Triple-A Fresno before the game to replace slumping Lance Niekro. Santos entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth, and he lined a single to center for his first career hit. Santos is the 31st Hawaii-born player in major league history, and the third with the Giants, following Jessie Reed (1987-88) and Jerome Williams (2003-06). ... Four batters have made their major league debuts for the Giants this season - and Santos was the third to get a hit, joining Kevin Frandsen and Eliezer Alfonzo.
---
---
MILWAUKEE: RHP Ben Sheets is scheduled to make his third, and probably final, rehab start for Triple-A Nashville at Omaha on Wednesday night. He has allowed eight runs in 7 1-3 innings in his first two rehab starts. He has been on the DL since May 10 with tendinitis in his right shoulder. ... OF Carlos Lee, who singled Sunday, has hit safely in 15 of 17 games. ... OF Geoff Jenkins' home run Sunday was his first since April 17, when he had homered in three consecutive games. Jenkins is hitting .405 in his last 11 games. ... OF Corey Hart's home run Sunday was only the third of his career. Two of them, including Sunday's, came as a pinch hitter.
ARIZONA: Despite the loss Sunday, the Diamondbacks remained three games out of first in the NL West because every other team in the division lost, too. Arizona opens a four-game home series against the Dodgers on Monday night. The Dodgers swept three from the Diamondbacks in Los Angeles on July 3-5. ... 1B Conor Jackson, who strained his right shoulder tagging Prince Fielder to end the sixth inning Sunday, probably will undergo an MRI on Monday. ... 3B Chad Tracy had a costly error on Sunday, but made a standout play earlier in the game when he caught a pop fly over his shoulder running away from the infield.
---
---
NEW YORK: The Mets have no timetable when RHP Pedro Martinez will be back pitching for the club. Martinez had to go to a Chicago hospital Friday night for an IV after coming down with a fever as he recovers from food poisoning. Martinez is currently on the DL with an inflamed hip. ``It's not something we can speculate right now, we will see how he feels,'' pitching coach Rick Peterson said. ... RHP Brian Bannister, who is on the DL with a strained right hamstring, pitched a simulated game on Saturday. He threw 79 pitches in five innings. ... Before Sunday's game, manager Willie Randolph said SS Jose Reyes is available to pinch hit and pinch run if needed. Reyes received seven stitches in his left pinky finger after cutting his finger sliding into first base on July 7. He was out of the starting lineup for a sixth straight game. And the injury also forced him to miss playing in the All-Star game. Randolph hopes to have Reyes back in the field by the end of the week. ... Before Sunday night's game the Mets officially recalled RHP Heath Bell from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned RHP Henry Owens to Double-A Binghamton. The move had been announced after Saturday's game.
CHICAGO: 1B Derrek Lee didn't start Sunday's game to rest his right wrist that was broken earlier in the year, causing him to miss 59 games. Lee said he didn't hurt the wrist in Saturday's game, but that he is taking days off periodically to keep the wrist sound and rested. Manager Dusty Baker said Lee is scheduled to have the wrist examined on Monday. By giving Lee off on Sunday, he will get two days rest since the Cubs don't have a game Monday. In 16 games since coming off the DL, Lee, the 2005 NL batting champ, has batted .258 with just one homer and four RBIs. ``Obviously it's not at 100 percent but it's getting better,'' Lee said. ``It's frustrating not being able to take your normal swing, but it's better than not playing. You can live with it.'' ... The Cubs are hoping RHP Mark Prior can throw a strong bullpen session and perhaps rejoin the team next week. Prior is eligible to come off the DL Thursday. He went on with a strained oblique muscle. ... Trainer Mark O'Neal said RHP Kerry Wood will probably see a doctor in New York later this month when the Cubs visit the Mets and could also go to California to visit well-known surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum before deciding on a course of action for his partially torn rotator cuff.
the cubs implode in the 6th inning, while giving up 2 grand slams and loses yet another game.
the Royals finally win a game against detroit.
both the cardinals and braves remain red hot after extending there winning streaks there on right now.
KANSAS CITY: Sunday's 9-6 win over Detroit was the Royals' first win over the Tigers this season after 11 losses. Kansas City's previous victory over Detroit was a 4-3 decision on Sept. 21. ... 1B Doug Mientkiewicz returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sore back. ... SS Tony Graffanino was 1-for-5 to stretch his hitting streak to 10 games (15-for-38), which matches his career high.
DETROIT: Marcus Thames homered twice and drove in five runs Sunday's loss to Kansas City. Thames has 19 home runs in 216 at_bats this season. ... Carlos Guillen also homered. It gave him home runs on consecutive pitches. He had a game-winning home run in Friday night's game and didn't play on Saturday. He hit the first pitch in the second inning out on Sunday. ... Before the game a new postage stamp featuring Hall of Famer and all-time Tiger great Hank Greenberg was displayed. Greenberg played first base and left field for Detroit in 1930, 1933-41 and 1945-46.He then played for the Pittsburgh Pirates the following season before retiring. Greenberg hit 331 home runs and batted .313 for his career.
---
---
CHICAGO: Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, the team's 3-4-5 hitters, went a combined 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. ... RHP Freddy Garcia has a 6.75 ERA in his last four starts. He dropped to 3-1 in five regular-season starts at Yankee Stadium. ... Chicago was swept in a series of at least three games for the first time since Sept. 9-11 against the Los Angeles Angels. ... The second-place White Sox trail AL Central-leading Detroit by 4 1/2 games, their largest deficit of the season. The teams open a three-game series Tuesday night in Detroit. Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said he likes to go there because he thinks his team plays well in spacious Comerica Park.
NEW YORK: Rookie LF Melky Cabrera recorded his eighth outfield assist. He began the day tied for the AL lead. ... It was the fourth time New York swept a series of at least three games from the defending World Series champions at Yankee Stadium, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Yankees swept three-game series against Detroit in 1936, Baltimore in 1984 and Florida in 1998. ... Robinson Cano took batting practice in Tampa, Fla., and said his injured left hamstring is ``90 percent.'' He plans to run the bases Monday, which might help determine when the All-Star 2B will start a minor league rehab assignment. ... RHP Octavio Dotel, working his way back from elbow surgery, felt ``excellent'' one day after resuming his rehab assignment by throwing a perfect inning for Class-A Tampa. ... OF Kevin Reese, who went 5-for-12 (.417) with the Yankees this season, separated his shoulder at Triple-A Columbus. The injury probably will end his season. ... Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard threw out the first pitch.
---
---
SEATTLE: The Mariners have lost eight of 10. ... C Rene Rivera started Sunday's game as Kenji Johjima got the day off after catching 14 innings on Saturday. ... RHP Felix Hernandez threw a season-high 112 pitches in his first start since July 3. With the Mariners wanting to limit Hernandez's innings this season, his turn in the rotation was skipped last Sunday.
TORONTO: 2B Russ Adams has lost a spot in the starting lineup for the second time this season. Adams started the season as the SS, but was sent down to the Triple-A Syracuse after he struggled to make throws to first. Adams later was recalled and became the starting 2B, but he struggled there as well and was hitting just .231 with three home runs and 25 RBIs. Utility INF John McDonald is now the SS and Aaron Hill has moved back to 2B. ... OF Reed Johnson has reached base in 45 of his 47 starts this season.
---
---
TEXAS: SS Michael Young stopped an 0-for-11 slump with a sixth-inning single in Sunday's 4-0 loss to Baltimore. The All-Star MVP went 2-for-16 in the series. ... The loss evened starter John Wasdin's career record at 38-38. ... DH Gary Matthews Jr. had two hits off Baltimore's Rodrigo Lopez and is 6-for-11 lifetime against the right-hander. ... After scoring 15 runs with 19 hits in the first game of the series against Baltimore, the Rangers scored just three runs on 15 hits in the final three games. ... Texas failed to get an extra-base hit in consecutive games for the first time since August 14-15, 2000.
BALTIMORE: Orioles relievers threw 5 1-3 innings of hitless ball with no walks and seven strikeouts over the weekend. ... OF Nick Markakis had his third homer of the season, his first since April 14, on Sunday. ... RHP Rodrigo Lopez allowed five hits in 5 2-3 innings, only the third time in 20 starts this season he yielded fewer than six hits. ... The Orioles got 11 hits Sunday, the 44th time in 94 games they've gotten at least 10 in a game.
---
---
OAKLAND: The A's won a series at Fenway Park for the first time since August 2003. ... OF Mark Kotsay was 10-for-18 in the four-game series to raise his average from .246 to .263.
BOSTON: RHP Kyle Snyder was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to start Sunday's game and LHP Craig Breslow was sent to Pawtucket to make room for him. ... Jason Varitek caught his 990th game, tying Carlton Fisk for the lead on the Red Sox's career list. ... Hall of Fame spokesman Jeff Idelson was at the game to meet with Red Sox reliever Keith Foulke over the spikes he wore in the 2004 World Series. Olympic snowboardcross gold medalist Seth Wescott threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
---
---
CLEVELAND: Veteran LF Todd Hollandsworth had trouble seeing Rondell White's soft fly in the Metrodome's tricky ceiling, and the ball fell for a double during a three-run fourth. ``I had an idea where it was, but I never saw it,'' Hollandsworth said. ``It's a tough place for an outfielder, and I got had.'' The Indians have one more trip to Minnesota, in the middle of August. ... 2B Ronnie Belliard, who is batting .308 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 51 games since May 16, got the day off Sunday. ... CF Grady Sizemore, who leads the league with 72 runs scored, hit his sixth career leadoff homer Sunday and his third of the season. ... DH Travis Hafner has a career-long 11-game hitting streak. He's batting .381 during that span.
MINNESOTA: 2B Luis Castillo, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a homer leading off the bottom of the first, is batting .375 during that span. ... DH Rondell White hit his first homer of the season and his first since Aug. 14, 2005, a span of 184 at_bats. ... RHP Carlos Silva, who struggled most of the first half, spent time between starts working on his changeup with friend and fellow Venezuelan Johan Santana, the left-hander who won the Cy Young Award in 2004 and is one of the best in baseball at changing speeds. Silva wound up throwing 25 changeups among 89 pitches in Sunday's win, more than he thought he had ever thrown in one game. ``Whatever it takes, you know?'' he said.
---
---
TAMPA BAY: After manager Joe Maddon and 1B Travis Lee were ejected by first base umpire Marty Foster in the fifth inning of Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Angels, Foster tossed DH Jonny Gomes in the sixth - but then gave him a reprieve. Gomes had thrown a towel onto the field for C Dioner Navarro to use after a collision at the plate. Lee explained: ``Navvy told Gomes to throw him a towel so he could wipe his face off. It landed in front of Marty (Foster), and Marty tossed Gomes. The guys explained it to him and he said, `OK, you can stay.' They actually ejected him and then retracted it.'' ... Two of Maddon's three ejections this year have been against the Angels, including their visit to Tampa Bay earlier this season. He was an Angels coach the previous 12 years. ... The Devil Rays are 9-49 in California against AL opponents since the start of the 2001 season.
LOS ANGELES: The Angels assigned INF Erick Aybar to Triple-A Salt Lake to clear a roster spot for RHP Dustin Moseley, scheduled to report from Salt Lake on Monday and make his major league debut in a start against Cleveland. He will fill in for rookie RHP Jered Weaver, who will miss his turn because of tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. ``These guys have such a good thing going right now that I just want to help contribute, whether it's one start or two starts or whatever it may be,'' Moseley said. ``I'm a part of the Angels organization. If I'm in Salt Lake or here, I just want to do something to benefit the ballclub and make the most of my opportunity.'' ... CF Darin Erstad plans to be examined by a foot specialist - who works with a lot of ballet dancers. Erstad has been sidelined since June 17 because of irritation in his right ankle and has appeared in only 27 games this year. ``We'll probably go to New York to see Dr. Bill Hamilton. He does a lot of stuff with the ballet dancers in New York, so I'm going to find out from him what he feels is the best procedure or the best next step, as far as what to do,'' Erstad said.
---
---
---
HOUSTON: Lance Berkman has 14 RBIs in his last 11 games. ... RHP Taylor Buchholz got his first loss Sunday since June 10. He was 3-0 in his previous four starts.
FLORIDA: RHP Yusmeiro Petit was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after the game and RHP Chris Resop was recalled from Triple-A. ... The Marlins have homered in 12 of 14 games in July. ... Sunday's game was the third time this season and the 28th in franchise history that the Marlins had four home runs in a game. ... SS Hanley Ramirez let go of his bat after a first-inning swing. It landed about five rows behind the third-base dugout.
---
---
COLORADO: The Rockies' seven-game losing streak is a season high, their longest since they dropped 10 in a row last year from April 24-May 7. That stands as the third-longest losing streak in club history. ... The last time the Rockies were swept in a four-game series in Cincinnati was 1993. They're 2-11 at Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. They've lost their last nine games in Cincinnati. ... The Rockies fell three games under .500 (44-47) for the second time this season. They were 27-30 on June 5, when they were a season-high seven games out of first place. ... SS Omar Quintanilla was out of the lineup with a bruised right shin, sustained when he fouled a pitch on Saturday night. He's day to day.
CINCINNATI: The Reds have won four in a row for the first time since June 8, when they finished an eight-game winning streak. ... Rich Aurilia's pinch-hit, bases-loaded single in the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. ... LF Adam Dunn has hit safely in his last five games (8-for-19 with three homers). ... The Reds placed C David Ross on the 15-day DL before the game to open a spot for Cincinnati starter Elizardo Ramirez, who returned from a one-start stint in the minors. Ross hasn't played since he strained abdominal muscles on July 7. ... Plate umpire Tony Randazzo warned both teams after RHP Josh Fogg hit Edwin Encarnacion with his first pitch to open the Reds' second inning. There were no more hit batters. Two were hit on Sunday and six overall in the series.
---
---
WASHINGTON: CF Alex Escobar was 3-for-3 with a homer July 9 against San Diego, but hasn't started since because of the All-Star break acquisition of OF Austin Kearns. Kearns started all three weekend games in Pittsburgh in CF. But with the Nationals looking to deal an outfielder - possibly Jose Guillen - before the deadline for trading without waivers, Escobar's time as a reserve might be limited. After Escobar hit a two-run pinch homer Sunday, manager Frank Robinson said, ``It would be nice to get him in there and get him four at_bats.'' ... By winning Sunday, the Nationals avoided being swept in a series for the seventh time this season.
PITTSBURGH: The Pirates hinted earlier this season they might sign 1B Sean Casey to a contract extension, but general manager Dave Littlefield said Sunday there have been no talks with Casey's agent. Casey, acquired from the Reds last year, is unsigned past this season. ... Littlefield also said he wouldn't ruling out trading any player, though players signed to affordable contracts would be difficult to deal. ... Pittsburgh went 3-3 vs. Washington and still hasn't taken a season series from the Nationals/Expos since 2000.
---
---
LOS ANGELES: INF Cesar Izturis left after Sunday's game to attend to the birth of his second child in Los Angeles while the rest of the team left for a four-game series in Arizona. He doesn't expect to rejoin the team until Thursday. He said his wife, Liliana, would have to stay in a hospital for three days. ``Hopefully, everything will go fine,'' Izturis said. ... RHP Aaron Sele, who makes his first start since the All-Star break on Monday against the Diamondbacks, is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA against Arizona. ... RHP Brett Tomko (strained left side muscle) is likely headed for bullpen duty when he comes off the DL perhaps in two weeks. He and manager Grady Little have discussed the possibility and Tomko said he had no problem with it. If he returned to the rotation, the Dodgers' options would be removing Sele or sending rookie RHP Chad Billingsley to the minors. ... The Dodgers are at .500 (46-46) for the first time since May 16 when they were 20-20.
ST. LOUIS: LHP Randy Flores threw in the bullpen before the game and could be cleared to pitch on Monday. He had hoped a sore elbow would clear up during the All-Star break and didn't mention the injury until after the team returned. ``I was testing it, so I went all-out,'' Flores said. ``I'll have to see what the trainers say.'' ... The Cardinals have homered in a season-best 13 straight games after pinch-hitter John Rodriguez's two-run shot off Odalis Perez in the eighth. They've totaled 22 homers in that span. ... The Cardinals are a major league-best 26-9 in day games. ... 3B Scott Rolen, who got the game-winning hit on Saturday, got a day off on Sunday. ... The bullpen threw 12 scoreless innings in the series before rookie Josh Kinney gave up a run in the ninth. ... Cardinals starters have allowed four earned runs in the last 39 innings.
---
---
ATLANTA: Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer Sunday to tie the big league record of 14 straight games with an extra-base hit set in 1927 by Pittsburgh's Paul Waner. ... Overall, Jones has a 16-game hitting streak. ... Manager Bobby Cox and OF Jeff Francoeur were ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire Bruce Dreckman. It was Cox's 123rd career ejection, which ranks third all-time among big league managers. It was Francoeur's first.
SAN DIEGO: SS Khalil Greene's homer in the fourth inning Sunday extended his hitting streak to a career-best nine games, eclipsing an eight-game streak last Aug. 25-Sept. 2.
---
---
PHILADELPHIA: RF Bobby Abreu drew two more walks Sunday to raise his season total to 87, tops in the majors. ... 3B David Bell had another banner day at the Giants' waterfront ballpark, hitting a seventh-inning homer and an eighth-inning triple. He is 45-for-130 at the park with five homers in his career. ... LF Pat Burrell went 6-for-10 with a homer and two doubles in the weekend series just north of his native San Jose. He reached base in seven straight plate appearances while improving his average in San Francisco to .450 in his last 40 at_bats here.
SAN FRANCISCO: 2B Ray Durham improved his July average to .391 with his 13th homer of the season Sunday, but he left the game in the sixth inning with a jammed right shoulder. Manager Felipe Alou said the injury is ``not good.'' ... 1B Chad Santos had an impressive major league debut after getting called up from Triple-A Fresno before the game to replace slumping Lance Niekro. Santos entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth, and he lined a single to center for his first career hit. Santos is the 31st Hawaii-born player in major league history, and the third with the Giants, following Jessie Reed (1987-88) and Jerome Williams (2003-06). ... Four batters have made their major league debuts for the Giants this season - and Santos was the third to get a hit, joining Kevin Frandsen and Eliezer Alfonzo.
---
---
MILWAUKEE: RHP Ben Sheets is scheduled to make his third, and probably final, rehab start for Triple-A Nashville at Omaha on Wednesday night. He has allowed eight runs in 7 1-3 innings in his first two rehab starts. He has been on the DL since May 10 with tendinitis in his right shoulder. ... OF Carlos Lee, who singled Sunday, has hit safely in 15 of 17 games. ... OF Geoff Jenkins' home run Sunday was his first since April 17, when he had homered in three consecutive games. Jenkins is hitting .405 in his last 11 games. ... OF Corey Hart's home run Sunday was only the third of his career. Two of them, including Sunday's, came as a pinch hitter.
ARIZONA: Despite the loss Sunday, the Diamondbacks remained three games out of first in the NL West because every other team in the division lost, too. Arizona opens a four-game home series against the Dodgers on Monday night. The Dodgers swept three from the Diamondbacks in Los Angeles on July 3-5. ... 1B Conor Jackson, who strained his right shoulder tagging Prince Fielder to end the sixth inning Sunday, probably will undergo an MRI on Monday. ... 3B Chad Tracy had a costly error on Sunday, but made a standout play earlier in the game when he caught a pop fly over his shoulder running away from the infield.
---
---
NEW YORK: The Mets have no timetable when RHP Pedro Martinez will be back pitching for the club. Martinez had to go to a Chicago hospital Friday night for an IV after coming down with a fever as he recovers from food poisoning. Martinez is currently on the DL with an inflamed hip. ``It's not something we can speculate right now, we will see how he feels,'' pitching coach Rick Peterson said. ... RHP Brian Bannister, who is on the DL with a strained right hamstring, pitched a simulated game on Saturday. He threw 79 pitches in five innings. ... Before Sunday's game, manager Willie Randolph said SS Jose Reyes is available to pinch hit and pinch run if needed. Reyes received seven stitches in his left pinky finger after cutting his finger sliding into first base on July 7. He was out of the starting lineup for a sixth straight game. And the injury also forced him to miss playing in the All-Star game. Randolph hopes to have Reyes back in the field by the end of the week. ... Before Sunday night's game the Mets officially recalled RHP Heath Bell from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned RHP Henry Owens to Double-A Binghamton. The move had been announced after Saturday's game.
CHICAGO: 1B Derrek Lee didn't start Sunday's game to rest his right wrist that was broken earlier in the year, causing him to miss 59 games. Lee said he didn't hurt the wrist in Saturday's game, but that he is taking days off periodically to keep the wrist sound and rested. Manager Dusty Baker said Lee is scheduled to have the wrist examined on Monday. By giving Lee off on Sunday, he will get two days rest since the Cubs don't have a game Monday. In 16 games since coming off the DL, Lee, the 2005 NL batting champ, has batted .258 with just one homer and four RBIs. ``Obviously it's not at 100 percent but it's getting better,'' Lee said. ``It's frustrating not being able to take your normal swing, but it's better than not playing. You can live with it.'' ... The Cubs are hoping RHP Mark Prior can throw a strong bullpen session and perhaps rejoin the team next week. Prior is eligible to come off the DL Thursday. He went on with a strained oblique muscle. ... Trainer Mark O'Neal said RHP Kerry Wood will probably see a doctor in New York later this month when the Cubs visit the Mets and could also go to California to visit well-known surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum before deciding on a course of action for his partially torn rotator cuff.