Notes from Thursday's games
May 18, 2006
KANSAS CITY: The Royals' series record this year is 3-11-1. They have been swept in eight series, including five three-game sets. ... OF Reggie Sanders snapped an 0-for-15 skid with a two-run double in the seventh inning. ... 2B Mark Grudzielanek was 3-for-4 and has hit safely in eight of nine games, going 8-for-20 (.400). ... 1B Doug Mientkiewicz is batting .414 (12-for-29) this season against Cleveland. ... RHP Ambiorix Burgos, taken out of the closer's role after three straight blown saves, pitched two scoreless innings.
CLEVELAND: RHP Danny Graves cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo. He had been designated for assignment May 12. ... LHP Cliff Lee has pitched five or more innings in each of his last 40 starts. ... 3B Aaron Boone has hit .381 (8-for-21) over his last seven games. ... OF Grady Sizemore has five homers in his last 13 games. ... 2B Ronnie Belliard has hit .308 (16-for-52) over his last 14 games. ... C Victor Martinez, in a 2-for-36 (.055) slump, is hitting .145 (8-for-55) in May after finishing April with a .398 (37-for-93) average with five homers and 20 RBIs.
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TEXAS: 3B Hank Blalock sat out with a stomach virus and could miss Friday's game. Manager Buck Showalter said a lot of players had the illness to some degree. Blalock went 0-for-4 Wednesday, ending an 11-game hitting streak. ``I just left him in the shower under about eight towels,'' Showalter said before the game. ... RHP Antonio Alfonseca threw in batting practice but was not available for the game. Showalter said the team will make a decision on Alfonseca on Friday. The reliever had felt some soreness just above his elbow when he tried to warm up Tuesday night.
NEW YORK: RHP Aaron Small will start Sunday against the New York Mets instead of Shawn Chacon, who has a large welt called a resolving hematoma just below the knee on the inside of his left leg, which he got when he was hit by a batted ball last Thursday against Boston. Chacon is only expected to miss one turn in the rotation. ... RHP Carl Pavano threw only nine pitches before leaving a rehab start at Double-A Trenton because of soreness in his right arm. Manager Joe Torre said he doesn't know when Pavano will throw again. ``It's a shutdown right now, actually,'' he said Thursday. ``... When you have problems as early as he did last night we certainly have to make sure that there's no discomfort before you proceed.'' It was Pavano's third start since bruising his buttocks while fielding a bunt in spring training. His 2005 season was cut short by rotator cuff tendinitis. ``Hopefully it's nothing more than a little setback but for sure it's something that changes our plans,'' Torre said. Pavano was not optimistic Thursday, saying he couldn't straighten out his arm. ... Melky Cabrera made his third start in right field because Torre said he was having trouble picking up the ball in left. Cabrera made a nice diving catch on Michael Young's liner in the first and a nice running grab of Young's drive in the sixth. ... Injured RF Gary Sheffield (left wrist and hand) probably will be able to pick up a bat early next week. Torre said it's possible he could be back by next weekend.
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MINNESOTA: The Twins, who have lost seven straight at Detroit since last season, don't return to Detroit until August. ``I'm glad we don't come back for a while,'' Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. ``I like the Motor City, but I'm kind of tired of it. It's not working out for us right now.'' ... Brad Radke was not displeased with his performance, despite taking the loss, and was still wondering how Brandon Inge hit a two-run homer off him. ``He must be a pretty good golfer because I thought it was down and in and he just hooked it over the fence,'' Radke said. In fact, Inge is an excellent golfer.
DETROIT: Former Tiger Rondell White knows exactly why Detroit is off to one of the surprising starts in baseball. ``It's all about the pitching,'' White said. The Tigers have combined for a 3.13 ERA - the lowest in the majors - and ace Kenny Rogers became baseball's first seven-game winner on Thursday. ... The Tigers are 26-14, but manager Jim Leyland doesn't use the 40-game mark as a barometer for how a season will go like former manager Sparky Anderson did. ``I wait until the end of the year,'' Leyland said. ... The Tigers open interleague play Friday by hosting Cincinnati in a three-game series.
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SEATTLE: OF Ichiro Suzuki singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. It's his longest of the season although he has seven streaks of 15 games or more since 2001. Suzuki also recorded his 18th multihit game, tying him with Baltimore's Miguel Tejada for second in the AL. ... The Mariners, who host San Diego on Friday night, are 19-25 against the in interleague play, including 11-11 in Seattle. ... LHP Jarrod Washburn has a career interleague record of 8-4 with an ERA of 4.17 in 27 games, including 24 starts. He's 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three games against the Padres.
OAKLAND: LHP Randy Keisler was reinstated from the bereavement list. Keisler, who was called up from Sacramento last Friday, appeared in one game with the A's before leaving the team to be with his ailing grandmother. ... RHP Matt Roney was optioned to Sacramento of the PCL without appearing in a game during his second stint with the A's. ... LHP Joe Kennedy experienced some tightness in his shoulder while playing catch on Wednesday and was not available. ... OF Nick Swisher singled in the first inning and reached base for the 35th consecutive game.
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CHICAGO: Pitching coach Don Cooper agreed to a three-year contract extension. His name surfaced during offseason as a potential candidate for the New York Yankees open pitching coach position that was eventually filled by Ron Guidry. ``From my end of it, I'm happy because this is the only place I know,'' Cooper said. ``I owe this to the pitchers and the team, me getting my contract.'' Four other coaches, Harold Baines (first base), Joey Cora (third base), Greg Walker (hitting) and Art Kusnyer (bullpen) also received extensions. ``I don't think it changes anything as far as any of us going about our stuff,'' Cooper said. Bench coach Tim Raines will wait until the end of the season to evaluate his situation.
TAMPA BAY: 2B Jorge Cantu (broken bone in his left foot) expects to undergo additional tests to see how much improvement there has been in his injured foot. He is hitting in a batting cage and throwing, but is not expected to return until at least next month. ... OF Rocco Baldelli (hamstring) played in an extended spring training game for the second consecutive day. ``O-for-4, didn't get hurt,'' Baldelli said with a smile. He could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment next week with Triple-A Durham.
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TORONTO: LHP Scott Schoeneweis, in the final year of a two-year, $5.2 million contract, has been charged with 10 earned runs in six innings spanning his last nine outings through Wednesday. He began the season with six scoreless innings over his first seven appearances. ``He'll be fine,'' manager John Gibbons said. ``The thing about Schoney is that the hits he's giving up aren't hit hard. They find some holes. He's gone through some stretches where he hasn't pitched regularly because our starters have picked it up a little bit. But he's the best lefty situational guy out there. He'll be in big demand next year.'' ... The Blue Jays make their first visit to Coors Field on Friday night when they begin their interleague schedule against the Colorado Rockies. ``We're swinging the bats well this year, but I don't think anybody's going to go in there and change their approach just because that field is conducive to bigger power numbers,'' switch-hitting C Gregg Zaun said. ``We're a pretty disciplined group here.'' ... The combined two-hitter by Casey Janssen and B.J. Ryan in Wednesday night's 3-0 victory marked the first shutout by the Blue Jays' pitching staff since Aug. 12, 2005, when RHP Josh Towers scattered nine hits in a 12-0 win at Baltimore. Towers is 5-10 since that game.
LOS ANGELES: When the Angels and Dodgers begin interleague play on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, the 80th and 81st players to wear both uniforms will pitch against each other as the Angels send Jeff Weaver against Aaron Sele. ... CF Darin Erstad, on the DL because of irritation in his right ankle, won't be able to add to his interleague-record hit total of 198 until the Angels' next game against an NL opponent on June 16 against San Diego. ... DH Tim Salmon, who has made only one start in the outfield after missing all of last season recovering from knee and shoulder surgery, is doubtful for the Dodgers series. So is LF Garret Anderson, who is dealing with hamstring and foot issues and may have been able to DH had the series been in Anaheim. ``It's not an ideal time to take a bat out of our lineup at any point, and It couldn't have come at a more inopportune time for us. But going into a National League city, we're going to have to do that,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``We've never had a real problem with that in the past because we had a deep enough lineup and never had a prototypical DH that couldn't play a position and keep his bat in the lineup. But right now with Tim's and Garret's availability to play the field in question, that's two big bats out of the lineup that certainly are going to impact what we need to do on the offensive side. So we're going to have to adjust and put out the best club we can.''
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CINCINNATI: INF Rich Aurilia, on the disabled list since May 4 with a strained right groin, will be activated Friday, with INF Ray Olmedo going down to Triple-A Louisville. Aurilia was hitting .295 before being injured. ... The Reds play the first of 15 interleague games Friday in Detroit. Comerica Park is one of two major league parks in which Ken Griffey Jr. has not homered. He is 1-of-14 with one RBI there. The only other park is St. Louis' new Busch Stadium, where Griffey has yet to play. Griffey has homered in 41 parks; the major league best is 43 by Fred McGriff. ... C Jason LaRue was 1-for-18 before getting four hits Thursday.
PITTSBURGH: Chris Duffy became the second Pirates outfielder to go on the minor league restricted list this season after refusing to report to Triple-A Indianapolis. Duffy, the opening day center fielder, was sent down Sunday with a .194 average - but only after complaining manager Jim Tracy tried to change his hitting approach. OF Jody Gerut also didn't report to Indianapolis after being cut late in spring training, but subsequently agreed to go to the team's extended spring camp. ... 3B Jose Bautista, used at numerous positions by Tracy during spring training, started in center field for the first time Thursday. He had made seven starts at third base and one in right field following his May 7 callup. ... 1B Sean Casey will make the weeklong road trip to Cleveland and Arizona to continue his rehabilitation from the back injury that has sidelined him for a month. He could be ready for a minor league rehabilitation assignment within a week.
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FLORIDA: Florida dropped to 3-19 at Turner Field since the beginning of the 2004 season. ... Compounding the Marlins' misery: right fielder Joe Borchard lost a routine fly ball in the sun, giving Diaz a gift triple in the seventh. ... The last-place Marlins are on pace to go 46-116.
ATLANTA: OF Jeff Francoeur had his second two-homer game of the season and third of his young major league career, which is still less than a year old on Thursday. He extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games. ... The consecutive homers by Francoeur and OF Matt Diaz marked the third time this year the Braves have gone back to back. ... Marcus Giles scored for the Braves on a wild pitch in the third. ... With their ninth victory in 11 games, the Braves (21-20) moved above .500 for the first time since April 7 and closed within 3 1/2 games of the first-place New York Mets in NL East.
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PHILADELPHIA: The Phillies are 13-4 in May. They were 15-13 in May last year. ... Cole Hamels faced 20 batters before giving up his first hit in the Majors in his first career start last Friday at Cincinnati. ... At triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Hamels had 36 strikeouts and one walk while allowing just 10 hits in three starts. ... SS Jimmy Rollins did not start Thursday. He appeared as a pinch hitter in the eighth and popped out to third. He is currently mired in a slump that has seen him go 12-62 in May. Said manager Charlie Manuel on Rollins: ``Today was a good day for me to rest Jimmy. He hasn't been hitting lefties real good, and we have a big series coming up, and I felt like Alex needed to play a game to get him some at-bats.'' The Phillies host the Boston Red Sox Friday to begin interleague play for 2006. ... The loss is the Phillies first of the season when trailing after six innings. ... The Phillies dressed rookies in zoot suits after the game for rookie hazing.
MILWAUKEE: The Brewers are 16-7 at home and are 6-12 on the road. Said Yost on his team's home success: ``Up to this point, we've played games (on the road) like we've played here, but we can't find ways to win them. I don't know what the difference is. A lot of it has to do with getting on a bit of a roll and taking off.'' ... The Brewers have 15 come-from-behind-wins, but are 0-17 when trailing after eight innings. ... Milwaukee leads the majors with 61 homers this season. ... The Brewers are 2-8 when they do not homer. ... The Minnesota Twins come to Milwaukee for interleague play Friday. ... The sweep is the third of the season for the Brewers, all coming at home.
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NEW YORK: Bench coach Jerry Manuel said he got ejected in the third inning because third base umpire Jim Reynolds told him he had ``crossed the line.'' Manuel said he intervened to save Willie Randolph from getting tossed. ``What line, I don't know,'' Manuel said. ``I didn't want to see Willie get into an argument with him, so I stepped in. That's the truth.'' Randolph said he wasn't going to comment on the umpires, ``period.'' ... RHP Jose Lima is 1-6 with a 6.72 ERA against the Cardinals. ... Randolph was upbeat about the Mets' 3-6 trip that had three one-run losses and a 2-0, rain-shortened five-inning loss. ``A break here or a break there, it could have been different for us,'' he said. ``You don't like to lose three series in a row but the bottom line is that we're still playing pretty good baseball.''
ST. LOUIS: OF Larry Bigbie, who's gotten only eight at-bats since being activated from the DL on May 8, will get two starts at DH in a three-game interleague series at Kansas City that start on Friday, although manager Tony La Russa hasn't decided who'll get the nod in the series opener against LHP Mark Redman. ... David Eckstein batted .429 (15-for-35) on a 6-3 homestand after matching his season high with three hits on Thursday. ... The opposition is 0-for-15 with two walks in the first inning of Jason Marquis' five victories and 9-for-19 with five walks and three hit batters in the first inning of his four losses. ... RHP Jason Isringhausen has a save in each of his last seven outings, and nine of the last 10.
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WASHINGTON: Frank Robinson, as tough a player as there was during his Hall of Fame career, had trouble putting on a jacket as he sat at his desk before the game. But he wasn't about to let a sore back keep him from managing his team. He'd taken an anti-inflammatory injection Wednesday night after experiencing spasms. And he was back in the dugout again Thursday after some treatment. Did he have trouble sleeping? ``No,'' he said. ... Robinson shook up his lineup a bit and it worked after the Nationals had been shut out in the first two games of the series. In his starting lineup, he used Damian Jackson at short in place of Royce Clayton, Marlon Anderson at second instead of Jose Vidro and Daryle Ward in right with Jose Guillen nursing a sore hamstring. Jackson had his second homer of the season and Anderson his first to help the Nationals to a victory headed home for an interleague series against the Baltimore Orioles. ... Robinson said he's not sure how long Guillen will be out. He'd left Wednesday night's game early. ``It's a hamstring. It's very touchy and delicate. You don't know how long it will take,'' he said. ``You have to heal.''
CHICAGO: Kerry Wood has now given up three or more homers in a game six times. The last time he gave up three homers was in his previous start, last July 20 against the Reds. He allowed four in one game against the Astros on Aug. 27, 2004. ... Catcher Michael Barrett was encouraged by what he saw from Wood in his first game back in the big leagues. ``I expect a lot better things out of him, more to come,'' Barrett said. ``Right now we have to be a little patient with his arm, understand that was his first start back. As frustrating as it was to give up the runs we gave up on the pitches we did, it's still his first outing.''' ... Wood is back and now the Cubs hope for the return of injured hitting star Derrek Lee and pitchers Mark Prior and Wade Miller. Whether the return of all of them can turn the season around remains to be seen. ``I'm just out there doing my job. I think D. Lee, Prior and Wade will do the same thing when they here,'' Wood said. ``We have enough pressure as it is being here in Chicago in the situation where are in now to win. We don't need need anymore added pressure.'' ... Aramis Ramirez didn't start because of a sore back but he did have a pinch-hit, RBI single.
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Notes from Thursday's games
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