Notes from Monday's games
June 5, 2006
LOS ANGELES: Manager Mike Scioscia hasn't ruled out 1B Darin Erstad (right ankle) and INF Maicer Izturis (hamstring) rejoining the team when it returns home Friday. ``We'll take a look by late this week,'' Scioscia said. ``We'll see where we are.'' Both players are taking part in rehabilitation assignments in the minors. ... RHP Bartolo Colon (right shoulder) is scheduled to make a minor league rehab start Tuesday. He could rejoin the rotation this weekend. ... INF Casey Kotchman (viral syndrome) is doing stamina work, but has not resumed baseball activities.
TAMPA BAY: Manager Joe Maddon said 2B Jorge Cantu (broken bone in his left foot) could be in the starting lineup Tuesday. He has been on a rehab assignment with Double-A Montgomery. ... 3B Aubrey Huff, who entered Monday hitting .188 since returning from a knee injury on May 4, was out of the lineup. ``I just wanted to give Aubrey a day off, period,'' Maddon said. ``This was purely a mental day off.'' ... The Devil Rays have the third overall pick in Tuesday's amateur draft. Houston RHP Brad Lincoln and Long Beach State INF Evan Longoria are among the players on Tampa Bay's short list.
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TORONTO: 3B Troy Glaus was held out of Monday's game with back stiffness. The injury occurred when he collided with teammate Aaron Hill in Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. Glaus, who ranks second in the AL with 17 homers, was not available to pinch hit, but the Jays hope he will be available Tuesday. ... Shea Hillenbrand filled in for Glaus at 3B on Monday. He had homers in five of his previous 10 starts. ... The Blue Jays ranked first in the AL with a .303 team batting average through Sunday, led by OF Alex Rios (.360).
BALTIMORE: The Orioles activated RHP Daniel Cabrera from the 15-day DL Monday and designated C Raul Chavez for assignment. Chavez, the third-string catcher, had only 11 at-bats with Baltimore after being claimed on waivers from Houston on March 31. ... LHP Adam Loewen will get a second start on Thursday. The rookie allowed three earned runs in five innings during his first major league start Saturday against the Yankees. He replaced Bruce Chen in the starting rotation. Chen (0-5, 7.71 ERA) will go to the bullpen. ... Corey Patterson entered Monday's game with at least one stolen base in each of his last eight games, the longest such streak in the majors since 1996.
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BOSTON: RHP Josh Beckett allowed eight runs - seven earned - and seven hits in 1 1-3 innings, his shortest start since May 7, 2003, with Florida, when he left after one inning against San Francisco because of a sprained elbow. ... LHP David Wells, on the DL with a bruised right knee, probably won't be ready to pitch against Texas on Sunday, when he's eligible to be activated. ... RHP Mike Timlin (strained right shoulder) was set to play catch for the first time since going on the DL on May 28, retroactive to May 26. He is slated to have a side session Friday and is eligible to be activated Saturday. ... The Red Sox hoped RHP Keith Foulke, who didn't pitch during last weekend's series in Detroit because of a stiff back, would be available. He planned to throw during batting practice.
NEW YORK: A bruised right thumb kept SS Derek Jeter out of the lineup in the opener of a four-game series against Boston. Jeter was hit by a pitch from Baltimore's Rodrigo Lopez on Sunday. Miguel Cairo started at SS and batted ninth. The last time Jeter didn't play in a game against the rival Red Sox was Sept. 6, 2003, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He missed that one because of a strained rib cage. ... Mariano Rivera was ready to pitch again. The star closer was unavailable the previous four games because of back spasms. ... RHP Shawn Chacon could come off the DL to start Friday night against Oakland. ... 3B Alex Rodriguez was named the AL player of the month for May. He batted .330 with eight homers and 28 RBIs. 1B Jason Giambi was the league's player of the month in April. ... Preston Mattingly, the son of hitting coach Don Mattingly, worked out for team scouts at the Yankees' minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. He is eligible for Tuesday's amateur draft. ... OF Bubba Crosby said his injured hamstring is ``about 99 percent'' healthy. He could start playing in minor league games in the next couple days. ``He still feels it,'' manager Joe Torre said.
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KANSAS CITY: RHP Seth Etherton was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday and the team recalled RHP Leo Nunez. Etherton made just his second start of the season on Saturday and was battered for seven runs in just 2 2-3 innings. Manager Buddy Bell said the move was made to help the Royals' overworked bullpen, and the team hasn't determined who will start in Etherton's place on Thursday against Texas. ``Because of the way our schedule is, we needed help in our bullpen,'' Bell said. Nunez has one appearance with the Royals this season, pitching 2 1-3 innings on May 24 against Detroit. ... After picking second last year, the Royals will have the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's amateur draft. It's the first time the Royals have drafted No. 1.
SEATTLE: RF Ichiro Suzuki was named American League player of the week on Monday after hitting .440 and scoring an AL-high nine runs last week. Suzuki was 11-for-25 at the plate and had a .517 on-base percentage. After struggling in April, Suzuki hit .371 in May and scored 22 runs. ``I didn't even know such an award existed,'' Suzuki said through an interpreter. He may not have known, but it was his second player of the week honor, previously receiving the award in August 2004. ... Two of the best young arms in the league meet Tuesday night when Minnesota's Francisco Liriano (4-0, 2.11 ERA) faces Seattle's Felix Hernandez (4-6, 5.78 ERA). Hernandez said he enjoys watching the 22-year-old Liriano pitch, especially his fastball. ``He throws hard and has command too,'' Hernandez said. The two met on May 26 in Minnesota with the Twins winning 3-1. Hernandez allowed just three runs in seven innings, but Liriano held the Mariners scoreless in his five innings.
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WASHINGTON: LHP Joey Eischen and RHP Zach Day will have shoulder surgeries Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala., and Cincinnati, respectively. Eischen's season-ending rotator cuff procedure will be performed by Dr. James Andrews and team orthopedist Dr. Ben Shaffer. If anything significant is found in Day's exploratory surgery on his right shoulder, he could miss the rest of the season. Day, diagnosed with right shoulder tendinitis, is 2-5 with a 6.75 ERA in eight starts. ... 3B Ryan Zimmerman missed his second straight game with a sore back Monday. He suffers discomfort when swinging a bat and hopes to return Tuesday. Brendan Harris made his second start of the season at third base.
ATLANTA: C Brian McCann will report to Single-A Rome Tuesday for a scheduled two-day injury rehabilitation assignment. McCann, recovering from a sprained left ankle, is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list Thursday. Todd Pratt and Brayan Pena have split time filling in for McCann, who had a workout with trainer Jeff Porter on Monday. ``It felt good,'' McCann said. ``It felt a lot better than it did yesterday.'' ... 2B Marcus Giles is hitting .300 with two homers and 12 RBIs in a 13-game stretch entering Monday night. He has lifted his batting average from .235 to .250.
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SAN DIEGO: The recent performances of RHP Chris Young have caught the eye of Padres manager Bruce Bochy. Young has gone eight innings in each of his last two starts, allowing a total of three hits while striking out 12 and walking three. ``That's the best back-to-back outings I have ever seen,'' Bochy said. ... Eric Young got his 15th start in left field Monday, replacing Dave Roberts. Bochy cited Young in crediting the Padres' strong bench. ``They have done a great job,'' he said. ``I hate to think where we'd be without them all contributing so much. That's what it takes when you're going to have a good year.'' ... RHP Jake Peavy (4-5, 4.15 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday after getting pushed back three days due to shoulder tendinitis. Bochy said Peavy felt fine during a recent bullpen session. ``He's all set to go,'' Bochy said.
MILWAUKEE: OF Gabe Gross started in place of RF Geoff Jenkins on Monday. Jenkins left Sunday's game with a mild concussion following a full-speed collision with 1B Prince Fielder as both were chasing a foul pop. Manager Ned Yost said Jenkins is day to day. ... The Brewers have yet to pick a starter for Wednesday's game, as they look for someone to replace struggling LHP Dana Eveland in the rotation. It is between RHP Jeremi Gonzalez, acquired in a trade with the New York Mets on May 28, and rookie LHP Zach Jackson, acquired in an offseason trade. Jackson was called up Saturday.
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PITTSBURGH: An MRI on C Ryan Doumit revealed a complete tear of his left hamstring. ``He will be sent to Florida to begin rehab,'' manager Jim Tracy said. ``It's very unfortunate due to the fact that in the two games that he caught he had made great strides.'' ... RHP Kip Wells (right shoulder surgery) made a five-inning appearance Monday in an extended spring game. ``He threw 61 pitches in the game and an additional nine pitches on the side,'' Tracy said. ``He topped out at 93 mph, his velocity remained consistent and he will make his first minor league rehab start on June 10 at a level to be determined.'' ... Why are the Pirates a major league-worst 4-22 on the road? ``Eleven of the 22 losses have been by one run,'' Tracy said. ``We have made some physical and mental errors.''
COLORADO: INF Omar Quintanilla hit leadoff and played second base in his first start since being recalled after last Saturday's game. ``He's led off almost the entire time he'd been at Colorado Springs and we wanted to keep him in a comfort zone,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. ``He's not the prototypical leadoff hitter, but we don't have one.'' The move frees us utilityman Jamey Carroll to play shortstop and third base. ... Hurdle has a mixed view of the Pirates' problems on the road. ``We're all aware of what they've done on the road,'' he said. ``I'm sure they feel they know we aren't playing well so they feel they can make a move here.''
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CHICAGO: Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Kerry Wood has recovered from the stiffness in his surgically repaired right shoulder that caused his scheduled Sunday start to be pushed back to Tuesday. Wood pitched a light bullpen Monday. ``Woody went out there and said he feels pretty good,'' Baker said. ``He's on for tomorrow.'' ... Baker started Freddie Bynum in left field Monday in place of Matt Murton, who has had recent defensive struggles. ``With Carlos (Zambrano) throwing I just wanted a different look,'' Baker said. ``Hopefully it will be a little better.'' ... Baker compared his team's recent surge to the Astros' recent downturn. ``They're trying to get up,'' he said. ``We're trying to stay up. We've won two series in a row. This last couple of series we've played pretty good.''
HOUSTON: Astros players and coaches had a 30-minute meeting in the batting cage before batting practice on Monday. Players were tightlipped on what happened in the meeting, with most refusing to comment on it. However Astros manager Phil Garner addressed it in general terms. ``I wanted to say some things,'' Garner said. ``This was not a yelling and get angry kind of thing. I had some observations I wanted to make. If anybody else had some observations, they had the floor to do that too. There were a lot of good things said, some very timely things were said and some very appropriate comments. I think it was a good thing.'' Closer Brad Lidge said it was a good meeting. ``Every once and a while you need to come together as a team and brainstorm,'' Lidge said. ``Obviously we feel we're better than the record shows. It's just nice to get together and talk things out.'' ... There wasn't much more information on the status of RHP Roy Oswalt, who missed Sunday's scheduled start with back spasms. He was scheduled to see a doctor sometime Monday evening. ``I've never had a back problem so I don't know a lot about this,'' Oswalt said. ``It's in the muscle. It's just like a mild sprain I guess, but it's lasted three days now and I don't know what it is.'' Oswalt said he expects to miss at least one more start.
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CINCINATI: Ken Griffey Jr. homered in his 43rd stadium to tie a major league record also held by Fred McGriff. He added new Busch Stadium with a solo homer in the fifth inning. Griffey was on the DL when the Reds made their first visit to new Busch April 14-16. ... Brandon Phillips was 11-for-11 in steals, matching the start by Felipe Lopez earlier this season. ... Pinch hitters led the NL in hits (17), homers (4) and were tied for first in RBIs (14).
ST. LOUIS: Albert Pujols, on the DL with a strained muscle on his right side, is confident the team will be OK without him. He pointed out the Cardinals won 100 games for the second straight year last season despite injuries to Scott Rolen, Yadier Molina and Reggie Sanders. ``I think last year we were in a tougher situation,'' Pujols said. ``This year you have just myself.'' ... Utilityman Scott Spiezio returned to the team after missing the first six games of a nine-game homestand with an upper respiratory illness that sapped him of his strength, caused him to lose 10 pounds and kept him at home the previous three games. The worst of the symptoms was a severe sore throat. ``I'd be starving but I couldn't eat or drink because it hurt too much to swallow,'' Spiezio said.
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NEW YORK: The Mets entered Monday night's game 116-101 since Willie Randolph took over as manager at the start of last season. The last Mets manager who had a better record in his first 217 games was Bud Harrelson, who was 122-95 between 1990 and 1991. Davey Johnson, who guided the team to its last World Series championship in 1986, also started out 122-95. ... The Mets will have the 62nd pick in Tuesday's first-year player draft. They forfeited their first-round pick (18th overall) to Philadelphia as compensation for their signing of free agent closer Billy Wagner.
LOS ANGELES: The Dodgers have the seventh overall pick in Tuesday's draft. RHP Darren Dreifort, whom they selected in the second round in June 1993, was the only player in club history to have gone directly from the draft into the major leagues - and just the 20th player overall with that distinction since the draft began in 1965. ... The lessons C Sandy Alomar Jr. learned from his father, New York Mets 1B coach Sandy Alomar Sr., have served him well. The younger Alomar, a six-time All-Star who won a Gold Glove in 1990, turns 40 years old on Father's Day. His dad ended his playing career at age 34. ``He was a gamer and a hard-nosed player who worked very hard,'' Sandy Jr. said. ``My dad taught me to just be yourself and work hard, because nothing's going to be given to you. He told me to respect the opposition, too. That hot-dogging stuff doesn't play in our family. My dad was a very traditional, old-fashioned player - just do your thing, go about your business the right way, and don't embarrass anybody.''
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ARIZONA: Manager Bob Melvin said Russ Ortiz (0-3, 6.91 ERA) will return to the rotation and start Wednesday afternoon's finale with the Phillies. The team planned to activate Ortiz off the disabled list on Tuesday. ``It was nice to know that going through this whole process that everything went well and that (Melvin) had a lot of encouraging things to say,'' Ortiz said Monday, his 32nd birthday. Ortiz was put on the DL on May 3 with a strained left groin. ... Tuesday's starter Juan Cruz (3-3, 4.05 ERA) will be making his first start against Philadelphia. He has not given up a run in his last 13 innings, including wins over Atlanta and Cincinnati. ... The Diamondbacks, after their franchise-best 7-3 road trip, were 34-22, the first time the team has been 12 games above .500 since July 18, 2003. ... Arizona has won 10 of its last 13 and scored 75 runs in those contests, which includes a 1-0 13-inning loss at New York.
PHILADELPHIA: The Phillies are 6-7 in their last 13 games, part of a stretch of 20 scheduled games without a day off. ... Second baseman Chase Utley was second behind Craig Biggio of Houston in the first report of All-Star voting. Utley leads the major leagues among second basemen in hits (72), home runs (11), runs (47), on-base percentage (.398) and slugging percentage (.552). Going into Monday's game, the Phillies bullpen has allowed four earned runs in their last 28 innings and have a team ERA of 3.30, second in the major leagues behind St. Louis (2.96). ... Cole Hamels was announced as the Tuesday starter against Arizona, which would be his third start of the year after spending time in the minors. Hamels (0-0, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to be activated off the disabled list Tuesday after straining his left shoulder. Ryan Madson (5-3, 6.04 ERA) will start on Wednesday, followed by Eude Brito (0-1, 13.50) on Thursday at Washington and Brett Myers (4-2, 2.90) on Friday.
PHILADELPHIA: The Phillies are 6-7 in their last 13 games, part of a stretch of 20 scheduled games without a day off. ... Second baseman Chase Utley was second behind Craig Biggio of Houston in the first report of All-Star voting. Utley leads the major leagues among second basemen in hits (72), home runs (11), runs (47), on-base percentage (.398) and slugging percentage (.552). Going into Monday's game, the Phillies bullpen has allowed four earned runs in their last 28 innings and have a team ERA of 3.30, second in the major leagues behind St. Louis (2.96). ... Cole Hamels was announced as the Tuesday starter against Arizona, which would be his third start of the year after spending time in the minors. Hamels (0-0, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to be activated off the disabled list Tuesday after straining his left shoulder. Ryan Madson (5-3, 6.04 ERA) will start on Wednesday, followed by Eude Brito (0-1, 13.50) on Thursday at Washington and Brett Myers (4-2, 2.90) on Friday.
FLORIDA: OF Jeremy Hermida and INF Mike Jacobs got the day off. ``This is the day to do it,'' manager Joe Girardi said. ``Keep all of our guys fresh and give all our guys at-bats.'' ... Giardi doesn't mind having to prepare for the Giants twice in two weeks after the clubs played three games last week in Miami. ``I think it's good to get to see if teams are able to make adjustments,'' he said. ... RHP Josh Johnson was voted NL Rookie of the Month for May, edging out teammate Dan Uggla. Johnson went 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA in six starts. Uggla batted .356 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 29 games. ``Josh pitched great and he matched up against some top-notch pitchers and was equal to the task,'' Giardi said.
SAN FRANCISCO: RHP Jason Schmidt was named NL Pitcher of the Month for May after going 4-0 with an ERA of 1.17, lowest by NL starters. ``That's great,'' manager Felipe Alou said. ``He wasn't winning games at the beginning but we said, 'He's throwing a great ball.' Everything came together for him.'' ... RF Moises Alou, sidelined since May 5 with a sprained right ankle, took batting practice, shagged fly balls and ran the bases in his last day on the DL before being activated Tuesday. ``I'm kind of excited, nervous,'' said Alou, who iced his ankle three times during the team's cross-country flight from New York on Sunday night. ``Mentally and physically, it will take me about a week. I need to regain some stamina.'' The Giants also plan to activate RHP reliever Tim Worrell, who has been sidelined with a pinched nerve in his neck. ``We have to send one of the young guys out,'' Alou said. ``Maybe we'll flip a coin, or pick a name out of a hat.'' ... RHP Jamey Wright volunteered to pitch Wednesday on three days' rest. ... C Mike Matheny, on the DL with a concussion, is undergoing further tests early this week before the Giants determine what he can begin to do on the field. He has been examined by specialists from the University of Pittsburgh. The 35-year-old Matheny was hit in the head several times by foul balls during a three-game series at Florida last week. He left Wednesday night's game in the third inning after getting nailed by a foul tip. ``I'm still a little behind,'' he said. ``I feel slow processing. My focus is kind of off.''
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Originally Posted by bigboydan
