TEXAS: The second game of a day-night doubleheader between Boston and Texas was postponed due to a rain delay of 4 hours, 47 minutes, before the opener. The game will be made up as the first game of a split doubleheader on Sunday, starting at noon. The regularly scheduled game Sunday was moved from 2:05 p.m. to 5 p.m. ... Jerry Hairston Jr., acquired from the Chicago Cubs for Phil Nevin and cash on May 31, made his first start for the Rangers, playing right field and batting ninth.
BOSTON: LHP David Wells, injured when Tampa Bay's Travis Lee lined a ball off his right knee on May 27, traveled to San Diego for a second opinion this week. ``He's got a deep bone bruise,'' manager Terry Francona said. ``I think the diagnosis concurs with what Dr. (Thomas) Gill says.'' Francona also said Wells was still unable to ride an exercise bike and would take some time off before joining the team later this month. ... Highly touted LHP Jon Lester made his first major league start after a rain delay of 4 hours, 47 minutes. ... During the lengthy rain delay, fans were watching the Yankees-Athletics game on the big scoreboard. A loud cheer went up when Frank Thomas homered for Oakland.
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OAKLAND: No AL team has played more one-run games than the Athletics. Oakland is 11-14 in games decided by a single run after winning the last three. Atlanta leads the NL, also with 25. ... Nearly sixty percent of the A's games have been decided by two runs or less (36 of 61, 59 percent), with seven of the last eight losses coming by two runs or less. Oakland is 15-21 overall in those games. ... Frank Thomas gave the A's a 2-0 lead with his first-inning homer, and 10 of his last 18 RBIs have given his team the lead. Thomas' 464th homer was the 102nd of his career in June, his most productive month. ... The A's are 16-16 on the road and 15-15 at home. ... RHP Kirk Saarloos snapped his three-game losing streak.
NEW YORK: Derek Jeter was 0-for-5 and is hitless in eight at-bats as a designated hitter since returning to the lineup after missing three games with a bruised right thumb. Manager Joe Torre insisted before the game that the thumb did not bother Jeter's hitting. ... Bernie Williams was benched in favor of rookie Kevin Thompson, who homered in the fifth inning for his first in the majors. Williams did pinch-hit in the seventh and grounded out. ... 1B Andy Phillips was also benched again with Jeter taking the DH spot, which moved Jason Giambi back to 1B. Phillips had a seven-game hitting streak snapped in his last start and hit three homers with 11 RBIs in those seven games. But Torre said: ``I think he understands. It's kind of like replacing a pitcher with Mariano (Rivera), you don't mind going to the bench for Jeter.'' ... Mike Mussina's first-inning strikeout moved him past Jack Morris into sole possession of ninth place on the AL list. Mussina now has 2,485. ... Johnny Damon had his season-high 10-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-5.
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CLEVELAND: Victor Martinez had his second career multihomer game. His first came on July 16, 2004, at Seattle when he homered three times. ... The Indians are 11-17 away from Jacobs Field. ... LHP C.C. Sabathia, who pitched six strong innings and left with the lead, said he wasn't sure what the Indians need to get going. ``I know we have to win some games and put together a winning streak and try to climb out of wherever we are at,'' Sabathia said. Where the Indians are in the AL Central is nine games behind the White Sox, the team Cleveland nearly overtook last season with a late run. ... Bob Wickman said a lack of save situations this season - he had just eight entering the game - had no bearing on what happened Saturday, when he gave up four hits and two runs in the 11th. ``I threw the ball good in the bullpen going out there and I thought it would be one of those days where I could nail it down,'' he said. ``Every single time I pitch, I pitch like it's a save situation.'' ... The Indians have homered in 11 straight games.
CHICAGO: The White Sox are 24-9 at home. ... Thirteen of the last 29 games with the Indians have been decided by one run, and the White Sox have captured 11 of those one-run contests. ... With 3B Joe Crede out with back spasms, Alex Cintron started at third but moved to shortstop, and Pablo Ozuna came in from left field to play third. The White Sox used all their position players except Crede, who had an epidural on Friday. Ozuna scored the winning run and had three hits. ... Bobby Jenks has had 11 straight scoreless appearances, giving up just six hits with 18 strikeouts in 13 innings. ... Rob Mackowiak singled in the tying run and then was thrown out at the plate on Ozuna's single in the 11th. Indians RF Casey Blake made a strong throw and C Victor Martinez made a nice block of the plate with his left leg on a close play. ``Bang, bang,'' Mackowiak said after he was asked if thought he was safe. ``It was hard for me to tell. You're going in with your head down as hard as you can trying to score. He made the right call, I guess. I don't know. It really doesn't matter.'' It didn't because Ozuna scored moments later on Tadahito Iguchi's single, his third hit of the game.
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TAMPA BAY: The Devil Rays' 14 hits matched a season high. They logged back-to-back double-digit hits for the first time since April 21-22 at Texas. ... LHP Casey Fossum is 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA in seven career appearances, including four starts, against the Royals. ... 2B Jorge Cantu has hit safely in 13 of his past 14 games, with a .375 average in that stretch. ... DH Greg Norton scored three runs to match his career high. The last time he scored three runs in a game was Aug. 5, 1999. ... The Devil Rays have made just three errors in the past 11 games - all by pitchers.
KANSAS CITY: RF Reggie Sanders hit his 300th home run in the ninth inning to join Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson and Bobby Bonds as the only major league players with 300 homers and 300 stolen bases. ``He's in that elite group,'' manager Buddy Bell said. ``He has speed and power and it has a lot to do with his durability.'' ... CF David DeJesus has an eight-game hitting streak, matching the longest by a Royals player this season. ... C John Buck threw out Ty Wigginton in the second inning trying to steal second. Buck has thrown out six of the last seven runners who have attempted to steal on him. ... The Royals dropped to 3-15 when the opponent starts a left-hander.
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DETROIT: Manager Jim Leyland said he would give OF Magglio Ordonez a day off Sunday. Ordonez played Saturday despite fouling a ball off his knee in Friday's game. ... OF Marcus Thames has reached base safely in 24 of 26 games with 10 homers and 19 RBIs during that stretch. ... The Tigers are 31-13 when their starter works six or more innings.
TORONTO: LHP Gustavo Chacin underwent an MRI that revealed a sprained ligament in his left elbow. It's the same injury that sidelined him for two starts last month. Manager John Gibbons said Chacin will need four to six weeks of rest before returning to the rotation. ... The Blue Jays are 7-13 in day games. ... C Bengie Molina has hit in 11 straight games. ... OF Frank Catalanotto went 0-for-4, ending his 11-game hitting streak.
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BALTIMORE: After straining his right shoulder in the seventh inning and leaving Friday night's game, 3B Melvin Mora was back in the lineup. He had some mild tendinitis behind his shoulder, manager Sam Perlozzo said, but Mora was healthy enough to play. ... OF Jay Gibbons is eligible to be activated from the disabled list on Sunday, but the Orioles will wait until Monday with tough Twins lefty Francisco Liriano on the mound Sunday. Gibbons has a strained left groin.
MINNESOTA: LF Shannon Stewart is not close to returning from the disabled list. He's been there since May 20 with a plantar fascia problem in his left foot. Stewart has been taking groundballs in the outfield and batting practice, and the next step will be to run the bases. Manager Ron Gardenhire said Stewart will need a minor league rehabilitation assignment before he comes back. ... Struggling DH Rondell White was out of the lineup again. Batting only .193 with six extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in 171 at-bats, White has started only twice in the last 10 games. Gardenhire said the team has not noticed any loss of bat speed or other signs of slowing down for the 34-year-old White. ... With the Twins off on Monday, rookie Boof Bonser will get pushed back in the rotation and make his next start on Saturday.
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SEATTLE: The pitching staff entered Saturday leading the AL in strikeouts with 413. Last season, the Mariners were last in the league with 892. ``I don't know that there's any one thing you can point at, but they throw strikes,'' manager Mike Hargrove said. ``They know they've got a good defense playing behind them, and I think there's a certain comforting factor in that. So instead of trying to pitch away from contact, they keep the ball around the plate, throw strikes and pitch ahead - which gives them a good chance of getting a guy out. And the strikeouts could be a bonus of that.'' ... The Mariners are one of two teams in the majors that have used just five starting pitchers, along with Pittsburgh. In 2003, Seattle used only five starters the entire season.
LOS ANGELES: CF Darin Erstad, on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake, played all 10 innings Friday night. ``He appears to be feeling much better with the ankle,'' manager Mike Scioscia. ``From where we were a couple of days ago, we're very happy his ankle is responding better. We'll see how he holds up, but it's definitely a good sign when you go out there and play back-to-back nights. We're looking forward to getting him back in the lineup, but Ersty just needs to get back the confidence to do certain things with us.'' ... LF Garret Anderson did not make an error in his first 53 games. He entered needing 12 hits to become the first player in Angels history to reach 2,000. ... The Angels had allowed 41 unearned runs, most in the majors and only four more than they allowed all last season.
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PHILADELPHIA: The Phillies placed C Mike Lieberthal on the 15-day disabled list with a left hip strain, retroactive to June 6. Lieberthal injured the hip at Arizona and has had problems running since. ``I just knew by running on it that I wasn't going to be able to run for at least two days or a while,'' said Lieberthal. ``It's the same as when I pulled it.'' The Phillies recalled RHP Brian Sanches from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and started Chris Coste in Lieberthal's place. ... Sunday will be LHP Cole Hamels' fourth start, all of which have come on the road. He should make his first start at Citizens Bank Park on June 16 against Tampa Bay.
WASHINGTON: OF Jose Guillen, who had been out since May 26 with a strained right hamstring, was activated from the 15-day disabled list. Guillen did not start, but was available as a pinch-hitter, manager Frank Robinson said. OF Mike Vento was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans. ``I'm not expecting to play right away, but I'm pretty sure Frank's going to try to sneak me in there,'' Guillen said. ... Despite catching all 12 innings of Friday night's marathon 9-8 victory, C Brian Schneider was behind the plate Saturday, as he usually is when RHP Livan Hernandez starts. Robinson said Schneider would be rested Sunday, when Robert Fick will catch.
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ATLANTA: Wilson Betemit doubled and scored twice in his first start of the season at second base on Saturday. He also made three putouts. ``Wilson had a nice game,'' said manager Bobby Cox. Betemit has started nine games at shortstop and nine games at 3B this season. The switch hitter batted .385 (10-for-26) in May. ``I've got to start playing him more,'' Cox said. ``He deserves to play.'' ... 3B Chipper Jones struck out three times in Friday's loss, his third three-strikeout game this season. Jones went 1-for-4 with another strikeout on Saturday, his 38th of the season. ... Cox is still amazed that Roger Clemens compiled the best ERA in baseball last season (1.87) with 17 starts at Minute Maid Park. ``This is a real hitter's park, golly,'' Cox said. ``I don't know how Roger had a 1-something ERA here. It seems impossible.'' ... With an RBI double on Saturday, Jones became the Atlanta Braves' all-time leader in RBIs, with 1,143. However, he's only third in franchise history behind Eddie Matthews (1,388) and Hank Aaron (2,202), who played for the Braves when they were in Milwaukee. Matthews also played for the Braves in Boston and is the only man to play for the franchise in all three cities.
HOUSTON: Manager Phil Garner knows he needs to get Orlando Palmiero into the lineup more often and Palmeiro proved why again Saturday. Getting his second start of the season in right field, Palmiero had an RBI triple in the eighth inning of Houston's 4-2 loss to Atlanta. He also had a pinch-hit, two-run single in Thursday's 7-4 victory over the Braves. ``He needs to play more, have more than just one at-bat,'' Garner said. ... Lance Berkman missed Saturday's game to see his wife, Cara, give birth to their third daughter. Katie Mae Berkman was born at 2:10 p.m. and weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce. ... Mike Lamb, who homered in Houston's last two games, moved from 1B to 3B to start for Morgan Ensberg, who bruised his right shoulder diving for a foul ball on Friday. Lamb went 1-for-4 with a single and an RBI groundout.
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PITTSBURGH: RHP Ian Snell won his fifth straight game Saturday, scattering three hits over seven innings in Pittsburgh's 2-0 victory over San Francisco. Snell (7-3) has not lost since May 14. ... 3B Freddy Sanchez was ejected by home plate umpire Rick Reed in the second inning. Sanchez, who went into the game leading the NL with a .342 batting average, was upset after being called out on strikes and argued with Reed while walking toward Pittsburgh's dugout before getting tossed. ... The Pirates have won consecutive road games for the first time this season. Pittsburgh hasn't won three straight away from home since May 3-5, 2005. ... LF Jason Bay extended his hitting streak to nine games and is batting .458 (11-for-24) in that stretch. ... RHP Kip Wells, who had offseason surgery to repair a blocked artery in his pitching arm, was scheduled to make the first of three rehab starts Saturday.
SAN FRANCISCO: OF Barry Bonds missed his fourth straight game with a sore left side and isn't likely to play until San Francisco goes on the road next week, manager Felipe Alou said Saturday. ``He wanted to play today but the trainers don't feel he should play,'' Alou said before the Giants' game against Pittsburgh. ``They don't believe he should take a chance, not today, not tomorrow.'' San Francisco is 1-3 since Bonds left the lineup. ... 2B Ray Durham returned to the lineup after being held out Friday with a stiff neck. He went 1-for-3 with a walk. ... The Giants aren't convinced C Mike Matheny is ready to return from the disabled list. Sidelined with a concussion since June 2, Matheny can come off the DL next Friday but Alou isn't optimistic. ``We're not saying he won't be back or he will be back,'' Alou said. ``It's just questionable.'' ... RHP Jason Schmidt, coming off his franchise-record-tying 16-strikeout performance Tuesday against Florida, goes for an encore Sunday when he faces Pittsburgh. Schmidt is 4-1 with a 2.17 lifetime ERA against the Pirates, for whom he pitched from 1996-2001.
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CHICAGO: Right-hander Carlos Marmol will make his first major league start Sunday against the Reds, filling in for the disabled Kerry Wood. Marmol was called up Sunday from Double-A West Tenn, where he had 67 strikeouts in 58 innings. The 23-year-old Marmol was signed as an undrafted free agent in July 1999. He has made two relief appearances for Chicago. ... Wood, who went on the 15-day DL Friday with stiffness in his shoulder, played catch in the outfield before Saturday's game. ... Phil Nevin made his third start at first base. The Cubs got Nevin from Texas on May 31.
CINCINNATI: Manager Jerry Narron was back after missing one game to attend his daughter's graduation in North Carolina. ... RF Austin Kearns was back in the starting lineup, a day after he slightly strained his left hamstring while chasing a fly ball. ... The Reds commemorated the 62nd anniversary of Joe Nuxhall's historic big-league debut. Nuxhall was only 15 years old - the youngest player in modern big-league history - to appear in a game when he pitched in relief for the Reds. Nuxhall, who was recently treated for pneumonia, rode around the field on a cart before Saturday's game.
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ST. LOUIS: RHP Jason Isringhausen, who has 159 saves with the Cardinals, is one save shy of the team record of 160 held by Lee Smith. ... A week ago Saturday is when 1B Albert Pujols suffered his oblique injury and in that time St. Louis is 2-3, while averaging better than five runs per game. ... OF Larry Bigbie is expected to miss the rest of the month after undergoing surgery earlier in the week to repair an umbilical hernia.
MILWAUKEE: RF Geoff Jenkins moved back to the No. 3 spot in the batting order Saturday after being dropped to No. 7 Friday against LHP Mark Mulder. Friday was the first time this season Jenkins didn't bat third. ``He's got a big split between left- and right-handed pitchers,'' manager Ned Yost said. Jenkins has hit .136 against left-handers and .289 against right-handers this season. Yost said he will continue to move Jenkins based on the opposing starting pitcher. Saturday's starter for St. Louis was RHP Jason Marquis. ... RHP Ben Sheets (shoulder) has thrown off the mound the last two days, while RHP Tomo Ohka (rotator cuff) threw off the mound Saturday. Both have been on the disabled list since early May, but no date has been set for either pitcher's return.
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LOS ANGELES: The Dodgers received encouraging news on SS Cesar Izturis (right elbow surgery. ``I talked to our people in Las Vegas and they said he is making every play defensively,'' manager Grady Little said. ``Offensively, he's like a hitter the first week of spring training, but that will come in time.'' ... There was no change in the status of RHP Eric Gagne, who experienced some pain in his right shoulder while throwing before Friday's game. ``Nothing has changed and all we can do is give him some rest,'' Little said. ``We'll have to see over the next few days how he is before we make any decision.'' ... INF Joel Guzman was in the lineup at third base. ``We want to get him as many at-bats as we can before Jeff Kent (sprained left writs) returns Tuesday,'' Little said.
COLORADO: Manager Clint Hurdle cleared the air with newly acquired INF Kazuo Matsui in a Saturday phone call. ``I made two points, that he would have the opportunity to make his own story and I wanted him to be comfortable with his own expectations and not worry about the expectations of others,'' he said. ... SS Clint Barmes got the night off to give Omar Quintanilla a start at shortstop. ... The recent number of deep fly balls that have been caught at the warning track justify Hurdle's assessment of Coors Field. ``If you don't hit the ball on the sweet part of the bat, it's not going to go out,'' Hurdle said. ``The playing field here has been evened for the pitcher.''
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NEW YORK: Manager Willie Randolph said he's been pleased with OF Endy Chavez' play in right field. Chavez went into Saturday's game at Arizona hitting .278 with one homer and 13 RBIs in 45 games, but his glove impresses Randolph the most. ``He's a great guy to have on your team,'' Randolph said. ... OF Carlos Beltran hit 16 home runs last year, his first with the Mets. He hit Nos. 16 and 17 Friday night at Arizona. ... The Mets were 37-23 after 60 games, their best record at that point in the season since they went 38-22 in 1988. The Mets hadn't been as many as 14 games over .500 since the last game of the 2000 season, which they finished 94-68.
ARIZONA: RHP Juan Cruz, on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder, threw off a mound Saturday. ``I wanted him to throw nice and easy,'' manager Bob Melvin said. ``He doesn't know how to throw nice and easy.'' There's no timetable for Cruz to return to the rotation. He will likely make a couple of rehabilitation starts. ... LHP Terry Mulholland, on the 15-day disabled list with an inner ear infection, threw two simulated innings of batting practice before Saturday night's game. ... Melvin's lineup flipped OF Luis Gonzalez and 3B Chad Tracy for the second day in a row, with Gonzalez batting third and Tracy hitting cleanup. ... IF Craig Counsell's home run Friday night snapped a string of 256 homerless at-bats. It was also the Diamondbacks' first home run in 36 innings of their current home stand after they homered eight times in the last two games of a trip to Atlanta.
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FLORIDA: The Marlins struck out 16 times (12 by Chris Young) Friday night, one shy of the club record for a nine-inning game. And they have struck out a Major League-leading 481 times on the season, including 16 times agaiinst the Giants Jason Schimdt on May 31.The Marlins are on pace for 1,343 strikeouts. The club record is 1,184 in 2000. The ML record is 1,399 by the 2001 Milwaukee Brewers. ``We had a chance to beat Chris Young and Jason Schmidt,'' said Marlins manager Joe Girardi. ``We're competing against them. We're just one hit short. You look at our record (21-37)and you can say that about a lot of our losses, enough losses to where we could be a .500 team.''
SAN DIEGO: Adrian Gonzalez extended his career-high and longest active Major League hitting streak to 17 games Friday night. During that streak, dating back to May 8, Gonzalez has hit safely in 23 of 26 games, is batting .356 (21-for-59) with four home runs, five RBIS andeight runs scored. Gonzalez' 17-game hitting streak is the longest streak by a Padre since Eric Owens hit in 18 consecutive games, June 17-July 8, 1999. Padres relievers have combined for a 1.33 ERA (4ER/27.0 IP) over their last nine games dating back to May 30 vs. Colorado.
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