Notes from Monday's games
June 12, 2006
TAMPA BAY: CF Rocco Baldelli was rested as a precaution. He missed 221 games with knee and elbow injuries before returning from the disabled list last week. ``He hadn't played more than three days in a row in the minors, so we didn't feel any reason to push things,'' manager Joe Maddon said. ``He had three tough days, and I would feel horrible if I put him out there again tonight and something bad happened.'' ... Maddon said DH Jonny Gomes (shoulder) probably won't be able to start in the next series at Philadelphia. ``He'd be like a pitcher on a pitch count,'' Maddon said.
DETROIT: Manager Jim Leyland gave SS Carlos Guillen (knee) the night off, keeping up his practice of giving veterans with a history of injury problems an occasional break. ``I just smell something, so I told him I'm going to let him manage with me tonight,'' Leyland said. ... Craig Monroe (right ankle) was in the lineup as the DH instead of in LF. ``He's not 100 percent,'' Leyland said. ... Before the Tigers faced Devil Rays LHP Scott Kazmir, Detroit pitching coach Chuck Hernandez spoke at the hitters' meeting. Hernandez spent the previous two years in Tampa Bay as pitching coach, and the seven years before that in the Devil Rays' minor league system.
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CHICAGO: DH Jim Thome is taking pregame grounders at first base and manager Ozzie Guillen said Thome should make his first start of the season at first during a three-game series in Cincinnati this weekend. Paul Konerko is the regular first baseman, but Guillen wants Thome, a first baseman throughout most of his career, to get in a few games as a position player. ... Pablo Ozuna made his first start of the season at 2B. Ozuna has made previous starts this season at 3B and LF, and he entered with a .409 average. ``I love the guy,'' Guillen said. ``He's been doing a great job. What we ask him to do, he'll do. Our bench guys know what their roles are.'' Ozuna also started at SS and DH for the White Sox last season.
TEXAS: Manager Buck Showalter was talking to reporters in his office before the game when Gary Matthews Jr. - who wasn't in the starting lineup - stuck his head in the door. ``I know what he's getting ready to do,'' Showalter said. Matthews might have tried to talk his way into the lineup, but he still didn't start. Instead, Jerry Hairston Jr. led off and played center field in his first home game for the Rangers. Matthews was 5-for-10 in a doubleheader at Boston on Sunday. He was hitting .442 in his last 11 games and .332 overall, sixth in the AL. ... RHP John Wasdin had a bruise on the meaty part of his throwing hand from a comebacker that hit him Sunday, when he started the second game of the doubleheader. Showalter said Wasdin would be available in the bullpen Wednesday or Thursday.
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BALTIMORE: Manager Sam Perlozzo has dropped 3B Melvin Mora from second in the order to third. Perlozzo said he'll continue to do that as long as LF Brandon Fahey continues to hit. Fahey entered batting .266 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 24 games. ... OF Jeff Conine didn't start. Perlozzo said Conine has nagging knee and foot injuries. ... INF Chris Gomez (broken bone in his hand) is a week from hitting off a tee, Perlozzo said. Gomez was put on the 60-day disabled list May 11.
TORONTO: Manager John Gibbons said it was tough to tell INF Edgardo Alfonzo he was being released. Gibbons know Alfonzo back when he managed in the New York Mets' farm system. ``We go way back,'' Gibbons said. Alfonzo was released by the Los Angeles Angels last month. He's hitting just .126 overall. ... Alex Rios homered twice for the first multihomer game of his career.
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KANSAS CITY: After a four-game series against the Angels, the Royals will begin a stretch of 15 consecutive games against NL teams - at Houston, then home against Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, then at Cincinnati and St. Louis. ... Kansas City will send out its 12th starter of the season Tuesday when Brandon Duckworth (0-0) faces Angels rookie Jered Weaver (3-0). Duckworth, who has a 16-21 career record and 5.34 ERA in 91 major league appearances, was acquired from the Pirates on Saturday for cash. ... Royals starters were a dismal 7-32 heading into Monday night's game.
LOS ANGELES: The Angels activated CF Darin Erstad from the 15-day disabled list. He had been sidelined since May 1 because of irritation in his right ankle, which also bothered him during spring training. The two-time All-Star is hitting .238 with no homers and four RBIs in 80 at-bats spanning 22 games this season. ``It's at the point where you say, `Can you help the team win?' And I'm at that point,'' Erstad said. ``It's going to be a day-to-day type of thing.'' Manager Mike Scioscia said, ``We talk about the intangibles, and they're certainly important. But his ability to play center field makes everyone around him better. He's going to have an immediate effect on the defensive side.'' Erstad, 32, is the only player to win a Gold Glove at first base and in the outfield. ... The Angels had allowed 43 unearned runs, most in the majors.
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COLORADO: INF Luis Gonzalez was activated from the 15-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs. He has not played for the Rockies since May 26, when he was sidelined with inflammation in his wrists, but he made five rehab appearances for the Sky Sox. ... A day after Brian Fuentes had his first blown save in more than a month, manager Clint Hurdle said he's not worried. Fuentes has a 2.10 ERA and 13 saves this season, but he gave up two runs in the ninth inning of Sunday's loss to the Dodgers. ``He's got the bar set so high that when it falls, it makes a loud noise,'' Hurdle said. ... The Nationals will be a welcome opponent for 1B Todd Helton, who has been more successful against that organization than any player in history. He entered with a .407 average against the Nationals and Montreal Expos, with 87 hits and 23 homers in 214 at-bats. Pittsburgh's Sean Casey is next with a .399 career average.
WASHINGTON: The start of a four-game series with Colorado marked the return of 2B Jamey Carroll to the stadium he called home last year. Carroll, who was drafted by the Expos in 1996 and stayed with the team until being sold to the Rockies in February, has become one of the Rockies' most reliable players and their leadoff hitter. Carroll was one of Washington manager Frank Robinson's favorites, but Robinson said he has moved on. ``You can't dwell on what you haven't got,'' Robinson said. The Rockies, meanwhile, are happy to have Carroll, who is batting .319 with two home runs. He led off Monday's game with a single to left field and doubled to right in the third. ``We liked what we had seen from afar,'' Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. ``To see it on a consistent basis has been a pleasant surprise.'' ... OF Alfonso Soriano has moved within 1,000 votes of third place - and a starting spot - among outfielders in NL All-Star balloting, according to totals released Monday. Soriano had 736,907 votes, just behind the Mets' Carlos Beltran, who had 737,830. Atlanta's Andruw Jones and Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. were first and second, respectively.
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MILWAUKEE: RHP Rick Helling is scheduled to make his next rehab start Thursday for Triple-A Nashville, then return to Milwaukee to be examined. Helling threw 74 pitches for Nashville on Saturday. He's been on the disabled list since April 16 with a sprained right elbow. ... CF Brady Clark was back in the lineup after missing one game because of a strained shoulder. Clark had to leave a game Saturday after hurting his shoulder on a throw. ... The Brewers' three-game series in Cincinnati matches the two worst defenses in the NL.
CINCINNATI: RHP David Weathers was advised not to throw a ball for a few days. Weathers left Sunday's game after feeling numbness in his arm. The Reds have no immediate plans to put him on the disabled list. ... OF Adam Dunn watched a television news report on the injuries sustained by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was hit by a car Monday while riding a motorcycle in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger wasn't wearing a helmet. ``I'd never ride without a helmet,'' said Dunn, who rides a motorcycle in the offseason. ``And I'd never ride by myself. Anything that happens, it seems like it's people who ride by themselves. I don't go riding with less than 10 people.''
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Notes from Monday's games
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