Notes from Thursday's games
June 29, 2006
CHICAGO: C A.J. Pierzynski's appeal of his fine resulting from an altercation with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett last month will be heard via conference call Friday morning - hours before the teams meet at Wrigley Field. ``We look at it as another series but, with all the other outside stuff going on, it's going to be a circus this weekend,'' Pierzynski said. ... RHP Cliff Politte (right shoulder inflammation) returned from a minor league rehabilitation assignment Thursday. RHP Agustin Montero was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after pitching one scoreless inning Wednesday night during a 4-3 victory in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH: 1B Sean Casey (sore left shoulder) remained out of the lineup for a second day Thursday, but could return this weekend against Detroit. ... 3B Joe Randa is on a bereavement leave following the death of his grandfather. INF Mike Edwards was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace him. ... 1B-OF Craig Wilson's MRI results Thursday were negative. He bruised his left forearm during a collision with the White Sox's Tadahito Iguchi on Wednesday night. The Pirates initially feared he might have a dislocated shoulder.
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OAKLAND: Seven Oakland pitchers combined for a season-high 15 strikeouts in a 6-5, 14-inning win over the Padres. The previous high was 12 at Texas on April 26. ... LHP Ron Flores (1-1) got his first big league win by pitching four innings of one-hit relief. ... 1B Nick Swisher struck out a career-high five times to tie the franchise record. He's the sixth player in A's history to do it, including Hall of Famers Lefty Grove and Reggie Jackson.
SAN DIEGO: Reliever Alan Embree went a season-high 2 2-3 innings, holding Oakland to one hit. ... RHP Chan Ho Park's pinch-hit appearance in the 13th was the first of his career. He flied out to right to end the inning.
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TEXAS: RHP Adam Eaton, who has been on the 60-day DL all season with a strained right middle finger, threw a bullpen session and used all of his pitches - including curveballs and cutters for the first time. He is slated to pitch a two-inning simulated game Sunday in Arlington. If that goes well he will have a rehab assignment July 6 for Triple-A Oklahoma. ... The Rangers acquired LHP Daniel Haigwood and cash considerations from Philadelphia for LHP Fabio Castro. Texas also reinstated RHP Josh Rupe from the 60-day DL and optioned him to Oklahoma, also releasing INF Marshall McDougall from Oklahoma. ... Texas concluded a stretch of 15 straight against the NL West, going 6-9, 2-7 on the road. ... Mark Teixeira is in an 0-for-15 slump, going hitless in four straight games, his longest stretch without a hit since Sept. 23-26, 2004. ... Texas lost its fifth straight game and has scored only 11 runs during the skid. This marked the Rangers' first losing road trip of the year (1-5).
SAN FRANCISCO: 1B Lance Niekro was in the starting lineup a day after being reinstated from the DL after missing time with a strained right groin. ... 2B Ray Durham grounded into his team-leading 13th double play to end the Giants' first. Former C A.J. Pierzynski holds the franchise record with 27 in 2004. The last San Francisco player to ground into 20 or more double plays was Pedro Feliz with 20 in 2005. ... Closer Armando Benitez played catch and is slated for a bullpen session Friday. ... The Giants will play four games at San Diego to start their longest road trip of the season - 11 games - but won't see ace Jake Peavy. ``I can't believe that,'' manager Felipe Alou said. ``Even if we go for two games, he pitched one.'' ... The Giants finished interleague play 8-7, posting a winning record against the AL for the third time in four seasons. ... The Giants won't play at home again until after the All-Star break - June 14 against the Phillies. ... The Giants had their first three-game home sweep since April 8-10, 2005, against Colorado. ... OF Barry Bonds got the day off for San Francisco following a night game Wednesday after having appeared in 11 straight contests, not all starts.
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NEW YORK: 1B Carlos Delgado didn't start because of sore ribs. ``The last couple of days he's been a little sore,'' manager Willie Randolph said. ``Nip it in the bud before it becomes anything.'' ... 3B David Wright was New York's DH because Randolph wanted to give him some rest. ... Randolph wasn't concerned about RHP Pedro Martinez, who has won two of his last 11 starts and allowed eight runs in three innings in Boston's 10-2 win Wednesday night. ``I'm never worried about Pedro. He's struggling a little bit right now.'' ... RHP Orlando Hernandez pitches the opener of a three-game series against his former team, the Yankees, Friday night. Asked if he would fly back Thursday night, he said, ``No. In Cuba you pitch and you ride your bike home.''
BOSTON: Manager Terry Francona wants LF Manny Ramirez to skip the All-Star game July 11 to rest his right knee. ``I don't want to throw the league into a fury or disrespect anyone,'' Francona said, ``but I also see this kid enough that I think that's something we should think about because our responsibility is to try to get him to play as many games for the Red Sox as possible.'' Ramirez is the leading vote-getter in the AL. ... RF Trot Nixon, a left-handed hitter, didn't start because of a stomach bug, not because LHP Tom Glavine pitched for the Mets, Francona said. ... Martinez and former Boston teammates Ramirez and David Ortiz were recognized in a pre-game ceremony for contributing to rebuild Jimani, Dominican Republic after floods in that town in May 2004. Martinez hugged Red Sox owner John Henry, who also was honored.
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PHILADELPHIA: LHP Fabio Castro was acquired from Texas for minor league LHP Daniel Haigwood and cash. Castro was 0-0 with a 4.32 ERA in four appearances with the Rangers. He is expected to join the club Friday in Toronto. ... Manager Charlie Manuel hasn't decided on a starter for Sunday but said he hasn't ruled out giving RHP Ryan Franklin the nod. Franklin hasn't started since last year with Seattle. ... 1B Ryan Howard led the majors with 27 HRs entering Thursday's game. ... 2B Chase Utley led NL second basemen in HRs (14), extra base hits (33) and runs (61) entering Thursday.
BALTIMORE: 1B Jeff Conine singled in his first at-bat Thursday and is on a 10-for-15 run that has lifted his batting average from .226 to .257. ... With a career-high four-hit performance in Wednesday's nightcap, rookie OF Nick Markakis tacked 16 points onto his batting average, raising it to .250. ... C-DH Javy Lopez is eager to see his old friends in Atlanta when the Orioles play a weekend series against the Braves, but because Ramon Hernandez is the regular catcher, Lopez probably won't see much action. ... RHP Rodrigo Lopez gave up his team-high 20th homer (to David Dellucci) in the first inning Thursday.
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WASHINGTON: RHP Shawn Hill said he wasn't overly concerned with the state of his surgically repaired right elbow Thursday after experiencing tightness during a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays a night earlier. ``Nothing major, I don't think,'' Hill said. ``I personally think it's scar tissue, we're going to try and manage it.'' Hill, about 20 months removed from ligament-replacement surgery, said he experienced the tightness throughout his five innings Wednesday. ``It's a concern with his history,'' manager Frank Robinson. ``It's amazing he is where he is and performing the way he's performing. He's only going to improve.''
TORONTO: LHP Ted Lilly felt no problems with his left shoulder a day after leaving his start against Washington after just six innings when his shoulder began to tighten up. Neither he nor the team thought the injury was serious and that was confirmed Thursday. ``He's fine,'' said manager John Gibbons, adding that Lilly won't need any extra rest before his next outing. Lilly threw six shutout innings in the 6-1 win over the Nationals, improving to 8-7 this season.
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KANSAS CITY: Slumping SS Angel Berroa got Thursday off after hitting .132 with eight strikeouts in his last 10 games. Berroa also is hitless in his last 22 road at_bats and his .179 road average is the lowest in the majors. ``I had to give him a day off sooner or later,'' manager Buddy Bell said. Tony Graffanino started at shortstop for just the third time this season. ... Bell also shuffled his outfield Thursday, giving David DeJesus just his fifth start in left and Emil Brown his fifth start in right. ... A win Friday would give RHP Brandon Duckworth wins in consecutive starts for the first time since April 26 and May 5, 2003, when he was with Philadelphia.
CINCINNATI: LHP Brandon Claussen expects to throw 70 pitches Saturday as he continues trying to come back from inflammation in his left shoulder. Claussen, who's been on the DL since June 17, said he felt fine Thursday after throwing 45 pitches Wednesday. ... LF Adam Dunn, battling a 6-for-41 (.146) slump, batted second Thursday for the fifth time this season and second time in three games. Dunn had two singles in his game in that spot. ``You saw what happened when I batted him (fifth on Tuesday),'' manager Jerry Narron said. ``Three walks. They weren't going to give him anything good to hit.'' ... A win Friday would give RHP Elizardo Ramirez consecutive wins for the first time in his career.
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SEATTLE: OF Ichiro Suzuki has not consecutive hitless games since May 3-4, hitting safely in 46 of 49. He has gone hitless in June only once. ... In climbing above .500 for the first time since April 7, Seattle has won its past four series and seven of the last eight. ... According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Mariners are the first team to win their first eight interleague games. Overall, Seattle was 12-2 in interleague contests going into Thursday night's series finale in Arizona.
ARIZONA: RHP Juan Cruz threw 70 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Tucson in Portland on Wednesday night. He allowed one run and four hits in 3 1-3 innings. He will join the team in Oakland on Friday before a decision is made whether to active him and put him back in the rotation. Cruz has been on the DL with a sore right shoulder since June 4. ... Entering Thursday's game, the Diamondbacks were 1-10 in interleague play. Overall, they had lost 19 of 22, including 13 of 15 at home. ``During this whole stretch it's been everything,'' manager Bob Melvin said. ``We're not hitting on any cylinders. The rotation hasn't given it to us, the bullpen has faltered, the offense has faltered. That's what happens when you go through a stretch like this.'' ... Melvin named RHP Brandon Webb and C Johnny Estrada as potential all-star game participants.
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MILWAUKEE: Carlos Lee appeared in his 253rd consecutive game and continued to give the Cubs fits with three more hits and a walk. He was 8-for-16 in the four-game series with two homers and four RBIs. At Wrigley Field this season, he is 11-for-28 with four homers and six RBIs. In his career on the Cubs' home field, he is 41-for-123. ``Carlos had a great series. He just pounded the ball here,'' Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. ... Scratched from Thursday's start with a stiff back, RHP Doug Davis is expected to take his next turn in the rotation. ... The Brewers return to interleague play with a three-game series at Minnesota against the red-hot Twins. Milwaukee is 6-6 so far against the AL. ... After improving to 40-40, the Brewers have been at .500 14 times this season. Milwaukee was 81-81 last year.
CHICAGO: 1B Derrek Lee gave the Cubs a scare when his right hand went numb momentarily after he went down to stop a ball hit by Geoff Jenkins and then started a double play. Lee said it didn't last long and he was fine, using this as an example: ``If you had a bruise on your arm and I punched you, it would hurt for a minute and then go away.'' Lee missed 59 games with a broken right wrist. He walked three times Thursday but struck out with runners at second and third in the eighth. ... C Michael Barrett was officially activated following Thursday's game after serving his 10-game suspension for punching the White Sox's A.J. Pierzynski last month. The teams meet again Friday. C Geovany Soto was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
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Notes from Thursday's games
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