Notes from Saturday's games
August 12, 2006
BALTIMORE: RHP Kris Benson was activated from the 15-day DL and gave up three runs and six hits in five innings before leaving with a 7-3 lead Saturday. ... Nick Markakis is 7-for-15 (.467) with two doubles, a homer and five RBIs in his last four games and batting .397 in his last 17 games. .. Chris Widger singled in the fourth to snap an 0-for-23 slump. ... Brian Roberts is 5-for-10 in the series. ... RHP Julio Manon was optioned to Triple-A Ottawa to make room on the roster for Benson.
BOSTON: OF Trot Nixon has been hitting off a tee as he recovers from a strained right biceps. ... OF Manny Ramirez was 9-for-11 against Kris Benson in his career before going 0-for-2. Ramirez's 27-game hitting streak is the longest of his career and the sixth-longest in club history, tied with Dom DiMaggio's string in 1951. ... C Doug Mirabelli has homered in consecutive games. ... Coco Crisp hit his first homer since July 7, a span of 120 at_bats.
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LOS ANGELES: RHP Bartolo Colon thinks that with rest and rehab, his partially torn rotator cuff should heal by spring training. ``There's no magic wand to say you're going to be cured in so much time,'' Colon said Saturday through a translator. ``But I think the most important thing is up to me, to continue to work hard and do what I need to do. It's something I've never gone through before, but I'm not really fearful or scared about the time that it's going to take. I know that I'm going to work hard to make it go right.'' ... RHP Ervin Santana, hit on the left knee by a line drive in Cleveland on Thursday, remains on track to make his next start next week. On Friday, Joe Saunders was hit by a comebacker. ``It's like we've got some kind of magnet on some of these guys,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``Pitchers have been getting hit around like a shooting gallery here for the last couple weeks.''
NEW YORK: RHP Jaret Wright, who has won three straight starts, has not allowed a homer in 10 starts, a span of 223 batters that is the longest streak of his career and the longest active streak among major league pitchers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... After going 0-for-3 in his first game after the Yankees acquired him from Philadelphia, Bobby Abreu has a 10-game hitting streak, going 17-for-42 (.408). ... RHP Mariano Rivera got his 30th save, reaching the mark for the ninth time in 10 seasons. Trevor Hoffman holds the record with 11 30-save seasons, including this year.
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DETROIT: Manager Jim Leyland said RHP Justin Verlander tipped his pitches Friday, when he had his worst start of the season. Trying to become the majors' first 15-game winner, Verlander allowed five runs (four earned) and a career-high 13 hits in five innings, including two-run homers by Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski in the fifth, in a 5-0 loss. ``They saw something to their credit. I'm certainly not talking about anyone cheating, that's not what I'm talking about,'' Leyland said. The red flag was when Thome connected on a changeup. ``That's pretty suspicious when a guy looks at five or six fastballs at 95 and 96 and doesn't even flinch on a changeup, stayed back on it and hit it out of the ballpark,'' Leyland said. ``Jim Thome is a hell of a hitter, but that's one of the damnedest things I have ever seen.'' ... RF Magglio Ordonez is 1-for-8 with two strikeouts the past two games and has not hit a home run since July 9 at Seattle. He is batting .296 with 16 homers and 79 RBIs. ... 3B Brandon Inge's wild throw in the seventh inning gave him errors in back-to-back games for the second time this season and 15 in all. He committed errors on May 16 and 17 against Minnesota.
CHICAGO: Carlton Fisk already had a statue in the center-field concourse. On Saturday, the Hall of Fame catcher got a World Series ring from the White Sox. ``I don't know which is more special,'' Fisk said. ``More people will see the statue than they will the ring. They're both spectacular.'' Ozzie Guillen gave Fisk the ring in the manager's office before the game. Fisk also has one from the Boston Red Sox, who won it all in 2004. ... SS Juan Uribe was in the lineup after missing six games with a sore back. ``He came to me (Friday) night and said he was ready to be in the lineup,'' Guillen said. ``That's the only thing I was waiting for. I had to hear from him. I've got to protect myself and our medical staff.'' ... Jim Thome earned his 1,331st walk, passing Tim Raines for sole possession of 31st place on the career list.
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TORONTO: LHP Gustavo Chacin will make his fourth start of his rehab assignment with Single-A Dunedin on Monday. Chacin, who has been on the DL since June 10 with a strained ligament in his throwing elbow, could join the team by the end of the week. ... Toronto's win on Friday night clinched the seven-game season series against the Twins, making the first time since 2001 the Blue Jays have won the season series outright. The Twins won in three of the intervening seasons and split in the other.
MINNESOTA: A day after Matt Garza gave up seven runs off eight hits in 2 2-3 innings in his big league debut, manager Ron Gardenhire said his rookie right-hander was fine, and that the coaching staff would work with him over the next few days to calm his jitters before his next scheduled start. ``He was a little nervous ... a lot nervous,'' Gardenhire said. ``We'll try to get that out of his system.'' Garza is scheduled to start Thursday against Cleveland. ... The Twins have struck out 626 times this season - season fewest in the American League. On Friday night, Twins batters struck out 10 times.
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SEATTLE: 1B Ben Broussard was out of the lineup a night after being hit on the right leg by a pitch. ``It's just a bruise. His leg is a little stiff,'' manager Mike Hargrove said. In Broussard's absence, Richie Sexson started at first base. Ichiro Suzuki was the designated hitter with Willie Bloomquist taking Suzuki's normal place in RF. Suzuki was 1-for-9 in the first two games of the series in Texas. ... With the temperature expected to be around 100 degrees Sunday, Hargrove said Rene Rivera might catch in place of Kenji Johjima.
TEXAS: RHP Kip Wells, who left Friday night's start in the fourth inning with a twisted left foot, said he expects to make his next start. X-rays taken Saturday were negative, and Wells said his foot is still swollen. Wells, who has battled shoulder soreness this season, made his second start since being traded from Pittsburgh on July 31. ``I hope it's the end of the setbacks,'' Wells said. ``It's not an arm thing, which is good. I'm just going to let the trainers do what they need to do.'' ... General manager Jon Daniels said while he's looking to acquire another relief pitcher, nothing has materialized. ``You always look for an opportunity to make a significant upgrade,'' Daniels said. ``But I wouldn't want to disrupt the chemistry unless it really upgrades the club.''
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TAMPA BAY: RHP Jae
Seo, whose start was pushed back to Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays because of a split fingernail, has an ERA of 4.50 since joining the Devil Rays on June 28. He had an ERA of 5.78 with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the trade, which also brought C Dioner Navarro to Tampa Bay. ``We didn't know anything about him when he showed up but we did see his velocity numbers were not good,'' manager Joe Maddon said. ``We decided to put this guy on a regular gig and his velocity comes back up.''
Seo has allowed one earned run in his last 13 2-3 innings after giving up 18 in his previous 16 1-3 innings. ... LHP Scott Kazmir came out of Friday's start in good shape and will stay on schedule to make his next start on Thursday against the Blue Jays. ``He wanted to go deeper into that game but we just didn't what him to do that,'' Maddon said. ... 3B B.J. Upton, who turns 22 a week from Monday, has been impressive defensively since being recalled on Aug. 1. ``What we want is for him to make the routine plays routinely and what you're seeing is the athletic ability of the young man,'' Maddon said. ``He's going to make mistakes but as he gets stronger and wiser, projecting that is fun. I really enjoy watching B.J.''
OAKLAND: LHP Brad Halsey will be limited to 45-50 pitches in his first start with Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday. The schedule calls for him to start again on Thursday and return to start for the A's the following Tuesday in Toronto. ... SS Bobby Crosby, on the DL with a lower back strain since July 31, took batting practice for the first time since the injury. ``(Head trainer Larry Davis) called it low effort,'' manager Ken Macha said. ``He said he felt pretty good.'' ... RHP Rich Harden (sprained ligament in right elbow) will continue throwing long toss on Sunday. ``I don't know if he'll be ready to pitch in September,'' Macha said. ``He has a long way to go.'' ... LHP Joe Kennedy (left shoulder tendinitis) made another rehab appearance in Sacramento and Macha anticipates he'll be activated for Monday's game against the Seattle Mariners.
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SAN FRANCISCO: LF Barry Bonds, who won the last of his eight Gold Glove awards back in 1998, has made 81 starts in left field and has yet to commit an error. The fewest the 42-year-old Bonds ever made over a full big league season was one - in 1989 with Pittsburgh and 1996 with the Giants. He had none last year, but was limited to only 14 games because of three knee operations. ``Barry's been running as good as I've seen,'' CF Randy Winn said. ``It's like night and day from last year to this year. And as he's gained confidence in his knee, you see him going after balls to catch them and not going after them timidly. He's doing a good job covering the lines and covering the gaps, so I don't feel like I need to cover any extra ground for him. No matter who old you are or how you feel, when you step out on that field, your competitive nature takes over and you're natural instinct, says, `Hey, I'm going to catch this ball.' He's very smart out there, in terms of his positioning and knowing the hitters. He probably doesn't cover as much ground as he did 10 years ago, but he compensates for that by using his head. He moves in on certain counts to certain hitters so that he's in a position to cut the ball off and cut the distance on his throws.''
LOS ANGELES: Greg Maddux gets the start on Sunday night in a marquee matchup against former Atlanta Braves teammate Jason Schmidt. Maddux and Schmidt, who both have a World Series ring from the 1995 Atlanta Braves, have faced off four previous times in games that counted. On May 2, 1997, in Atlanta, the Pirates beat the Braves 3-2 as both pitchers allowed two runs over seven innings without getting a decision. Just 10 nights later, Maddux beat Schmidt 10-2 at Pittsburgh, and hit a two-run double against him. On July 26, 1998, at Pittsburgh, Maddux had two hits off Schmidt and pitched the Braves to a 2-1 victory despite giving up a double to Schmidt. Their previous encounter before Sunday was Oct. 5, 2002, in Game 3 of the NL division series at San Francisco. Maddux, who was held back because of a blister, pitched Atlanta to a 10-2 win over the Giants in Schmidt's postseason debut.
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MILWAUKEE: The Brewers were prepared in case RHP Ben Sheets had any more trouble with his right pectoral muscle. Sheets left his last start in the first inning, so manager Ned Yost sent RHP Rick Helling down to the bullpen to warm up alongside the starter - just in case. Sheets made it through the first inning this time without any problem. ... Yost hasn't given up on former closer Derrick Turnbow, even though he took another loss Friday night. ``You've got an All-Star closer,'' Yost said. ``Even though he's struggled in the second half, you're looking for that one outing that'll turn him around.'' Still, Yost conceded that he won't be using Turnbow in any tight, late-inning situations until he straightens himself out. The RHP dropped to 4-8 and his ERA rose to 6.40 with Friday's loss.
ATLANTA: IF Willy Aybar is headed for the DL with a broken bone in his left hand. He injured his hand July 30 while sliding into a base during his first game with the Braves. Aybar, who was acquired from Los Angeles a few days before the trade deadline, left Friday night's game in the sixth inning and was replaced in the lineup Saturday by Pete Orr. Regular 3B Chipper Jones is scheduled to be activated from the DL Sunday after finishing off a rehab stint at Double-A Mississippi.
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SAN DIEGO: Manager Bruce Bochy dropped Brian Giles from second to third in the batting order in search of a way to kick-start the Padres' slumping offense. San Diego has averaged 2.92 runs in its last 14 games, losing 10, even though Giles is batting .286 with 10 hits and five RBIs in his last 10 starts. ... The Padres have lost five straight series openers. ... SS Khalil Greene was back in the lineup for the second straight day after missing a week with a sprained left middle finger. On Friday, Greene went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against LHP Andy Pettitte in the Padres' 4-2 loss in Houston.
HOUSTON: The Astros' 4-2 win over San Diego on Friday marked the 12th time since the All-Star break that Houston has allowed two runs or fewer in a game. Houston's pitching has improved in the second half, but part of the credit should go to the defense, which leads the NL with a .988 fielding percentage. ``I've had some pretty good defensive teams,'' said Phil Garner, in his 14th season as a manager. ``Not to downplay our defense now. Our defense is solid.''
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ST. LOUIS: 3B Scott Rolen remained out of the lineup Saturday night with back spasms. He hasn't played since being lifted following two at_bats Wednesday night in Cincinnati. Rolen was hopeful of playing at least once this weekend in Pittsburgh - he is hitting .478 against the Pirates this season. ... The Cardinals did not move Saturday to reinstate LHP Mark Mulder to the 25-man roster following an uneven performance during his second minor league rehabilitation start. Mulder allowed four runs on four hits, walking four and striking out two in four innings of Triple-A Memphis' 5-4 loss to Iowa on Friday night.
PITTSBURGH: RHP Victor Santos (4-7, 5.58 ERA) will start Monday night against Milwaukee, his former team, in place of RHP Shawn Chacon. Chacon has a knee injury that may require surgery, though it may be delayed until after the season. Chacon reported discomfort after being roughed up for seven runs and six hits in 1 2-3 innings of a 14-1 loss Wednesday in Houston. It was his second start since being traded by the Yankees for 1B-OF Craig Wilson. ... LHP Zach Duke, a 7-1, complete-game winner Friday night vs. St. Louis, is 7-2 with a 4.64 ERA at home and 1-8 with a 5.54 ERA on the road. His last six victories have been at PNC Park.
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NEW YORK: OF Cliff Floyd, on the 15-day DL since Wednesday with left Achilles' tendinitis, ``is not even close to playing,'' Mets manager Willie Randolph said. ``The other Achilles is fine. There's no correlation between the two. We just have to wait for him to heal. We need to shut him down for a while on the DL because he is more important to us down the stretch.'' ... CF Carlos Beltran entered Saturday's game with a majors-leading 69 RBIs on the road, and he added another with a triple in the third inning. The Mets club record for road RBIs in a season is 73, set by Bernard Gilkey in 1996. Braves CF Andruw Jones ranks second in the majors this year with 58. ... The Mets lead the majors with 101 first-inning runs; they didn't get one Saturday. The Chicago White Sox are second with 89.
WASHINGTON: 2B Jose Vidro fielded grounders and hit in the batting cage Saturday, and he'll start minor league rehab work Sunday after missing 3 1/2 weeks with a left hamstring injury. Before the latest in a series of leg problems over the past few years, Vidro was batting .300 with six homers, 16 doubles and 33 RBIs in 90 games in 2006 - a season he called a disappointment for himself and his last-place team. ``We've had ups and downs - more downs than ups - but I definitely didn't expect this ballclub to have this type of record right now. It's been a very, very bad season,'' Vidro said. Asked about his own production, he said: ``I came out the first two months of the season, and I was great. ... After that, everything went south.'' ... LHP Micah Bowie, out since Tuesday with a mild strain in his upper back, will resume throwing Saturday. ... C-INF Robert Fick (DL, rib) will be evaluated Sunday or Monday.
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CINCINNATI: LHP Kent Mercker was put on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his elbow. LHP Chris Michalak was called up from Triple-A Louisville and INF William Bergolla was designated for assignment. When Michalak pitches, he'll be the 26th player to make his debut with the Reds this season. ... Eric Milton (8-7, 5.01) gets the start on Sunday against the team he pitched for in 2004. he is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts. ... After getting pinch-hit in consecutive games, Javier Valentin started behind the plate.
PHILADELPHIA: Head athletic trainer Jeff Cooper is retiring following the season after 36 years in the organization. He was honored during a pregame ceremony in which players presented him with a new Cadillac Escalade and the team gave him a trip to Italy. ... Brett Myers (8-5, 3.95) seeks his third straight win on Sunday. He's 4-0 with a 2.72 ERA in day games. ... Despite All-Star closer Tom Gordon blowing a save in the ninth inning Friday night, the Phillies improved to 50-0 when leading after eight innings.
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CHICAGO: Manager Dusty Baker said LHP Glendon Rusch (elbow) is feeling better, but still doesn't know when he'll be able to come off the DL. ... Baker said he doesn't think his job status should be determined by the last couple of months, when the Cubs were stricken with injuries and fell from playoff contention. ``You should of judged me long before we got to this point. You should be judging on my last 13, 14 years versus this last three or four months. Your track record should mean something.''
COLORADO: RHP Chin-hui Tsao, out all season due to shoulder surgery, threw a bullpen session on Saturday without any problems. ... Aaron Cook's win against Chicago Friday night was his eighth of the season, setting a career high. ... Byung-Hyun Kim, Sunday's starter against the Cubs, has the fourth-best home ERA in the NL at 2.75. ... Colorado's 10-2 win over Chicago Friday night marked the team's largest margin of victory at home this season.
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FLORIDA: RHP Josh Johnson leads the NL with a 2.69 ERA after Friday's victory over the Diamondbacks. He also is third among NL rookies with 109 strikeouts. ... 3B Miguel Cabrera's 47 multihit games this season are second in the NL to Chase Utley's 49. ... RHP Scott Olsen, 9-5 this season, entered Saturday's start with the chance to make the Marlins the first NL team since the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers to feature three rookies with 10-plus victories. ... Florida has used 21 rookies this season.
ARIZONA: SS Alberto Callaspo made his first career start Saturday against Florida. ... RHP Brandon Webb returned to the mound Saturday after a 12-day absence. Webb missed his last scheduled start with tightness in his right forearm. ... Damion Easley's pinch-hit home run Friday night was the third of his career. ... 2B Orlando Hudson and SS Stephen Drew each saw their hitting streaks snapped Friday. Hudson, who leads the majors in hits since the All-Star break, had a 10-game streak while Drew had hit safely in nine straight. ... RHP Livan Hernandez, who made his Arizona debut on Friday, is 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA since the All-Star break.
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Notes from Saturday's games
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