Notes from Sunday's games
June 18, 2006
TORONTO: RHP Josh Towers was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse following Sunday's loss at Florida and RHP Vinnie Chulk was optioned out. Towers is scheduled to start Tuesday in the series opener at Atlanta, with LHP Ted Lilly pushed back a day to Wednesday. RHP Ty Taubenheim will go to the bullpen. ... RHP A.J. Burnett (elbow) pitched well in his final rehab outing on Saturday night before his scheduled Thursday start at Atlanta. Burnett allowed two runs (one earned), two hits, three walks and struck out nine in six innings for Double-A New Hampshire against Portland. He threw 87 pitches. ... The Blue Jays fell to 4-14 all-time vs. Florida and have lost all six series against the Marlins.
FLORIDA: 1B Wes Helms started Sunday in place of Mike Jacobs, who has been nursing a sprained right ankle. ``This way, he gets two days off to rest,'' manager Joe Girardi said, alluding to Monday's off day. Girardi said Jacobs probably will see time as the designated hitter during the upcoming road trip to Baltimore and New York but added ``it would be nice'' to give Miguel Cabrera and Dan Uggla a day off from playing the field, too. ... SS Hanley Ramirez's third-inning single Sunday snapped a hitless streak of 29 at-bats. Before the game, Girardi said he was not giving up on the youngster. ``I see his at-bats getting better,'' Girardi said. ``We need him in the lineup. He's an exciting young player. I really believe he's going to get real hot again this season.''
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ARIZONA: The club was swept for the third time in the last four series. The Diamondbacks had not been swept in 19 previous series. ... Eric Byrnes and Orlando Hudson had back-to-back homers in the second, the third time Arizona has hit consecutive homers this season. Byrnes has been involved all three times. ... Hudson has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games.
TEXAS: Manager Buck Showalter said he's ready for the end of interleague play so he can get back to worrying about the AL. ``I'll get a lot more sleep,'' Showalter said, adding that he has been staying up late ``cramming'' for upcoming interleague foes San Diego, Colorado, San Francisco and Houston. ... Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox will manage the AL All-Star team this year and when he gets a chance to add players to his roster, SS Michael Young will be high on his list. ``He's a manager's dream,'' Guillen said. ``He's the best at that position. He plays the game right.''
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BOSTON: LF Manny Ramirez started. He was not in the lineup Saturday with a sore knee that periodically acts up on him. ``He appreciated the day off and he's ready to go,'' manager Terry Francona said. Ramirez entered in a 0-for-17 slump. Francona said he isn't worried. ``Somebody will pay for it. I hope it's tonight,'' Francona said. ... SS Alex Gonzalez leads AL shortstops with a .995 fielding percentage. He has made one error (April 9 at Baltimore) in 207 chances this season. ... David Ortiz hit a solo home run, his 20th, in the first inning off John Smoltz. It is his fifth consecutive season with at least 20 homers. ... The Red Sox open a nine-game homestand Monday night beginning with three games against NL East teams - Washington, Philadelphia and the New York Mets.
ATLANTA: 3B Chipper Jones missed his second straight game with a sore right thumb. Manager Bobby Cox said he thinks Jones could pinch hit if necessary. He did take groundballs prior to Sunday night's game. ... The Braves have played 27 one-run games and are 10-17. ... OF-1B Brian Jordan was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 17 and OF-1B Scott Thorman recalled from Triple-A Richmond. Thorman made his major league debut against Curt Schilling. ... LHP Horacio Ramirez, diagnosed with a mild concussion when he was struck in the forehead by a line drive June 11 in Houston, threw 60 pitches before Sunday night's game. He did not suffer any dizziness and if he feels OK when he wakes up Monday, manager Bobby Cox said Ramirez will start Thursday against Toronto.
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BALTIMORE: RHP Rodrigo Lopez had his next scheduled start pushed back from Tuesday to Friday because manager Sam Perlozzo wants to keep RHP Daniel Cabrera, LHP Erik Bedard and RHP Kris Benson on their regular rest. ``Everybody else but me,'' Lopez said. ``That's his decision.'' ... When LF Ed Rogers fielded a seventh-inning single, the ball kicked off the heel of his glove, rolled up his sleeve and got caught inside his jersey, behind his neck. Rogers bent over and was able to remove the ball before the runners advanced any further.
NEW YORK: LHP Tom Glavine became the first Mets pitcher to reach 10 wins before July since Bobby Jones in 1997. ``I'll take it,'' Glavine said. ``I'm not 100 percent thrilled with the way I'm throwing, but we're still winning games.'' ... 3B David Wright hit his first grand slam since Sept. 24 at Washington off Livan Hernandez. ... New York manager Willie Randolph would like speedy SS Jose Reyes to try bunting for a hit more often. ``Once Jose Reyes accepts that as part of his game, he'll hit .300. I've told him that many times,'' Randolph said.
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MILWAUKEE: The Brewers beat the Indians 6-3 on Father's Day on Sunday on a game-winning three-run home run by Carlos Lee. On Mother's Day, Bill Hall also hit a game-winning homer in the ninth to beat the Mets 6-5. The Brewers are 13-6 in games decided in the last at-bat. ... Rookie pitcher Zach Johnson singled to lead off the third inning for his first major league hit. ... The three-game sweep of the Indians put the Brewers (35-35) at .500 for the first time since they were 26-26 on May 30. After losing eight straight games, they have won nine of 13 games including five of their last six.
CLEVELAND: The Brewers beat the Indians on Sunday for the second straight day on a ninth-inning hit, this time a three-run homer by Carlos Lee. On Saturday night, Geoff Jenkins' two-run single downed Cleveland 3-2. Manager Eric Wedge said the losses were hard ones. ``Any time you lose late like that, it's just all the tougher,'' he said. ... The Indians continue their interleague play at home Monday night against Chicago. RHP Jason Johnson (3-7) faces the Cubs. ... With the loss, the Indians fell to 201-202 all-time against the Brewers, a former American League adversary.
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KANSAS CITY: The Royals took two of three from the Houston Astros this season, just their fifth series win in 23 this season. ... RHP Brandon Duckworth delivered another quality start for the revived Royals' rotation. Duckworth allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, though he didn't get the decision in the Royals' 7-4 win. Kansas City's starters are 3-5 over the last 10 games - not great, but far better than their 6-30 start. ... Doug Mientkiewicz hit the game-winning homer in Sunday's 7-4 win over Houston, but manager Buddy Bell said Matt Stairs' one-out walk off Chad Qualls in the preceding at-bat was just as important. ``If Stairs doesn't get on, Doug gets no chance, because they're going to walk Doug,'' Bell said. ``That was a huge, huge at-bat.''
HOUSTON: 2B Craig Biggio scored his 1,735th career run in Sunday's 7-4 loss. Biggio ranks 20th on the career list, now five behind Honus Wagner. ... Mike Lamb's move to No. 2 in the batting order is paying off for manager Phil Garner. The lefty-batting backup first baseman is 10-for-33 with a homer and five RBIs since Garner made the switch on June 9. ``We needed somebody to get on base at the top of the lineup, and he was swinging the bat well, too,'' Garner said. ``And he has some power. He can do some damage.'' Lamb batted second for the sixth time on Sunday, going 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout. He had hit safely in eight of his previous nine games. ... The changes SS Adam Everett has made to his swing are working. The reliable fielder, with only three errors this season, is batting .324 in June after hitting just .173 average in May. Everett said he's shifted his weight more to the back of his swing, giving him more power at the plate. Everett went 1-for-4 in Sunday's 7-4 loss to Kansas City and has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
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DETROIT: Vance Wilson started at catcher and batted third on Sunday for Ivan Rodriguez, who left the previous two games with cramps. ``I think Vance Wilson is swinging pretty well right now,'' manager Jim Leyland said when asked before the game why Wilson was batting third. ``Vance Wilson is getting some hits. He might think I've lost my marbles.'' Wilson homered and scored two runs in a 12-3 victory, putting his batting average at .295. ``To be able to come in here and hit in the three hole, to have a good game on Father's Day, on (Kenny Rogers') 200th win, it's very special,'' Wilson said. ... Chris Shelton and Brandon Inge each homered twice on Sunday. It was the fourth two-homer game for Inge and his second this year. Shelton has three in his career - all this season. ... Marcus Thames extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a solo homer in the fifth.
CHICAGO: Henry Blanco caught his third straight game for Michael Barrett, who has a sore back and is expected to begin serving a suspension for punching the White Sox's A.J. Pierzynski this week. Barrett, who was suspended 10 games, had an appeal hearing on Friday. Manager Dusty Baker said the Cubs don't plan to add another catcher. ``(John) Mabry's been a backup catcher, but (Phil) Nevin's done more catching. If something happens, I could have Nevin for the remainder of the day and then get somebody the next day,'' Baker said. ... The Cubs agreed to a contract Sunday with fifth-round draft pick Jeff Samardzija of Notre Dame, a star wide receiver for the Fighting Irish football team. The Valparaiso, Ind., native caught a record 15 touchdown passes last fall. He then went 8-2 with a 4.33 ERA in 15 starts for the baseball team. ... With Mark Prior (strained shoulder) activated from the 60-day DL before Sunday's start, the Cubs placed struggling veteran Glendon Rusch on the 15-day DL with lower back spasms. Rusch is 2-7 with a 7.80 ERA.
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LOS ANGELES: Sandy Alomar Jr. started at catcher on his 40th birthday instead of Russell Martin after Saturday night's 17-inning game. ... The Dodgers lost their fourth straight series against the A's. ... Matt Kemp stole his fourth base in the second. ... Aaron Sele didn't have a strikeout for the second straight start. ``It was a battle from the first pitch on,'' he said. ``Even 1-0 might have been too much the way they're playing.'' Sele (3-2) saw his winless stretch reach four starts as he lost his second straight outing. Sele gave way to Odalis Perez after only four innings, and Perez pitched a season-high four innings of relief. ... Nomar Garciaparra hit his eighth homer and went 5-for-12 in the series to improve his career batting average against the A's to .370 (101-for-273).
OAKLAND: RHP Justin Duchscherer, out since May 13 with soreness in his right elbow, was not as sore as he expected to be Sunday following a 23-pitch simulated game Saturday. He is slated to pitch one inning - 20 pitches maximum - in a rehab assignment Monday for Triple-A, and if that goes well he will make another appearance for the Sacramento River Cats on Wednesday at Salt Lake before coming off the DL. ``I feel good. I feel better than I expected,'' Duchscherer said. ... The A's recalled LHP Ron Flores from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned C Jeremy Brown to Sacramento. ... RF Milton Bradley, nursing a strained left shoulder, was scheduled to hit balls off a tee and also soft toss and manager Ken Macha hoped to have Bradley available Monday at Colorado. ... CF Mark Kotsay missed his third straight game with back spasms. ... C Jason Kendall told Macha he wanted to play - even after working all 17 innings Saturday night. ``He doesn't ever want out of the game,'' Macha said. ... RHP Steve Karsay announced his retirement after the game following an 11-year major league career.
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NEW YORK: RHP Jose Veras' contract was purchased from Triple-A Columbus before Sunday's game. OF Kevin Thompson was sent back to the minors. ... RHP Kyle Farnsworth was unavailable Sunday after leaving Friday's game with back spasms. Farnsworth had a throwing session Sunday, and Torre said Farnsworth should be available to pitch at Philadelphia on Monday. ... Torre will use Thursday's off day to give RHP Shawn Chacon some extra rest. Chien-Ming Wang will get his regular four days' rest and pitch Friday night against Florida, followed on Saturday by Chacon. ... 2B Robinson Cano went 0-for-4 Sunday, ending his career-best 15-game hitting streak. ... 3B Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI double, giving him five RBIs in five games after a stretch in which he drove in one run over nine games. Hitting coach Don Mattingly ``saw some things mechanically wrong in my swing and we've been attacking that very hard the last two or three days,'' Rodriguez said. ``Hopefully it continues to get better.''
WASHINGTON: Rookie 3B Ryan Zimmerman's game-winning homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth Sunday, giving Washington a 3-2 victory over the Yankees, was the first walk-off homer for the Expos-Nationals franchise since Orlando Cabrera did it June 20, 2004, for Montreal against the White Sox. ... Zimmerman has hit safely in seven straight games, lifting his average from .267 to .286. ... RHP John Patterson is slated to return to the rotation Friday at Baltimore, more than two months after his last appearance for the Nationals. Patterson went on the DL April 28 with what eventually was diagnosed as right forearm tendinitis. He is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA this season; his last major league start was April 21. ... Half of Washington's starting infield was out of the lineup Sunday: 1B Nick Johnson (back) and shortstop Royce Clayton (throwing shoulder).
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TAMPA BAY: The Devil Rays sent five consecutive pinch-hitters to the plate in the eighth inning, one shy of the major league record held by the Dodgers in 2000. ... The team hit eight home runs in the three-game series, tying the club record set at Cleveland last season. The club also has 11 home runs in six interleague games this year. ... OF Carl Crawford has 13 multihit games in his last 22 contests. In his last seven road games, he has 15 hits including four home runs. ... OF Rocco Baldelli singled in a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning. He hit .395 (15-for-38) on the road trip. ... The Devil Rays have hit 89 homers in their first 70 games, 34 more than at the same point in 2005. ... The team notched its major league leading 43rd blown lead of the year.
PHILADELPHIA: RHP Jon Lieber, on the DL since May 30 with a strained left groin, pitched a bullpen session before the game. ``Everything felt fine, we'll do it again on Tuesday,'' he said. Lieber is slated to pitch another bullpen session Tuesday before the next step in his rehab process is determined. ... It might be too early for scoreboard watching for some people, but not SS Jimmy Rollins. ``This was a big win today because the Mets won too,'' he said. ``We've got to put a good streak together.'' The Phillies failed to pick up any ground on the Mets in the NL East over the weekend and remain 9 1-2 games back. ... LHP Rheal Cormier extended his scoreless streak at home to 17 1-3 innings. He leads all NL relievers with a 1.12 ERA. ... RHP Ryan Madson pitched 6 2-3 innings - the longest outing by a Phillies starter since June 7, when Madson went 7 2-3 innings at Arizona. RHP Gavin Floyd, now at Triple-A Scranton, owns the club's lone complete game this season.
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CHICAGO: RHP Jon Garland's first career homer was the first by a White Sox pitcher since Steve Kealey's on Sept. 6, 1971, against Minnesota - two years before the AL adopted the designated hitter. Garland had only two hits in interleague play before the at-bat. ... Chicago is a season-high 19 games over .500 after winning 10 of its last 13. ... The White Sox have won nine straight against the Reds, leading their interleague series 12-2. Their weekend sweep was their third over the Reds. They also did it in 2000 at Cinergy Field and in 2001 in Chicago. ... OF Rob Mackowiak, who had been in a 3-for-20 slump, matched his career high with four hits. ... The White Sox are 5-1 in interleague play this season and 91-72 overall.
CINCINNATI: The Reds called up RHP Mike Burns from Triple-A Louisville. He gave up Jermaine Dye's three-run homer in the ninth, inflating his ERA to 10.32. ... The Reds told RHP Rick White that they will designate him for assignment Monday and call up RHP Jason Standridge from Louisville. ... The Reds' 2-8 homestand was their worst homestand of at least 10 games since 1950, when they went 2-9. ... The Reds were five games out of first place in the NL Central when they opened the month with an eight-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place. Since then, they have gone 1-8 and fallen 5 1/2 games back. ... The Reds are 1-5 in interleague play this season and 56-74 all-time.
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MINNESOTA: Johan Santana will stay on schedule and pitch on his normal four days' rest Friday against the Cubs. Boof Bonser, skipped over once in the rotation before lasting only 3 1-3 innings against the Pirates on Saturday night, will face the Cubs on Saturday. ... The Twins are back to .500 for the first time in nearly two months, and manager Ron Gardenhire said it's about time. He said, ``We struggled for a while and everything was going crazy, but we knew we were capable of playing like this.''
PITTSBURGH: Monday's makeup game against the Diamondbacks is the result of a May 11 rainout. Because the Diamondbacks were to have visited Pittsburgh only once this season, the game had to be made up on a day when both teams were scheduled off. Asked if he welcomed playing a team that's won only once in two weeks, SS Jack Wilson said, ``I'd rather be off.'' ... The Pirates were the only NL team to use the same five starting pitchers all season, but that will end when Kip Wells starts Tuesday in Kansas City. Victor Santos went on the 15-day DL Sunday with a strained right rotator cuff. ... GM Dave Littlefield said OF Chris Duffy likely won't need much time at the extended spring training camp in Bradenton, Fla. Duffy refused to report to Triple-A after being demoted a month ago but decided last week to resume playing. Littlefield said, ``He hasn't been out that long and he's been working out, so he's not too far away.'' Duffy will report to Indianapolis when the Pirates feel he's back in game shape.
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SAN DIEGO: Manager Bruce Bochy earned his 899th career victory Sunday. ... C Josh Bard went 3-for-4, with one strikeout. ... 1B Adrian Gonzalez has hit safely in 27 of his last 34 games since May 8. ... The Padres improved to 17-9 in day games, including 10-4 in road day games. ... RHP Chan Ho Park (5-3) has gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts.
LOS ANGELES: CF Darin Erstad is day to day after leaving Saturday's game in the fourth inning with an aggravated right foot. ``I tweaked it a little bit going for a ball in the first inning, and it's sore,'' he said Sunday. ``When it gets flared up, it's not much fun to be on. I'm still processing all of it right now, so I'll see how it feels tomorrow and see how much progress it makes.'' ... The Angels have been held to four runs or less in each of their last eight games. ... They dropped to 1-5 in interleague play. ... They have committed 22 errors in 16 games in June. ... The Angels went 4-6 on the 10-game homestand. They are off Monday and open a three-game series at San Francisco on Tuesday.
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SAN FRANCISCO: OF Moises Alou woke up Sunday morning with back spasms and had to summon a hotel bellhop to close his suitcase for him. Still, he thought he could play and was in the original lineup. But five minutes before first pitch, manager Felipe Alou scratched his 39-year-old son. Mark Sweeney started in LF instead and went 1-for-3. Felipe Alou said he would like to give his son another day off Monday night at home against the Los Angeles Angels. Moises Alou was 1-for-18 on the Giants' six-game road trip, dropping his average to .311 in 34 games. ... OF Jason Ellison's home run off Seattle LHP Jamie Moyer was his second career homer to leadoff a game. The first was on May 29, 2005, against San Diego. ... Barry Bonds was 2-for-10 in the series with his 718th home run on Friday, two walks and five strikeouts.
SEATTLE: Closer J.J. Putz struck out Giants slugger Barry Bonds for the second time in two at-bats to end Sunday's win, on a 97-mph fastball. On Friday night, Putz struck out Bonds looking at a split-fingered fastball to end a 5-4 Mariners win. Bonds compared Seattle's new closer, who has 11 saves in 12 chances since taking LHP Eddie Guardado's job, to Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne. ``You've got a guy throwing 99 mph - it's like Gagne,'' Bonds said. ``He is so successful because the change of speed. The pitchers are like 20 miles per hour (from) each other.'' ... 2B Jose Lopez missed Sunday because of a jammed left thumb from sliding headfirst into first base on a ground out Saturday. The No. 3 hitter said he had never done that before. ``I'll never do it again,'' Lopez said. ... LHP Jamie Moyer is 204-155 in 500 starts. He is the 33rd pitcher to start 500 major league games. ... Sunday's game attracted a second consecutive sellout crowd. The only Safeco Field sellout was on opening day. Seattle had six sellouts last season.
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COLORADO: Cory Sullivan injured his left wrist while hitting a single in the third inning Sunday and had to leave the game. He is day to day. ... The Rockies haven't been swept by the Cardinals in three games since August 1996. ... Garrett Atkins had homered in three of his last eight games, but was 0-for-4. ... Atkins has struck out only once in his last 11 games. ... The Rockies' 18-19 road record ties their team-best through 36 games. ... Following Sunday's game, the Rockies return home to play their next six games against AL-West opponents, Oakland and Texas.
ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals play the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday and have won 24 of their last 30 interleague games (.800). ... The Cardinals have a .730 winning percentage when Chris Carpenter starts. ... Chris Duncan had his sixth start at 1B Sunday since being called up from Triple-A Memphis when Albert Pujols went on the DL June 4. ... Pujols continues to lead the NL with 25 homers despite missing 14 games. ... David Eckstein is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday after missing three games in a row with a mild concussion.
June 18, 2006
TORONTO: RHP Josh Towers was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse following Sunday's loss at Florida and RHP Vinnie Chulk was optioned out. Towers is scheduled to start Tuesday in the series opener at Atlanta, with LHP Ted Lilly pushed back a day to Wednesday. RHP Ty Taubenheim will go to the bullpen. ... RHP A.J. Burnett (elbow) pitched well in his final rehab outing on Saturday night before his scheduled Thursday start at Atlanta. Burnett allowed two runs (one earned), two hits, three walks and struck out nine in six innings for Double-A New Hampshire against Portland. He threw 87 pitches. ... The Blue Jays fell to 4-14 all-time vs. Florida and have lost all six series against the Marlins.
FLORIDA: 1B Wes Helms started Sunday in place of Mike Jacobs, who has been nursing a sprained right ankle. ``This way, he gets two days off to rest,'' manager Joe Girardi said, alluding to Monday's off day. Girardi said Jacobs probably will see time as the designated hitter during the upcoming road trip to Baltimore and New York but added ``it would be nice'' to give Miguel Cabrera and Dan Uggla a day off from playing the field, too. ... SS Hanley Ramirez's third-inning single Sunday snapped a hitless streak of 29 at-bats. Before the game, Girardi said he was not giving up on the youngster. ``I see his at-bats getting better,'' Girardi said. ``We need him in the lineup. He's an exciting young player. I really believe he's going to get real hot again this season.''
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ARIZONA: The club was swept for the third time in the last four series. The Diamondbacks had not been swept in 19 previous series. ... Eric Byrnes and Orlando Hudson had back-to-back homers in the second, the third time Arizona has hit consecutive homers this season. Byrnes has been involved all three times. ... Hudson has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games.
TEXAS: Manager Buck Showalter said he's ready for the end of interleague play so he can get back to worrying about the AL. ``I'll get a lot more sleep,'' Showalter said, adding that he has been staying up late ``cramming'' for upcoming interleague foes San Diego, Colorado, San Francisco and Houston. ... Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox will manage the AL All-Star team this year and when he gets a chance to add players to his roster, SS Michael Young will be high on his list. ``He's a manager's dream,'' Guillen said. ``He's the best at that position. He plays the game right.''
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BOSTON: LF Manny Ramirez started. He was not in the lineup Saturday with a sore knee that periodically acts up on him. ``He appreciated the day off and he's ready to go,'' manager Terry Francona said. Ramirez entered in a 0-for-17 slump. Francona said he isn't worried. ``Somebody will pay for it. I hope it's tonight,'' Francona said. ... SS Alex Gonzalez leads AL shortstops with a .995 fielding percentage. He has made one error (April 9 at Baltimore) in 207 chances this season. ... David Ortiz hit a solo home run, his 20th, in the first inning off John Smoltz. It is his fifth consecutive season with at least 20 homers. ... The Red Sox open a nine-game homestand Monday night beginning with three games against NL East teams - Washington, Philadelphia and the New York Mets.
ATLANTA: 3B Chipper Jones missed his second straight game with a sore right thumb. Manager Bobby Cox said he thinks Jones could pinch hit if necessary. He did take groundballs prior to Sunday night's game. ... The Braves have played 27 one-run games and are 10-17. ... OF-1B Brian Jordan was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 17 and OF-1B Scott Thorman recalled from Triple-A Richmond. Thorman made his major league debut against Curt Schilling. ... LHP Horacio Ramirez, diagnosed with a mild concussion when he was struck in the forehead by a line drive June 11 in Houston, threw 60 pitches before Sunday night's game. He did not suffer any dizziness and if he feels OK when he wakes up Monday, manager Bobby Cox said Ramirez will start Thursday against Toronto.
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BALTIMORE: RHP Rodrigo Lopez had his next scheduled start pushed back from Tuesday to Friday because manager Sam Perlozzo wants to keep RHP Daniel Cabrera, LHP Erik Bedard and RHP Kris Benson on their regular rest. ``Everybody else but me,'' Lopez said. ``That's his decision.'' ... When LF Ed Rogers fielded a seventh-inning single, the ball kicked off the heel of his glove, rolled up his sleeve and got caught inside his jersey, behind his neck. Rogers bent over and was able to remove the ball before the runners advanced any further.
NEW YORK: LHP Tom Glavine became the first Mets pitcher to reach 10 wins before July since Bobby Jones in 1997. ``I'll take it,'' Glavine said. ``I'm not 100 percent thrilled with the way I'm throwing, but we're still winning games.'' ... 3B David Wright hit his first grand slam since Sept. 24 at Washington off Livan Hernandez. ... New York manager Willie Randolph would like speedy SS Jose Reyes to try bunting for a hit more often. ``Once Jose Reyes accepts that as part of his game, he'll hit .300. I've told him that many times,'' Randolph said.
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MILWAUKEE: The Brewers beat the Indians 6-3 on Father's Day on Sunday on a game-winning three-run home run by Carlos Lee. On Mother's Day, Bill Hall also hit a game-winning homer in the ninth to beat the Mets 6-5. The Brewers are 13-6 in games decided in the last at-bat. ... Rookie pitcher Zach Johnson singled to lead off the third inning for his first major league hit. ... The three-game sweep of the Indians put the Brewers (35-35) at .500 for the first time since they were 26-26 on May 30. After losing eight straight games, they have won nine of 13 games including five of their last six.
CLEVELAND: The Brewers beat the Indians on Sunday for the second straight day on a ninth-inning hit, this time a three-run homer by Carlos Lee. On Saturday night, Geoff Jenkins' two-run single downed Cleveland 3-2. Manager Eric Wedge said the losses were hard ones. ``Any time you lose late like that, it's just all the tougher,'' he said. ... The Indians continue their interleague play at home Monday night against Chicago. RHP Jason Johnson (3-7) faces the Cubs. ... With the loss, the Indians fell to 201-202 all-time against the Brewers, a former American League adversary.
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KANSAS CITY: The Royals took two of three from the Houston Astros this season, just their fifth series win in 23 this season. ... RHP Brandon Duckworth delivered another quality start for the revived Royals' rotation. Duckworth allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, though he didn't get the decision in the Royals' 7-4 win. Kansas City's starters are 3-5 over the last 10 games - not great, but far better than their 6-30 start. ... Doug Mientkiewicz hit the game-winning homer in Sunday's 7-4 win over Houston, but manager Buddy Bell said Matt Stairs' one-out walk off Chad Qualls in the preceding at-bat was just as important. ``If Stairs doesn't get on, Doug gets no chance, because they're going to walk Doug,'' Bell said. ``That was a huge, huge at-bat.''
HOUSTON: 2B Craig Biggio scored his 1,735th career run in Sunday's 7-4 loss. Biggio ranks 20th on the career list, now five behind Honus Wagner. ... Mike Lamb's move to No. 2 in the batting order is paying off for manager Phil Garner. The lefty-batting backup first baseman is 10-for-33 with a homer and five RBIs since Garner made the switch on June 9. ``We needed somebody to get on base at the top of the lineup, and he was swinging the bat well, too,'' Garner said. ``And he has some power. He can do some damage.'' Lamb batted second for the sixth time on Sunday, going 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout. He had hit safely in eight of his previous nine games. ... The changes SS Adam Everett has made to his swing are working. The reliable fielder, with only three errors this season, is batting .324 in June after hitting just .173 average in May. Everett said he's shifted his weight more to the back of his swing, giving him more power at the plate. Everett went 1-for-4 in Sunday's 7-4 loss to Kansas City and has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
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DETROIT: Vance Wilson started at catcher and batted third on Sunday for Ivan Rodriguez, who left the previous two games with cramps. ``I think Vance Wilson is swinging pretty well right now,'' manager Jim Leyland said when asked before the game why Wilson was batting third. ``Vance Wilson is getting some hits. He might think I've lost my marbles.'' Wilson homered and scored two runs in a 12-3 victory, putting his batting average at .295. ``To be able to come in here and hit in the three hole, to have a good game on Father's Day, on (Kenny Rogers') 200th win, it's very special,'' Wilson said. ... Chris Shelton and Brandon Inge each homered twice on Sunday. It was the fourth two-homer game for Inge and his second this year. Shelton has three in his career - all this season. ... Marcus Thames extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a solo homer in the fifth.
CHICAGO: Henry Blanco caught his third straight game for Michael Barrett, who has a sore back and is expected to begin serving a suspension for punching the White Sox's A.J. Pierzynski this week. Barrett, who was suspended 10 games, had an appeal hearing on Friday. Manager Dusty Baker said the Cubs don't plan to add another catcher. ``(John) Mabry's been a backup catcher, but (Phil) Nevin's done more catching. If something happens, I could have Nevin for the remainder of the day and then get somebody the next day,'' Baker said. ... The Cubs agreed to a contract Sunday with fifth-round draft pick Jeff Samardzija of Notre Dame, a star wide receiver for the Fighting Irish football team. The Valparaiso, Ind., native caught a record 15 touchdown passes last fall. He then went 8-2 with a 4.33 ERA in 15 starts for the baseball team. ... With Mark Prior (strained shoulder) activated from the 60-day DL before Sunday's start, the Cubs placed struggling veteran Glendon Rusch on the 15-day DL with lower back spasms. Rusch is 2-7 with a 7.80 ERA.
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LOS ANGELES: Sandy Alomar Jr. started at catcher on his 40th birthday instead of Russell Martin after Saturday night's 17-inning game. ... The Dodgers lost their fourth straight series against the A's. ... Matt Kemp stole his fourth base in the second. ... Aaron Sele didn't have a strikeout for the second straight start. ``It was a battle from the first pitch on,'' he said. ``Even 1-0 might have been too much the way they're playing.'' Sele (3-2) saw his winless stretch reach four starts as he lost his second straight outing. Sele gave way to Odalis Perez after only four innings, and Perez pitched a season-high four innings of relief. ... Nomar Garciaparra hit his eighth homer and went 5-for-12 in the series to improve his career batting average against the A's to .370 (101-for-273).
OAKLAND: RHP Justin Duchscherer, out since May 13 with soreness in his right elbow, was not as sore as he expected to be Sunday following a 23-pitch simulated game Saturday. He is slated to pitch one inning - 20 pitches maximum - in a rehab assignment Monday for Triple-A, and if that goes well he will make another appearance for the Sacramento River Cats on Wednesday at Salt Lake before coming off the DL. ``I feel good. I feel better than I expected,'' Duchscherer said. ... The A's recalled LHP Ron Flores from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned C Jeremy Brown to Sacramento. ... RF Milton Bradley, nursing a strained left shoulder, was scheduled to hit balls off a tee and also soft toss and manager Ken Macha hoped to have Bradley available Monday at Colorado. ... CF Mark Kotsay missed his third straight game with back spasms. ... C Jason Kendall told Macha he wanted to play - even after working all 17 innings Saturday night. ``He doesn't ever want out of the game,'' Macha said. ... RHP Steve Karsay announced his retirement after the game following an 11-year major league career.
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NEW YORK: RHP Jose Veras' contract was purchased from Triple-A Columbus before Sunday's game. OF Kevin Thompson was sent back to the minors. ... RHP Kyle Farnsworth was unavailable Sunday after leaving Friday's game with back spasms. Farnsworth had a throwing session Sunday, and Torre said Farnsworth should be available to pitch at Philadelphia on Monday. ... Torre will use Thursday's off day to give RHP Shawn Chacon some extra rest. Chien-Ming Wang will get his regular four days' rest and pitch Friday night against Florida, followed on Saturday by Chacon. ... 2B Robinson Cano went 0-for-4 Sunday, ending his career-best 15-game hitting streak. ... 3B Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI double, giving him five RBIs in five games after a stretch in which he drove in one run over nine games. Hitting coach Don Mattingly ``saw some things mechanically wrong in my swing and we've been attacking that very hard the last two or three days,'' Rodriguez said. ``Hopefully it continues to get better.''
WASHINGTON: Rookie 3B Ryan Zimmerman's game-winning homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth Sunday, giving Washington a 3-2 victory over the Yankees, was the first walk-off homer for the Expos-Nationals franchise since Orlando Cabrera did it June 20, 2004, for Montreal against the White Sox. ... Zimmerman has hit safely in seven straight games, lifting his average from .267 to .286. ... RHP John Patterson is slated to return to the rotation Friday at Baltimore, more than two months after his last appearance for the Nationals. Patterson went on the DL April 28 with what eventually was diagnosed as right forearm tendinitis. He is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA this season; his last major league start was April 21. ... Half of Washington's starting infield was out of the lineup Sunday: 1B Nick Johnson (back) and shortstop Royce Clayton (throwing shoulder).
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TAMPA BAY: The Devil Rays sent five consecutive pinch-hitters to the plate in the eighth inning, one shy of the major league record held by the Dodgers in 2000. ... The team hit eight home runs in the three-game series, tying the club record set at Cleveland last season. The club also has 11 home runs in six interleague games this year. ... OF Carl Crawford has 13 multihit games in his last 22 contests. In his last seven road games, he has 15 hits including four home runs. ... OF Rocco Baldelli singled in a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning. He hit .395 (15-for-38) on the road trip. ... The Devil Rays have hit 89 homers in their first 70 games, 34 more than at the same point in 2005. ... The team notched its major league leading 43rd blown lead of the year.
PHILADELPHIA: RHP Jon Lieber, on the DL since May 30 with a strained left groin, pitched a bullpen session before the game. ``Everything felt fine, we'll do it again on Tuesday,'' he said. Lieber is slated to pitch another bullpen session Tuesday before the next step in his rehab process is determined. ... It might be too early for scoreboard watching for some people, but not SS Jimmy Rollins. ``This was a big win today because the Mets won too,'' he said. ``We've got to put a good streak together.'' The Phillies failed to pick up any ground on the Mets in the NL East over the weekend and remain 9 1-2 games back. ... LHP Rheal Cormier extended his scoreless streak at home to 17 1-3 innings. He leads all NL relievers with a 1.12 ERA. ... RHP Ryan Madson pitched 6 2-3 innings - the longest outing by a Phillies starter since June 7, when Madson went 7 2-3 innings at Arizona. RHP Gavin Floyd, now at Triple-A Scranton, owns the club's lone complete game this season.
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CHICAGO: RHP Jon Garland's first career homer was the first by a White Sox pitcher since Steve Kealey's on Sept. 6, 1971, against Minnesota - two years before the AL adopted the designated hitter. Garland had only two hits in interleague play before the at-bat. ... Chicago is a season-high 19 games over .500 after winning 10 of its last 13. ... The White Sox have won nine straight against the Reds, leading their interleague series 12-2. Their weekend sweep was their third over the Reds. They also did it in 2000 at Cinergy Field and in 2001 in Chicago. ... OF Rob Mackowiak, who had been in a 3-for-20 slump, matched his career high with four hits. ... The White Sox are 5-1 in interleague play this season and 91-72 overall.
CINCINNATI: The Reds called up RHP Mike Burns from Triple-A Louisville. He gave up Jermaine Dye's three-run homer in the ninth, inflating his ERA to 10.32. ... The Reds told RHP Rick White that they will designate him for assignment Monday and call up RHP Jason Standridge from Louisville. ... The Reds' 2-8 homestand was their worst homestand of at least 10 games since 1950, when they went 2-9. ... The Reds were five games out of first place in the NL Central when they opened the month with an eight-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place. Since then, they have gone 1-8 and fallen 5 1/2 games back. ... The Reds are 1-5 in interleague play this season and 56-74 all-time.
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MINNESOTA: Johan Santana will stay on schedule and pitch on his normal four days' rest Friday against the Cubs. Boof Bonser, skipped over once in the rotation before lasting only 3 1-3 innings against the Pirates on Saturday night, will face the Cubs on Saturday. ... The Twins are back to .500 for the first time in nearly two months, and manager Ron Gardenhire said it's about time. He said, ``We struggled for a while and everything was going crazy, but we knew we were capable of playing like this.''
PITTSBURGH: Monday's makeup game against the Diamondbacks is the result of a May 11 rainout. Because the Diamondbacks were to have visited Pittsburgh only once this season, the game had to be made up on a day when both teams were scheduled off. Asked if he welcomed playing a team that's won only once in two weeks, SS Jack Wilson said, ``I'd rather be off.'' ... The Pirates were the only NL team to use the same five starting pitchers all season, but that will end when Kip Wells starts Tuesday in Kansas City. Victor Santos went on the 15-day DL Sunday with a strained right rotator cuff. ... GM Dave Littlefield said OF Chris Duffy likely won't need much time at the extended spring training camp in Bradenton, Fla. Duffy refused to report to Triple-A after being demoted a month ago but decided last week to resume playing. Littlefield said, ``He hasn't been out that long and he's been working out, so he's not too far away.'' Duffy will report to Indianapolis when the Pirates feel he's back in game shape.
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SAN DIEGO: Manager Bruce Bochy earned his 899th career victory Sunday. ... C Josh Bard went 3-for-4, with one strikeout. ... 1B Adrian Gonzalez has hit safely in 27 of his last 34 games since May 8. ... The Padres improved to 17-9 in day games, including 10-4 in road day games. ... RHP Chan Ho Park (5-3) has gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts.
LOS ANGELES: CF Darin Erstad is day to day after leaving Saturday's game in the fourth inning with an aggravated right foot. ``I tweaked it a little bit going for a ball in the first inning, and it's sore,'' he said Sunday. ``When it gets flared up, it's not much fun to be on. I'm still processing all of it right now, so I'll see how it feels tomorrow and see how much progress it makes.'' ... The Angels have been held to four runs or less in each of their last eight games. ... They dropped to 1-5 in interleague play. ... They have committed 22 errors in 16 games in June. ... The Angels went 4-6 on the 10-game homestand. They are off Monday and open a three-game series at San Francisco on Tuesday.
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SAN FRANCISCO: OF Moises Alou woke up Sunday morning with back spasms and had to summon a hotel bellhop to close his suitcase for him. Still, he thought he could play and was in the original lineup. But five minutes before first pitch, manager Felipe Alou scratched his 39-year-old son. Mark Sweeney started in LF instead and went 1-for-3. Felipe Alou said he would like to give his son another day off Monday night at home against the Los Angeles Angels. Moises Alou was 1-for-18 on the Giants' six-game road trip, dropping his average to .311 in 34 games. ... OF Jason Ellison's home run off Seattle LHP Jamie Moyer was his second career homer to leadoff a game. The first was on May 29, 2005, against San Diego. ... Barry Bonds was 2-for-10 in the series with his 718th home run on Friday, two walks and five strikeouts.
SEATTLE: Closer J.J. Putz struck out Giants slugger Barry Bonds for the second time in two at-bats to end Sunday's win, on a 97-mph fastball. On Friday night, Putz struck out Bonds looking at a split-fingered fastball to end a 5-4 Mariners win. Bonds compared Seattle's new closer, who has 11 saves in 12 chances since taking LHP Eddie Guardado's job, to Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne. ``You've got a guy throwing 99 mph - it's like Gagne,'' Bonds said. ``He is so successful because the change of speed. The pitchers are like 20 miles per hour (from) each other.'' ... 2B Jose Lopez missed Sunday because of a jammed left thumb from sliding headfirst into first base on a ground out Saturday. The No. 3 hitter said he had never done that before. ``I'll never do it again,'' Lopez said. ... LHP Jamie Moyer is 204-155 in 500 starts. He is the 33rd pitcher to start 500 major league games. ... Sunday's game attracted a second consecutive sellout crowd. The only Safeco Field sellout was on opening day. Seattle had six sellouts last season.
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COLORADO: Cory Sullivan injured his left wrist while hitting a single in the third inning Sunday and had to leave the game. He is day to day. ... The Rockies haven't been swept by the Cardinals in three games since August 1996. ... Garrett Atkins had homered in three of his last eight games, but was 0-for-4. ... Atkins has struck out only once in his last 11 games. ... The Rockies' 18-19 road record ties their team-best through 36 games. ... Following Sunday's game, the Rockies return home to play their next six games against AL-West opponents, Oakland and Texas.
ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals play the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday and have won 24 of their last 30 interleague games (.800). ... The Cardinals have a .730 winning percentage when Chris Carpenter starts. ... Chris Duncan had his sixth start at 1B Sunday since being called up from Triple-A Memphis when Albert Pujols went on the DL June 4. ... Pujols continues to lead the NL with 25 homers despite missing 14 games. ... David Eckstein is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday after missing three games in a row with a mild concussion.
