Last Updated on June 29, 2007 11:25 pm by admin
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rangers-Red Sox
TEXAS: With a single to lead off the game, Kenny Lofton has hit in 12 of his last 13 games. … Manager Ron Washington was selected by AL manager Jim Leyland for the coaching staff at next month’s All-Star game. Minor-leaguers John Whittleman and German Duran will play in the futures game.
BOSTON: The Red Sox signed two of their 2007 draft choices, RHP Brock Huntzinger (fourth round) and OF Kade Keowen (ninth round). Huntzinger was assigned to the Gulf Coast League and Keowen will go to Lowell of the New York-Penn League. … It was NASCAR night at Fenway, with the Red Sox honoring members of the Fenway Roush Racing team that will compete at the New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend. A giant checkered flag with the team’s logo and numbers was draped over the Green Monster, and the Red Sox-themed No. 99 car drove out onto the field before the game.
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Twins-Tigers
MINNESOTA: RHP Matt Garza, recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, will start in one of the games of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox next Friday. Garza was 4-6 with a 3.62 ERA at Rochester. … 1B Justin Morneau returned to the lineup in Thursday’s 8-5 win over the Blue Jays. He had been sidelined with a bruised right lung since last Saturday when he was injured in a home plate collision at Florida. Morneau was 0-for-3 with a RBI as the DH on Thursday and manager Ron Gardenhire said Morneau would be the DH in all three games of the weekend series in Detroit.
DETROIT: 3B Brandon Inge was a late scratch for Friday night’s game against Minnesota because of a sore back. He was replaced in the lineup by Neifi Perez. … The Tigers reinstated RHP Zach Miner from the disabled list. Miner, 0-1 with a 2.38 ERA in five games, had a strained right elbow flexor tendon. … Detroit also placed LHP Tim Byrdak on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow tendinitis. He has a 3.66 ERA in 17 games and has 25 strikeouts in 19 2-3 innings.
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Athletics-Yankees
n his right elbow) was scheduled for a long-toss session. “He’s thrown three of the last four days,” manager Bob Geren said Friday. … OF Bobby Kielty (strained left calf) went 1-for-2 with a double in a rehab game at Sacramento on Thursday night. … The A’s have needed the disabled list 16 times already this season, equaling last year’s total. Including Buck, they have 10 players on DL.
Hillenbrand, who was designated for assignment Friday. “That’s just an area I wouldn’t be able to comment on,” Cashman said.
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Devil Rays-Indians
TAMPA BAY: Manager Joe Maddon thinks the club’s pitching is improving. “I see signs of it getting better, but in order for us to sustain something we need our starters to be more consistent,” Maddon said. Entering Friday, Devil Rays pitchers led the AL in strikeouts (549), but had the highest ERA (5.60). No club in AL history has ever done that for a full season. … INF B.J. Upton, out since June 14 with a strained left quad, could rejoin the team next week in Boston. Upton began a rehab assignment at Class A Vero Beach on Thursday and is expected to play five, seven, then nine innings in consecutive games at second base. “If he’s a little sore, we’ll have him DH, but we want him in the field,” Maddon said. … The Devil Rays will play the Red Sox 18 times in the final 81 games, which represents 22.2 percent of the second half. Tampa Bay goes to Boston after its series in Cleveland. … Pitching coach Jim Hickey, who had surgery Monday to repair a detached retina in his right eye, remained in Tampa because he isn’t allowed to fly. He’s expected to join the team in Boston.
CLEVELAND: OF Ben Francisco made his first major league start Friday night. He had appeared in four games and was hitless in two at-bats. … The Indians have 23 comeback wins this season. “There are so many different things you can’t account for trend-wise,” manager Eric Wedge said. “I think we have found different ways to win ballgames all year long. I think that says a lot about our team.” … OF David Dellucci, who had surgery to remove a torn tendon from his left hamstring at Cleveland Clinic on Thursday, met with head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff at Jacobs Field on Friday. At the time of the June 19 injury, the Indians said Dellucci would miss eight weeks. “Hopefully, it will be prior to that,” Wedge said. … The Indians are 31-15 in games started by LHP C.C. Sabathia and RHPs Fausto Carmona and Paul Byrd. They are 15-17 in other games. … RHP Adam Miller, one of the top pitching prospects in the minor leagues, pitched two scoreless relief innings for Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday night. He’s being groomed for a relief role and could join Cleveland’s bullpen after the All-Star break.
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Angels-Orioles
broke the mark set by Darin Erstad in April 2000. … OF Reggie Willits was given the day off to rest the knee he banged against the wall Wednesday against KC. “It’s good for him to take another day,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
BALTIMORE: RHP Steve Trachsel lasted only 1 2-3 innings Friday, his shortest start of the season. He yielded five runs and nine hits. … LHP John Parrish has allowed runs in five of his last 10 appearances through Thursday, raising his ERA to 6.30. “He’s aiming the ball, trying to be perfect. He’s not trusting the God-given ability and talent he has,” interim manager Dave Trembley said. … Kevin Millar tacked 12 points onto his batting average Thursday night with his first three-hit game of the season. The .271 batting average he brought into Friday’s game was his highest since April 22.
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White Sox-Royals
d player on the team. “It’s a soap opera. Now it’s between the front office and him,” Guillen said. “It’s hard for both sides. But I’m the manager of the ballclub. The only thing I can do is put out the lineup what I have.”
KANSAS CITY: Mark Teahen made his fourth start at first base, a position he previously had played only a few times during a college summer league. He was switched from third base to right field over the winter, but insists he’s not getting tired of moving around. “When they talked to me about moving to the outfield, they said they envisioned me as a guy who could bounce around, and I figured I’d be bouncing around a little bit,” he said. “Right now they need me at first, so that’s what I’ll do. I understand it’s a team game and I’m not in a position to complain.”
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Blue Jays-Mariners
ff. For the last week, he seems a little more relaxed at the plate.” … OF Reed Johnson, on the DL after surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back, began a rehab assignment Thursday for the Dunedin Blue Jays. In his first game since April 11, he had a double and a home run in four at-bats. … Since May 12, Matt Stairs has 12 home runs, second most in the league during that time.
SEATTLE: LF Raul Ibanez is out with a right hamstring strain. Manager Mike Hargrove said the injury improved significantly during Seattle’s day off on Thursday and that Ibanez may be back in the lineup this weekend. … LHP Horacio Ramirez will make three rehab starts before potentially rejoining the Mariners rotation. Ramirez has been on the DL since May 25 because of left shoulder tendinitis. He will throw 70 pitches in his first start, 85 in the second and 100 in the third. His final rehab start is scheduled for July 10. … RHP relievers Mark Lowe and Chris Reitsma will go out on rehab assignments soon. Lowe (elbow surgery) will throw a simulated game Saturday and Reitsma (elbow inflammation) threw in the bullpen Friday.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Mets-Phillies
NEW YORK: Closer Billy Wagner, a fan favorite when he pitched for the Phillies, heard the typical comments from the crowd when he warmed up in the bullpen. “I hope you die,” Wagner said was one of the not-so-creative remarks. … Carlos Delgado calmed down an angry Jose Reyes, who was upset he was called out trying to steal second base in the seventh inning of the first game Friday. “One battle you never win is against the umpires,” Delgado said.
PHILADELPHIA: J.D. Durbin allowed six runs in 4 2-3 innings, but still lowered his ERA by over 70 runs. The right-hander gave up seven runs in two-thirds of an inning in his only other appearance with Arizona this season, and entered Friday’s start with a 94.00 ERA. After losing to the Mets, his ERA went down to 21.94. … LF Pat Burrell was back in the lineup after sitting eight of 11 games. … Injured RHP Jon Lieber had an MRI exam on his right foot. A decision on whether he will have season-ending surgery or rehab without surgery will be made next week. … An MRI on OF Jayson Werth’s left wrist revealed no structural damage. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday.
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Brewers-Cubs
th a young Chipper Jones. “You look at Ryan and there’s no way that Ryan can’t hit. He’s just really good. So that’s his spot,” Yost said. “Why goof around? Throw him in there and let him go and he’s going to be fine.” … Corey Hart extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a fourth-inning single. … Kevin Mench got his second walk in 165 plate appearances. The first one April 4 was an intentional pass.
th.
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Braves-Marlins
ATLANTA: 2B Kelly Johnson, who has struggled at the plate recently, returned to the lineup after being replaced for two games by rookie Yunel Escobar. … RHP Kyle Davies threw a bullpen session and played catch earlier this week and says he was “pain-free.” Davies suffered a mild strain of his left oblique last Saturday. Davies will pitch in the Dodgers series on Tuesday. … The Braves began their second of three 10-day road trips on Friday. The club will play at Florida, Los Angeles and San Diego.
FLORIDA:OF Alejandro De Aza, on the DL with a right ankle sprain since April 18th, is doing some light throwing and will jog next week. … RHP Logan Kensing underwent hernia surgery on Friday. Kensing has been on the DL since March 23. … RHP Ricky Nolasco is throwing five days a week in Jupiter. … OF Cody Ross (hamstring) is doing light running exercises and taking batting practice. He is scheduled to rejoin the team in three weeks. … INF Aaron Boone (knee) will have no baseball activity the next three days. … SS Hanley Ramirez has 102 hits, becoming the 9th Marlins player to collect 100 hits before the All-Star break. Juan Pierre had 117 in 2003.
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Nationals-Pirates
NATIONALS: Manager Manny Acta shook up his batting order Friday in Pittsburgh, with SS Felipe Lopez dropped to seventh and 2B Ronnie Belliard moved up to second. Acta wants to give Lopez more opportunities to hit with runners in scoring position and generate more offense. Lopez had only two RBIs in his previous 10 games. … RHP Jason Simontacchi, listed as the Nationals’ starter Saturday, will start Monday in Chicago. Jason Bergmann (1-4), listed as the starter Monday, will go Saturday night. Acta said that was the rotation all along, but it was mistakenly listed the other way. … RHP John Patterson, out since May 5 because of right elbow pain, rejoined the club Friday after visiting four doctors in three states for multiple opinions. There are no current plans for surgery.
PIRATES: CF Chris Duffy was held out Friday because of a sprained left ankle, but tests did not reveal any other problems. He might have to go on the disabled list, though that decision may not be made for a day or two. … Some fans plan to stage an in-game walkout Saturday to protest ownership’s lack of commitment to fielding a winning team. The Pirates are stuck in a 15th consecutive losing season. … LF Jason Bay, an NL All-Star starter last season, may have slumped his way out of another All-Star appearance. His average dropped from .314 at the start of June to .265 during a 12-for-83 slump, and he homered only once from June 8-28. LHP Tom Gorzelanny (7-4), who starts Saturday, could be the Pirates’ lone All-Star choice when the teams are announced Sunday.
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Cardinals-Reds
ST. LOUIS: INF Scott Spiezio remained hospitalized in New York on Friday, getting antibiotics intravenously for an infection in his left index finger. He will miss the weekend series in Cincinnati. The Cardinals said Spiezio is improving. … Manager Tony La Russa changed his mind about his starter for the series opener on Friday. After the Cardinals’ game Thursday night in New York was called off, La Russa planned to let RHP Adam Wainwright – who had started warming up for the Mets – pitch a day later in Cincinnati. After thinking it over, he decided to give Wainwright an extra day. Instead, Brad Thompson opened the series against Cincinnati. Wainwright will pitch on Saturday, followed by Mike Maroth. … C Yadier Molina started Friday, his first appearance since he went on the DL after breaking a bone in his left wrist on May 29.
CINCINNATI: RHP Ricky Stone was called up from Triple-A Louisville. Stone, who lives in nearby Hamilton, Ohio, pitched for the Reds in 2005 and then retired. After spending last year setting up a drywall business, he decided to give the game another try and signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati. … RHP Victor Santos was designated for assignment to open a roster spot. … LHP Eddie Guardado won’t throw for a few days. His comeback from reconstructive elbow surgery has been slowed by a sore back and stiffness in his forearm. A medical exam on Friday detected nothing serious.
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Rockies-Astros
COLORADO: Carlos Lee’s grand slam in the 11th inning Thursday night marked the third time in seven days that closer Brian Fuentes allowed a game-winning hit after Troy Tulowitzki homered in the top of the inning to give Colorado a lead. Manager Clint Hurdle can’t believe it. “I’ve seen a couple of things this week I’ve never seen before,” he said. “He’s hit three game-winning home runs and he’s hit none. Now you want to talk about bizarre.” … Tulowitzki and Houston’s Hunter Pence are both having great rookie seasons and are likely front-runners for National League rookie of the year. Hurdle has been just as impressed with Pence as he has been with his own rookie. “We know how well our guy’s playing and you match up the numbers and their guy is playing just as well offensively, if not better in some categories in less amount of reps and games,” he said. “Pence has been fun to watch from afar. He’s one of those surprises that you just get happy about in the course of the season, just as we are with Troy.”
pregame ceremony on Aug. 12. … Now that the 41-year-old Biggio has joined the 3000 hit club, the question becomes whether this will be his last season. He was noncommittal on the issue Friday. “When the time is right I’ll let everyone know,” he said. “Who knows, maybe I’ll play until almost 50 like Julio Franco.”
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Diamondbacks-Giants
ARIZONA: LHP Randy Johnson was fine after his start Thursday, the Big Unit’s first since before going on the 15-day DL on June 16 with muscle tightness in his buttocks and a sore back. He threw 70 pitches in a 9-5 loss to the Dodgers. “He’s getting ready for his next start,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I know he wasn’t happy with his results yesterday. To me, you’ve got to cut him a little bit of a break coming off the DL. He has high expectations for himself and expects big things.” Melvin hopes Johnson will get up to about 100 pitches in his next outing.
is right side. Optioning OF Nate Schierholtz to Triple-A Fresno is a possibility.
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Padres-Dodgers
SAN DIEGO: RF Brian Giles moved into the leadoff spot Friday night in place of 2B Marcus Giles, who dropped to second. “This is just a different look, to see what it looks like for a while,” manager Bud Black. Marcus batted leadoff for Atlanta last season, but was more comfortable in the No. 2 spot. … C Michael Barrett, who joined the Padres a week ago from the Chicago Cubs, endorsed the addition of OF Milton Bradley from Oakland. “Milton is happiest when he’s playing and playing well,” Barrett said. “I remember him being on winning teams wherever he went.”
LOS ANGELES: RHP Chin-hui Tsao returned to the active roster Friday after being on the 15-day DL because of a right shoulder strain. To make room on the roster, INF-OF Marlon Anderson was designated for assignment. “We got a real need for another pitcher on our staff right now,” manager Grady Little said. “We were having trouble getting Marlon at-bats. It was a tough call for us to make.” … The Dodgers played their 37th game at home Friday, lowest in the NL West and tied with three NL Central teams for fewest home games in the NL. … INF Ramon Martinez, on the 15-day DL because of a back injury, is close to beginning a rehab assignment, Little said. … RHP Takashi Saito became the first major leaguer in history to convert 46 of his first 49 saves Thursday. He has struck out 42 batters and walked three, giving him a 14-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio, tops in baseball.