Last Updated on June 1, 2007 9:55 pm by admin
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees-Red Sox
NEW YORK: DH Jason Giambi went on the 15-day disabled list with torn tissue in his left foot. The Yankees also sent right-hander Matt DeSalvo to Scranton Wilkes-Barre and called up righty Chris Britton and outfielder Kevin Thompson from the Triple-A club. … 2B Robinson Cano continued his hot hitting with a two-run homer in the second and a single in the fourth. In the Yankees’ previous game, a 10-5 win at Toronto on Wednesday night, he went 4-for-4 with three doubles. … Manager Joe Torre said Wil Nieves will catch Mike Mussina in Saturday’s game while Jorge Posada serves as DH.
a career-high 11 games. He doubled in his first two at bats to raise his average to .320. … Members of the Red Sox 1967 team that went to the World Series were honored on the field before the game.
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Rangers-Mariners
TEXAS: Pitching coach Mark Connors vented over his starting pitching staff having the worst cumulative ERA in the major leagues, well over 6.00, entering Friday. “Our starting pitchers, to be very frank about it, have been atrocious,” Connors said, one night after watching Vicente Padilla allow seven runs in three innings. “We’re not good. That’s my fault. Their fault. Everybody’s fault.” … Manager Ron Washington said Padilla (2-8) will stay in the rotation despite leading the AL in losses and becoming the first Texas pitcher to lose eight games before June 1. “The only way we will skip a start with him is if something is wrong medically,” Washington said. “This is a veteran. He’s not some kid.”
ay and Sunday before returning. … Hargrove said RHP Chris Reitsma, on the DL with elbow inflammation, will have a rehab outing this weekend at Triple-A Tacoma.
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Tigers-Indians
DETROIT: C Vance Wilson is scheduled to start a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday. He has been on the disabled list all season with a sore right elbow. … OF Marcus Thames’ stolen base Thursday night was the first straight steal of his career, a span of 271 games. His only previous steal came at the back end of a double-steal with Alexis Gomez last June 28. … 3B Brandon Inge (chip fracture of left big toe) and SS Carlos Guillen (left groin strain) were out of the lineup again Friday and could miss the entire four-game series against the Indians. … The Tigers’ 310 hits in May were the most of any AL team and the most by a Detroit club since 312 in August 1982.
all – 134 in 462 1-3 innings. Byrd has walked three in 58 innings and reliever Rafael Betancourt one in 22 1-3 innings.
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Twins-Athletics
MINNESOTA: Manager Ron Gardenhire said reigning AL batting champion Joe Mauer felt better Friday. Mauer, who was hitting .353 when he strained his left quadriceps May 5, showed up sore on Wednesday. “He’s day-to-day. He feels better today,” Gardenhire said. “He’s been pretty sore the last couple of days. We’re not going to activate him. He’ll probably get back to running the bases the next couple of days.” … Gardenhire is pleased with how the Twins’ starters have been going lately, which he believes has boosted the team’s taxed bullpen. “Bullpens go according to how your starting pitchers go,” he said. “We’ve got the arms to get people out.” … The Twins played in Oakland for the first time since being swept in three games by the A’s at the Coliseum during the AL divisional series last October.
and batting seventh for the opener of a weekend series with the Twins, manager Bob Geren had his entire projected starting outfield from opening day available. But Geren gave Shannon Stewart a day off and used Travis Buck in left field. Milton Bradley returned Wednesday from his second stint on the DL with a strained left hamstring. … RHP Justin Duchscherer, on the disabled list with a strained right hip, was examined in Nashville by Tennessee Titans Dr. Thomas Byrd, who recommended Duchscherer not throw for two weeks. … 2B Mark Ellis and wife Sarah welcomed their first child, a boy named Briggs, Friday afternoon. Ellis was expected to play again Saturday. … The A’s pitchers took BP outdoors for the first time in preparation for interleague play.
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White Sox-Blue Jays
CHICAGO: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen spoke with team owner Jerry Reinsdorf Friday morning and was told not to worry about his job status. “Jerry told me to quit blaming myself,” Guillen said. The White Sox have lost five straight and entered play Friday a season-high 7 1/2 games out of first in the AL Central. … Chicago put OF Darin Erstad (left ankle sprain) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled OF Jerry Owens from Triple-A Charlotte. … RHP Bobby Jenks has converted 13 consecutive save opportunities, tying him with Tampa Bay’s Al Reyes for the longest active streak in the American League.
TORONTO: The Blue Jays beat the White Sox 2-0 Thursday with a pair of solo home runs, one each from Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time since record keeping began in 1900 that a team has won without putting a runner on base. … After starting May 0-9, the Blue Jays went 12-7 over the rest of the month. “The guys hung tough,” manager John Gibbons said. … A second MRI on LHP Gustavo Chacin (sore shoulder) this week showed no structural damage, but Chacin is still in pain and is not throwing. “He’s on the slow track,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. … INF Ryan Roberts, who was designated for assignment Wednesday, cleared waivers Friday and was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.
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Royals-Devil Rays
KANSAS CITY: Manager Buddy Bell rested OF David DeJesus, who is mired in an 0-for-10 slide. … The Royals took an hour of extra batting practice. Kansas City scored just 13 runs in its previous seven games. … Three players in Friday’s starting lineup – LF Esteban German, DH Mike Sweeney and RF Emil Brown – entered hitless in their last 10 or more at-bats. … RHP Octavio Dotel, who rejoined the Royals on May 23 after being sidelined by a strained left oblique, said he is feeling great.
TAMPA BAY: Struggling LHP Casey Fossum, who was 3-5 with a 7.89 ERA in 10 starts, was dropped from the rotation. “In the conversion with him today, he was great,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He was very receptive to it.” … Vanderbilt LHP David Price remains one of three players the Devil Rays are looking at as the potential first overall pick in Thursday’s amateur draft. The other two are Georgia Tech C Matt Wieters and California high school 3B Josh Vitters. “I wish we had the first three picks,” Director of Scouting R.J. Harrison said. “I like all these guys.”
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Orioles-Angels
BALTIMORE: Orioles RHP Chad Bradford entered Friday night’s game at Anaheim having faced 287 consecutive batters in relief without allowing a home run, the second-longest current streak in the majors and one fewer than RHP Brad Penny of the Dodgers. The last homer against Bradford came May 14, 2006, when Bill Hall used a pink bat on Mother’s Day – with his mom watching from the stands – to hit a 10th-inning walk-off homer that beat the New York Mets 6-5 at Milwaukee.
LOS ANGELES: The Angels are the only AL team that has yet to play on artificial turf this season. They won’t have to until July 17, when they begin a six-game road trip that takes them through Tampa Bay and Minnesota. … The Angels entered Friday outscoring opponents 60-23 in the first inning. In each of their previous four games, they allowed a first-inning run and then came back to score in the bottom half. … Angels starting pitchers led the majors with 30 victories heading into John Lackey’s outing Friday night.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves-Cubs
ATLANTA: RHP John Smoltz’s shoulder is improving, but the 40-year-old isn’t sure if he will be able to make his scheduled start Sunday. Smoltz threw a side session before Friday’s game. He said he was able to throw all his pitches, but they were lacking some sharpness. “It was OK,” Smoltz said. “But come tomorrow, and even closer to Sunday, if I don’t have the sharpness then I’m not going to pitch. I’ll probably need a couple extra days.” If Smoltz isn’t ready, manager Bobby Cox said RHP Buddy Carlyle would start Sunday, with Smoltz going Tuesday against Florida. … RHP Kyle Davies was 1-for-15 with a homer before his career-high three hits Friday. “He’s a good hitter,” Cox said. “He’s always been in the back of my mind, when we run out of players, to be the first pitcher to swing the bat.” Davies was the first Atlanta pitcher to get three hits since Terry Mulholland went 3-for-3 on May 12, 2000, against Philadelphia.
u have times where you go through slumps. As difficult as it can be at times, you try to put things behind you and move forward.” … Jacque Jones had gone 74 at-bats before hitting his second homer of the season – a solo shot in the ninth. … Derrek Lee, who was 3-for-3, led off the fourth with his second homer in three games – his fifth this season. He is 8-for-22 (.364) over his last five games.
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Dodgers-Pirates
LOS ANGELES: INF Andy LaRoche and big brother Adam LaRoche, the Pirates’ first baseman, were in opposing dugouts for the first time in the majors on Friday. The teams met in Los Angeles in April, but Andy had not yet joined the Dodgers. The brothers are four years apart, but Andy said that didn’t prevent them from being competitive with each other and their father. “It didn’t matter, board games, anything – if I lost, I’d be so mad, I’d get worked up, I’d be in tears some time, and that made them even happier,” Andy said, “but it was all in good fun.” … RHP Jason Schmidt (shoulder bursitis), who last pitched for the Dodgers on April 14, expects to throw a sideline session Saturday. He pitched six shutout innings in a Class A rehabilitation start Wednesday.
PITTSBURGH: LHP Sean Burnett, a former first-round draft choice, went on Triple-A Indianapolis’ DL Friday because of arm fatigue. He is 4-4 with a 4.37 ERA in 11 starts. Burnett was upset when he didn’t make the rotation out of spring training, but has been up and down in the minors. He is not being shut down because of a specific injury, but because his arm hasn’t felt right lately. He had reconstructive elbow surgery nearly three years ago. … RHP Matt Capps replaced RHP Salomon Torres as the Pirates’ closer Friday, a night after Torres couldn’t hold a two-run lead in the ninth inning against San Diego. The Pirates went on to lose 4-2 in 11 innings. Capps said, “I’m excited and anxious. I’ve been waiting for it, but I hate to get it the way I did.”
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Padres-Nationals
SAN DIEGO: The Padres activated RHP Clay Hensley from the 15-day DL before the game and optioned him to Triple-A Portland. “He needs to go down there and make some more consistent pitches,” manager Bud Black said. The Padres optioned IF Oscar Robles to Portland to clear a spot for OF Hiram Bocachica, who was claimed off waivers from Oakland on Thursday. … 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff was out of Friday’s starting lineup after fouling a ball off his instep Thursday, and OF Jose Cruz Jr. remained sidelined with back spasms caused by a sneeze.
batting practice before Friday’s game. “It is a significant step because he hit the ball without any pain,” said manager Manny Acta, who threw to Johnson.
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Giants-Phillies
SAN FRANCISCO: The Giants’ record is weighing more on Barry Bonds than his pursuit of Hank Aaron’s home run record. “That we’re not in first place, that’s difficult to deal with as a player,” he said. “As a baseball player, you want to be out in first place. And that’s tough to deal with when you feel you should be playing a lot better.” … Reliever Randy Messenger joined the team in Philadelphia a day after he was acquired from Florida for closer Armando Benitez. … Only Aaron and Ernie Banks have more homers (67) against the Phillies than Bonds (64).
PHILADELPHIA: Manager Charlie Manuel was ejected in the second inning Friday night by first-base umpire Tim McClelland for arguing a pitch by Adam Eaton that pitcher Matt Morris appeared to bunt through. … Greg Dobbs made his fifth start at third base. Manuel has been platooning Dobbs and the switch-hitting Abraham Nunez instead of playing Wes Helms. … Only four of Eaton’s 11 starts have been quality starts – three earned runs or less in six innings or more.
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Diamondbacks-Mets
ARIZONA: One week before the First Year Player Draft, Arizona signed RHP Max Scherzer to a four-year major league contract. Scherzer was the Diamondbacks’ first pick in the 2006 draft. In a corresponding move, the club designated pitcher Evan MacLane for assignment… Reliever Jose Valverde came into Friday’s game with 19 saves, tied for the major league lead.
NEW YORK: 2B Jose Velentin rehabbing a partial ligament tear in his right knee, went 0-for-4 with a walk in extended spring training at Class-A Port St. Lucie. he played five innings in the field without any chances. … Former OF Darryl Strawberry and minor league coordinator of instruction Kevin Morgan will represent the Mets at next Thursday’s First Year Player Draft. … LHP Tom Glavine will be honored as a Father of the Year by the National Father’s Day Committee. … Mets finished May with 19 wins, second most for the month in franchise history. The team won 21 games in May 1972 and 19 in May 1988
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Marlins-Brewers
ected to remain the team’s closer, with Benitez and Henry Owens in setup roles.
MILWAUKEE: 2B Rickie Weeks traveled to Phoenix Friday for an appointment with Dr. Don Sheridan, the physician who performed his wrist surgery a year ago. The team said they wanted Sheridan to examine Weeks, who is on the DL with right wrist tendinitis. After the exam, Weeks flew back to Milwaukee. “A long day of flying,” manager Ned Yost said. … RHP Jose Capellan joined the team Friday and will fill the long reliever role held by Elmer Dessens, who was placed on the DL last month. Capellan was with the Brewers for the entire 2006 season, but was sent to Triple-A Nashville at the end of spring training. Upset about the demotion, he left the team without permission, asked for a trade and was docked two days’ pay. … … The Brewers went 14-15 in May, the best record of any NL Central team.
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Cardinals-Astros
ce this season. The first meeting was one of his best, when he allowed one hit in seven shutout innings. The second one was one of his worst this season as he allowed six hits and seven runs in 4 1-3 innings, his shortest outing of 2007.
HOUSTON: Manager Phil Garner was encouraged by Lance Berkman’s three-run homer Thursday night, but knows he’s still not where he wants to be. Berkman has failed to get into a rhythm at the plate this season. “To see him swing the bat and drive the ball through the left side of the infield, through the middle of the infield, would really be an indication that he’s back on track,” Garner said. Garner said Berkman isn’t comfortable right now, but that he has no doubt he’ll figure it out. “When you know he’s done it as well as he has in the past, he will find it,” Garner said. … Garner moved hot-hitting rookie Hunter Pence from batting near the bottom of the lineup to second on Friday. He said he was reluctant to make that move earlier for two reasons. “I felt like each night the guys at the top of the lineup were going to come out and do something,” he said. “But the other side of the fence is I think Hunter did quite well sitting at the bottom of the lineup, so I had no interest in moving him. We needed somebody backing up a couple of our big hitters at the bottom of the lineup and he’s been doing a nice job of that, driving in runs.”
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Reds-Rockies
CINCINNATI: Although eligible to come off the DL on Sunday, OF Josh Hamilton (stomach infection) is not expected to join the Reds in Denver. “He’ll be eligible, but most likely won’t be back until Tuesday,” manager Jerry Narron said. “I like what he’s done in his rehab assignment, three home runs, all against lefties.” … News of OF Ryan Freel’s recovery from neck and head contusions has been sketchy. “I haven’t spoken with him,” Narron said. “His wife said he was not taking phone calls.” … 3B Edwin Encarnacion began the season hitting .218, but has enjoyed better results since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on May 22. “He was swinging the bat well to start the year,” Narron said. “He hit the ball hard, but right at somebody.”
COLORADO: OF Willy Taveras used a glue-like substance to hold his fingernail in place so he could play Friday night. Taveras was hit on his right index finger Monday on a bunt attempt. “It’s better than it was,” he said. … Manager Clint Hurdle will give 3B Garrett Atkins a few days off to see if it breaks him out of his slump. He’s hitting .159 in his last 22 games. “I’ll give him a couple of days to refresh or rekindle and then we’ll get back at it,” Hurdle said. … 2B Kaz Matsui was replaced in the starting lineup Friday night by INF Jamey Carroll. Matsui, who’s battled back spasms this season, started the last four games. … Colorado finished May with a winning record (15-13) for the first time since 2002.