Last Updated on May 26, 2007 9:46 pm by admin
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Angels-Yankees
LOS ANGELES: The Angels improved to 57-52 against New York in the regular season since the start of 1996. They’re the only AL team to hold an edge over the Yankees in the Joe Torre era, and have also beaten them twice in the first round of the playoffs. … Chone Figgins went 0-for-4, dropping him to .131. He’s also made five errors in 23 games since coming off the disabled list.
NEW YORK: RHP Phil Hughes (hamstring) has a sprained left ankle, MRI test results showed. He hurt himself during an agility drill in Tampa, Fla., on Friday. “We’ll evaluate it in the next couple of days,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. … RHP Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth as the Yankees tried to keep their closer sharp. He has only three saves this season, including two in a doubleheader sweep at Texas on May 3 – that was his last save.
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Indians-Tigers
CLEVELAND: LF David Dellucci, whose tiebreaking homer in the eighth lifted the Indians to a 6-3 win at Detroit, said a Roman Catholic nun has helped him hit his way out of slump. Sister Dulce, a missionary in Baton Rouge, La., gave Dellucci three tips in a phone conversation Friday. “Loosen up,” Dellucci recalled her saying. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Bring God with you.” … With starters Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook spending time on the DL this season, manager Eric Wedge said the contributions of RHP Fausto Carmona (5-1, 2.77) have been big. “Arguably, he’s been as important to us as anybody on our roster, “ said Wedge. … In his last 10 games, CF Grady Sizemore is hitting .383 with three homers, a triple, nine RBIs and has scored 13 runs.
Sunday night.
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Devil Rays-White Sox
TAMPA BAY: LHP Scott Kazmir, who is scheduled to start against the White Sox on Sunday, has only two wins in his last 16 starts despite a 3.53 ERA. Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon expects Kazmir’s luck to turn. “I know he is going to get on a roll and I know he is going to pitch real well. He is going to find his rhythm and he is going to find his tempo,” Maddon said. Tampa Bay’s opening day pitcher this season, Kazmir is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA. … 3B Akinori Iwamura is expected to come off the disabled list on Monday. Iwamura is on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain.
CHICAGO: 1B Paul Konerko is back with the team after missing Friday’s game for personal reasons. … The White Sox leave town on Sunday after playing 14 straight games in Chicago. They played a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs on May 18-20. … The White Sox rank last in the American League with a .234 batting average, but they have had 10 hits or more in five of their last six games. … White Sox closer Bobby Jenks is tied with Tampa Bay closer Al Reyes for the longest active save streak in the American League with 13 in a row. … When the White Sox have more hits than their opponents they are 18-2.
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Blue Jays-Twins
TORONTO: Ace Roy Halladay will return sooner than originally expected to the rotation, Thursday against the White Sox. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons wasn’t yet willing to announce whose spot Halladay will take. … C Gregg Zaun, out with a broken right thumb that was surgically repaired April 26, has resumed taking batting practice. Zaun will begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week. He will be a designated hitter to start and eventually will get behind the plate. Gibbons said Zaun could be back for Toronto’s next road trip, which begins June 8 in Los Angeles. … With rookie Adam Lind struggling, Matt Stairs started again in LF. He’s been primarily a DH, 1B and RF in his career, but Gibbons doesn’t mind putting Stairs somewhere new. “Just a good baseball player,” Gibbons said.
repair damage in his left knee two weeks ago that made it difficult to walk for several days, Gardenhire has resumed throwing batting practice.
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Mariners-Royals
SEATTLE: Manager Mike Hargrove said he’d settled on a starter for next Tuesday’s game against the Angels, but would not say who, or even if he’s a lefty or a righty. “He might be ambidextrous,” he said. A replacement is needed for LHP Horacio Ramirez, on the DL with left shoulder tendinitis. … Starter Felix Hernandez, who was removed in the sixth inning Friday night with stiffness in the lower back, was fine on Saturday. In the middle of a 23-game stretch, look for Hargrove is rest his regulars as much as possible. After they got a big lead over KC on Friday, both Jose Vidro and Ichiro Suzuki were lifted. “If I’d had more people on the bench where I’d have given more people time off, I would have. But you can’t totally empty your bench in the sixth inning,” Hargrove said.
urday night’s game against Seattle.
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Athletics-Orioles
OAKLAND: 3B Eric Chavez returned after a three-day absence because of tendinitis in his triceps. He was originally not in the starting lineup, but deemed himself ready to play and was a late addition in place of Marco Scutaro. Chavez struck out in his first at-bat and had one hit in his last 14 at-bats. … The A’s went up against LHP Brian Burres on Saturday seeking to improve their record against lefties to 12-7. Their 11 wins against southpaws were the most in the AL.
BALTIMORE: Miguel Tejada hit his second homer in three games Saturday, a two-run shot against Joe Kennedy. He hit two homers in his first 46 games. … Chris Gomez got his eighth start of the season, the seventh at first base. He walked his first times to the plate, keeping his .294 batting average intact. … Ten of the Orioles’ previous 11 games had been decided by two runs or fewer, and the exception was a three-run win over Toronto. Baltimore was 3-8 in that span. … Baltimore came into the weekend with an AL-best .988 fielding percentage and were tied with Minnesota for fewest errors (21).
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Red Sox-Rangers
BOSTON: RHP Mike Timlin pitched one inning in a rehab appearance Friday night for Triple-A Pawtucket. He walked one batter in a 16-pitch outing. The reliever has been out since May 3 with tendinitis in his right shoulder and is scheduled to make another appearance for the PawSox on Sunday. … SS Julio Lugo stole his 14th base Friday night and has not been caught stealing this season. He is the first Boston player to be successful on his first 14 steal attempts since Leon Culbertson in 1943.
TEXAS: RHP Brandon McCarthy is still scheduled to make his next start Wednesday in Oakland despite leaving Friday night’s start against Boston after two innings due to a recurring blister on his right middle finger. McCarthy’s availability will be determined in a bullpen session on Monday in Oakland. McCarthy has been putting ointment on the finger to toughen the skin, but the blister reopened on the humid night that included a rain delay of almost two hours. McCarthy issued four walks and gave up four runs in the abbreviated stint, blaming the blister for his control problems. …The Rangers will call up RHP Mike Wood from Triple-A Oklahoma to start Tuesday night against the A’s. Wood is 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA in six starts for Oklahoma and 0-1 with a 7.02 ERA in three starts for Texas. …RHP Kevin Millwood will be on a 70-pitch limit in his rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Sunday. Millwood is on the DL for the second time this season because of a left hamstring strain.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Phillies-Braves
PHILADELPHIA: LHP Michael Zagurski, called up from Double-A Reading on Friday, appeared in his second straight game Saturday, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings to protect a two-run lead. He pitched a scoreless inning in his debut Friday night. “Being a left-hander has really helped him,” said manager Charlie Manuel of the early appearances by the rookie. “The last two games he’s responded really well for a guy who two weeks ago was in A-ball.” Zagurski pitched at Class A Clearwater before moving up to Reading. … RHP Antonio Alfonseca earned his first save since Sept. 13, 2002, for the Cubs at Cincinnati.
ATLANTA: Manager Bobby Cox was ejected for the second straight game for the first time since May 20-21, 2003, at Cincinnati. He has 130 career ejections, one behind John McGraw’s record. John Smoltz also was ejected by first base umpire Ron Kulpa after he joined Cox’s complaints about Kulpa calling a ball hit by Willie Harris foul that landed near the right-field line. … With two hits Saturday, SS Edgar Renteria is hitting .332 with 27 RBIs. He has hits in 27 of his past 31 games. … 3B Chipper Jones missed his third straight game after having a cortisone shot in his sore right thumb on Wednesday night. Cox said he hopes Jones can play on Sunday.
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Cubs-Dodgers
CHICAGO: After the game, RHP Carlos Zambrano turned the tables on reporters, announcing that he was going to ask the questions. “How many wins do I have? Five. How many does the (NL) leader have? Seven. I read something the other day that I may be hurt. I don’t know why you guys put that in the paper. I’m not hurt. I don’t feel pain. I feel good,” he said before rattling on. “I’m throwing 90-92, and you can pitch in the big leagues with that if you locate your pitches. My agent just sent me a text message saying that last year by this time I had three wins. So I feel good. Don’t worry about my ERA. My ERA will come down sooner or later. I’ve never had a good start, but this year is different.” … 2B Mark DeRosa went 1-for-3 against Dodgers LHP Mark Hendrickson and is hitting .600 with two homers against him. … The Cubs improved to 2-3 on their six-game West Coast trip, which ends Sunday. … C Michael Barrett got the day off and 3B Aramis Ramirez was set to take Sunday off. … The Cubs don’t face the Dodgers again until Sept. 3 in Chicago.
drove in four runs in Friday night’s 9-8 victory. … RHP Jason Schmidt made a brief pre-game appearance in the clubhouse, saying he still had the flu and was feeling too weak to throw the simulated game that he missed Friday. “He looked kind of weak and we don’t know when he’ll be able to work,” Little said. Schmidt has been on the DL since April 15 because of right shoulder inflammation.
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Mets-Marlins
NEW YORK: With OF Shawn Green sidelined with a broken right foot he got in the ninth inning Friday, the Mets started Carlos Gomez in right field on Saturday. Green will be evaluated in New York on Monday. … RHP Orlando Hernandez, who started Friday for the first time since April 24 because of shoulder bursitis, reported no problems after allowing two hits in six shutout innings. “It’s sore, but nothing out of the normal,” said Hernandez, who’s expected to make his next start Thursday against San Francisco. … RHP Jorge Sosa, who starts on Sunday, has a 2.08 ERA in six previous appearances at Florida.
aid he hopes to be in the Marlins’ rotation in the next couple weeks. … 2B Dan Uggla has started and batted second in all 49 Marlins games this season. … 3B Miguel Cabrera’s home run off Mets closer Billy Wagner on Friday was his first in 61 at-bats. He went a career-long 66 at-bats without a homer last July.
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Pirates-Reds
PITTSBURGH: C Ryan Doumit was tested for a concussion on Saturday, a day after he was hit in the head by Ryan Freel’s bat at the end of a swing. Doumit did well on the test, but wasn’t cleared to play. “I feel good, though,” he said. “All is clear. All is well.” Manager Jim Tracy isn’t sure how long he will be out. … LHP Tom Gorzelanny played catch in the outfield before the game and reported no problems. “He gripped it fine,” Tracy said. Gorzelanny bruised his left thumb on a comebacker Thursday night, but he’s expected to make his scheduled start on Tuesday against San Diego. … The Pirates sent nine batters to the plate for four runs off Bronson Arroyo, their biggest first inning since they also scored four at Wrigley Field on Sept. 4 last year. The big first inning came after they sent 12 batters to the plate for eight runs in the 10th inning on Friday night – their biggest inning in more than three years – for a 10-4 win.
CINCINNATI: RHP Bronson Arroyo is having trouble getting through the first inning. Last Monday, he threw 49 pitches to 10 batters and gave up four runs against the Nationals. On Saturday, he threw 34 pitches, faced nine batters and gave up four runs to the Pirates. … OF Josh Hamilton expects to head to Triple-A Louisville to start playing on Monday. Hamilton went on the 15-day DL with an inflamed digestive tract. He will play in the minors until he’s eligible to return on June 3. His stomach is fine, but his conditioning has slipped. “I did some wind sprints and felt whipped after I did them,” Hamilton said. … Reliever Bill Bray has had another setback. He broke the tip of the index finger on his pitching hand during spring training. He started a rehabilitation assignment with the Reds’ farm club in Sarasota, Fla., on Sunday, but had to quit pitching because of a sore shoulder. The Reds said on Saturday that he has a mild case of shoulder tendinitis.
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Nationals-Cardinals
t he’s struggling as the setup we’re not going to go through the same thing. He’s going to bounce back.” … LHP Micah Bowie, who won his first game as a starter since 1999 on Friday, allowed two runs in five innings. His previous outing was his first in the rotation and he said he ran out of gas, lasting 3 1-3 innings and 69 pitches and getting a no-decision in a 4-3 victory. “I think I doubled anything I’d done in the last I don’t know how many years,” Bowie said. “It’s nice once you start stretching out a little bit, you have a little more endurance.” … RHP Shawn Hill, on the DL with a shoulder injury since May 12, threw 30 pitches in the bullpen and could begin a rehab assignment if there are no setbacks.
er Friday night was his first in 12 games at Busch Stadium. He was 17-for-37 during a nine-game hitting streak that raised his average to a season-best .287. … Jim Edmonds had homered in consecutive games and had an RBI in the past four games after getting one homer in the first 36 games.
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Rockies-Giants
COLORADO: C Yorvit Torrealba likely will have Sunday’s game off, with Chris Iannetta slated to get the start. … Manager Clint Hurdle is going to keep using 3B Garrett Atkins, who entered the game in a 1-for-19 slump and 7-for-57 (.123) over his past 17 games – dropping his average from .270 to .221. Jeff Baker is getting his chances, too, but Hurdle believes in Atkins. “Bake is playing an important role and learning a role,” Hurdle said. “To pull the plug on Garrett, I’m not a fan right now. Based on two years, all we’ve talked about was how he could hit. Fifty games into the season, all people want to talk about is how he can’t hit. I’m not one of them.” In addition, Hurdle plans to stick with a regular lineup for a while now that 2B Kazuo Matsui is healthy and back to playing regularly, saying he wanted to “give it some legs.” … Hurdle is pleased with the work being done by OF Brad Hawpe on his swing with hitting coach Alan Cockrell. “He has a high-risk, high-reward swing,” Hurdle said. “They’re spending a lot of time trying to simplify his swing.”
SAN FRANCISCO: Manager Bruce Bochy wasn’t sure whether slugger Barry Bonds would play Sunday’s series finale. … 1B Ryan Klesko’s offensive production is keeping him in the lineup. “He’s swinging well. It’s hard to get his bat out of there,” Bochy said. That meant Rich Aurilia had the night off. … CF Dave Roberts, recovering from elbow surgery May 11 to remove bone chips and spurs, could begin some light throwing as soon as Sunday or perhaps Tuesday following the team’s day off Monday. “He’s doing well. He’s hitting,” athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said. … INF Kevin Frandsen graduated earlier in the day from San Jose State with a degree in finance, one of about 1,400 undergraduate business majors. “It’s nice knowing it’s done,” said Frandsen, who finished his last two courses online during the offseason. “I don’t have to worry about setting up graduation plans. I will have that diploma soon.”
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Astros-Diamondbacks
night’s 13-3 loss. He was not introduced as a pinch hitter in the at-bat and never was added to the lineup on the Chase Field scoreboard. … The Astros have Memorial Day off, then play at home against Cincinnati on Tuesday. RHP Jason Jennings returns from the DL to make the start for Houston.
ARIZONA: Manager Bob Melvin said LHP Randy Johnson is a go for his next scheduled start Wednesday in Philadelphia. Johnson missed his scheduled start Friday night because of forearm tendinitis. The Big Unit played catch in the bullpen before Saturday night’s game. … The Diamondbacks placed INF Jason Smith on the 15-day DL because of a burst appendix. He had been designated for assignment but his appendix attack occurred before official word reached the MLB office. That meant he had to go on the DL, retroactive to May 19. … After scoring one run in two games against Colorado, the Diamondbacks outscored Houston 22-4 in the first two of the four-game series against the Astros. … OF Jeff Davanon has been shut down after a setback in his recovery from shoulder and ankle surgery. … 3B Chad Tracy, sidelined with left rib cage soreness, hit off a tee before Saturday night’s game.
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Brewers-Padres
MILWAUKEE: Despite being in a 4-10 slump, the Brewers have maintained most of their lead in the NL Central. Prior to their skid, the Brewers had a seven-game lead. … Tony Gwynn Jr. started Saturday night in right field against his father’s old team, the Padres.
SAN DIEGO: RF Brian Giles was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise in his right knee. The move was retroactive to last Sunday. He was replaced on the roster by INF-OF Paul McAnulty, who was recalled from Triple-A Portland. … Manager Bud Black sat SS Khalil Greene on Saturday night, figuring a day off might help him with his struggles at the plate. Greene is hitting just .217. Geoff Blum started in his place.