Notes from Thursday's games
September 6, 2007
CHICAGO: Bobby Jenks had struck out Detroit's Curtis Granderson seven times in nine tries before hitting him with a pitch during the Tigers' ninth-inning rally. Placido Polanco followed with a game-winning single. ``Ozzie (Guillen) came out and asked me if I wanted to walk (Granderson), but I said no,'' Jenks said. ``I knew my numbers against him. I threw the right pitch, and I don't know if it hit his foot or what. It was just one of those things.'' ... Jenks lost his streak of 17 scoreless innings, extending over 18 appearances, when the Tigers scored their two ninth-inning runs. ... The White Sox have lost 13 of their last 15 road games, and their 59-81 record is their worst since 1989.
DETROIT: After missing on two attempts, rookie Mike Rabelo dropped down a key sacrifice bunt with two strikes in Detroit's ninth-inning rally against the White Sox. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. ``I just wanted to get the ball into fair territory,'' Rabelo said. ``If I hadn't, I was going to run right out of the stadium.'' ... The Tigers activated DH Gary Sheffield from the disabled list before the game. In his first game since Aug. 21, he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, but launched two foul balls into the third deck in left field. ``Those are both home runs if I can just keep them in the field,'' he said. ``My timing is still a little off.'' ... Detroit faces Seattle RHP Jeff Weaver on Saturday. Weaver started his career with the Tigers, then won the World Series-clinching game against them last year for St. Louis.
BOSTON: RHP Eric Gagne is now on a throwing program, according to manager Terry Francona. Gagne, who has not pitched since Aug. 26 due to right shoulder soreness, still has pain in his arm and is throwing on the side, but not off a mound. ... With knuckleballer Tim Wakefield pitching, C Doug Mirabelli started for just the 31st time this season, including 25 of Wakefield's 27 starts. Mirabelli had caught 42 straight Wakefield starts before going on the DL from Aug. 17 to Sept. 1. ... Wakefield had a run of 22 straight scoreless innings before giving up a run in the first against the Orioles. ... OF Jacoby Ellsbury was not in the starting lineup but had hit in all five games since being recalled from Pawtucket on Sept. 1.
BALTIMORE: LHP Erik Bedard has stopped participating in baseball activities, increasing the likelihood that the AL strikeout leader will soon be shut down for the season with a strained muscle near his right rib cage. Bedard has not pitched since Aug. 26. ... RHP Jaret Wright has left the team and is done for the season. Traded to Baltimore from the New York Yankees during the offseason, Wright went 0-3 with a 6.97 ERA before being placed on the DL on April 30 with right shoulder soreness. ... The Orioles wore throwback uniforms honoring the 1932 Baltimore Black Sox Negro League team.
CLEVELAND: OF David Dellucci, who underwent surgery to repair a tear in his left hamstring and hasn't played since June 19, was activated from the 60-day disabled list. The 11-year veteran, in the first season of a three-year contract, was hitting .234 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 54 games before the injury. ... INF Joe Inglett, who was playing for Triple-A Buffalo, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Dellucci.
LOS ANGELES: Manager Mike Scioscia hasn't decided where he will slot RHP Bartolo Colon in the rotation following his final rehab start with Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday. The 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner, who hasn't pitched since July 23 because of elbow irritation, gave up three runs and five hits over six innings with four strikeouts and no walks. He topped out at 94 mph. ``There are some scenarios to look at if you're going to keep six guys in your rotation, but certainly not at the expense of disrupting some guys who are throwing the ball very well right now,'' Scioscia said. ``Maybe some guys won't get as many starts as some other guys, but I'm probably not leaning toward that.''
PITTSBURGH: C Ronny Paulino, 12-for-22 with three homers and 10 RBIs in his last five games against the Cardinals, walked as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Paulino was 8-for-12 with a homer, two doubles, five RBIs and six runs in the first three games of the four-game series. ... The Pirates wrapped up an 18-game stretch that included 14 road contests, going 9-9. ... Bautista has eight RBIs in his last six games. ... RHP Bryan Bullington was the 10th starter used this season by the Pirates, who also used 10 in 2006. ... Josh Phelps is batting .472 (17-for-36) with three homers and 11 RBIs in 10 starts. ... The Cardinals' 22-hit attack was the most against the Pirates since Aug. 3, 2003, when the Rockies totaled 24.
ST. LOUIS: RHP Anthony Reyes, bumped to the bullpen after working only one inning in his last start on Saturday, worked the seventh and eighth and allowed a run on two hits. The rain kept him from going for a three-inning save, which would have been the first of his career. ... Pirates batters made contact on 28 of 31 swings against Mark Mulder in the left-hander's season debut on Wednesday. ... David Eckstein was 10-for-13 in the four-game series and 11-for-24 (.458) on the homestand. ... The Cardinals have used 44 players this season, including 23 pitchers. It's seven off the franchise record of 51 in 1997 but three more than last year's total. ... The Cardinals are 36-26 against the NL Central, including 9-6 against the Pirates. ... Manager Tony La Russa used his 131st lineup in 137 games. ... The Cardinals have not lost a four-game series all season.
LOS ANGELES: C Russell Martin gave the Dodgers a boost with two hits and a nice pickoff throw as he returned after missing a game with a sprained left knee. After an MRI on Wednesday, he tested it before Thursday's game. Martin even raced home all the way from first on a double Thursday. He'd initially hurt the knee trying to score from third on a short fly Tuesday night, showing his aggressiveness. ``There are not too many Russell Martins. We wish there were,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said. ``I wish I had 24 more just like him.'' ... Matt Kemp hit his 10th homer of the season, but first on the road. Since Aug. 14, he's batting .395 (30-for-76). ... Andre Ethier's pinch-hit homer was his second of his career and second this season against the Cubs. He also hit a game-tying pinch-hit shot on May 27 to tie a game in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. ... Juan Pierre stole his 56th base. That ties him for 10th on the Dodgers' single-season list with Steve Sax (1983). ..... James Loney was 3-for-4 and is 10-for-24 through the first seven games of the Dodgers' current 10-game road trip, which now moves on to San Francisco.
CHICAGO: Manager Lou Piniella says rookie Geovany Soto could be the team's top catcher next spring. Soto had two hits and threw out a runner Wednesday night and is coming off a minor league season in which he was named Player of the Year in the Pacific Coast League with a .353 average, 26 homers and 109 RBIs in 110 games. ``He's a good looking player. We're going to give him some playing time here in September. How much, we'll see. But he didn't come here just to sit,'' Piniella said. The 24-year-old Soto is ready. ``I've been in this organization for seven years and I'm progressing every year,'' he said. ``I think I'm ready to play up here in the big leagues and hopefully they give me a chance.'' Soto was initially a third baseman but was converted early in his minor league career. ... Alfonso Soriano's seven leadoff homers are one shy of Rick Monday's club record set in 1976. His 39 career leadoff homers rank fourth in major league history ... Derrek Lee celebrated his 32nd birthday with two hits but didn't homer. He had homered on his birthday the last four years. ... The Cubs now go on a tough 10-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Houston and St. Louis, broken up Monday by a makeup game at Wrigley Field against the Cardinals.
Dellucci activated from 60-day disabled list.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Cleveland Indians outfielder David Dellucci was activated from the 60-day disabled list Thursday.
Dellucci underwent surgery to repair a tear in his left hamstring and hadn't played since June 19. The 11-year veteran, in the first season of a three-year contract, was hitting .234 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 54 games before the injury.
To make room for Dellucci on the 40-man roster, the Indians designated infielder Joe Inglett for assignment. Inglett was playing for Triple-A Buffalo.
Cleveland opened a four-game series Thursday night against the Los Angeles Angels, a matchup of AL division leaders
Baseball Today - September 7
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SCOREBOARD Friday, Sept. 7
N.Y. Yankees at Kansas City (8:10 p.m. EDT). Ian Kennedy makes his second career start for the Yankees.
STARS Thursday
-Rick Ankiel, Cardinals, had a career-high seven RBIs, leading St. Louis to a 16-4 victory over Pittsburgh in a game shortened to eight innings because of rain.
-Andre Ethier, Dodgers, hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the ninth inning of a 7-4 victory over the Cubs.
-Jason Varitek, Red Sox, singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning of a 7-6 victory over Baltimore.
LUCKY SEVEN
Rick Ankiel homered twice and had a career-high seven RBIs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 16-4 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday in a game shortened to eight innings because of rain. Brought up Aug. 9 in his first major league appearance since he pitched for the Cardinals in 2004, Ankiel is batting .358 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 23 games. He also homered twice against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 11.
IN THE CLUTCH
Sean Casey and Placido Polanco hit run-scoring singles off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning, leading Detroit to a 3-2 victory over Chicago on Thursday night. The Tigers, who closed within three games of the wild card-leading New York Yankees, trailed 2-1 entering the ninth. ... Pinch-hitter Jason Varitek singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning to lead Boston to a 7-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. ... Pinch-hitter Andre Ethier hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off Ryan Dempster in the ninth inning to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-4 victory over the Cubs. Chicago dropped into a first-place tie with idle Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Dodgers closed within 3 1/2 games of NL West-leading Arizona.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Alfonso Soriano hit two home runs and had four RBIs for the Cubs in a 7-4 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday.
SNAPPED
Baltimore ended Tim Wakefield's string of 22 straight scoreless innings with a run in the first inning of a 7-6 loss to Boston on Thursday night.
DREADFUL
Baltimore lost 7-6 at home to Boston on Thursday and with their 10th straight defeat at home, they matched an Orioles record set in 1954 - the club's first season in Baltimore - according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
HEAVENLY
Garret Anderson extended his streak to a club-record 11 games with at least one RBI, driving in three runs and leading the Los Angeles Angels past the Cleveland Indians 10-3 on Thursday night. Anderson had a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and a two-run homer in the eighth, breaking the previous franchise mark of 10 consecutive games with an RBI that was shared by Fred Lynn (1984) and Wally Joyner (1986).
SPEAKING
''Marvel is a good word. It's kind of amazing, isn't it? Clutch, too.'' - Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on Rick Ankiel. Ankiel had a career-high seven RBIs, leading the St. Louis over the Pittsburgh Pirates 16-4 Thursday in a game shortened to eight innings because of rain.
Vlad scratched; undergoes MRI
September 6th, 2007
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Los Angeles Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero was scratched from the lineup prior to Thursday's game against the visiting Cleveland Indians.
Guerrero, who leads the first-place Angels with 22 home runs, 110 RBI and a .326 batting average, is suffering from an inflamed right triceps. He left Angel Stadium several hours before the start of the game and went for an MRI exam on the arm.
The Angels currently hold a comfortable 7 1/2 game lead in the AL West over Seattle. Thursday's contest versus Cleveland, which sits atop the AL Central, is the opener of a four-game set.
Report: Glaus received steroids in 2003-04
FOXSports.com
Add Troy Glaus name to the list being tied to an internet pharmacy that allegedly delivered performance-enhancing drugs.
SI.com is reporting that the Blue Jays third baseman, a former World Series MVP, received multiple shipments of steroids from Signature Pharmacy between 2003 and 2004.
The prescriptions were reportedly written in Glaus' name through New Hope Health Center, an anti-aging clinic in California that advertises anabolic steroids and HGH on its Web site.
Ramon Scruggs, the physician who prescribed it, was placed on probation by the Medical Board of California in March and is no longer allowed to prescribe drugs over the internet.
Glaus played with the Angels at the time of the alleged shipments. He spent most of 2003 recovering from injuries and underwent shoulder surgery in 2004.
Glaus, a four-time All-Star, hit 47 home runs in 2000 and won the MVP in the 2002 World Series
D-Backs sign Wickman
September 7th, 2007
Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - The Arizona Diamondbacks announced Friday that they have signed right-handed pitcher Bob Wickman, designating right- hander Enrique Gonzalez for assignment in the process.
Wickman was released by the Atlanta Braves last month after recording a 3-3 record with a 3.92 ERA in 49 games (43 2/3 innings pitched). The 35-year old reliever was 20-for-26 in save opportunities.
In 15 Major League seasons, Wickman has amassed a 63-60 record with a 3.58 ERA in 827 career games with the Yankees, Brewers, Indians and Braves.
Gonzalez has pitched in just one game for the Diamondbacks this season, but has gone 8-10 with a 5.15 ERA in 27 games with Triple-A Tucson.
Orioles pick up Santos from Reds
September 7th, 2007
Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - The Baltimore Orioles purchased right-handed relief pitcher Victor Santos from the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.
Santos went 1-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 32 appearances for the Reds this season, making the club despite being a non-roster invitee to spring training. He is expected to report to the Orioles on Saturday.
In a corresponding roster move, the O's designated outfielder Jon Knott for assignment. Knott batted .250 with 13 homers and 34 RBI in 87 games for Triple-A Norfolk, and hit one home run in seven games with Baltimore.