AMERICAN LEAGUE
Orioles-Red Sox
BALTIMORE: A day after scoring a season-high 11 runs, the Orioles scored two in the first against Boston. … The Orioles have won just three of their previous 25 games against Boston. “I’d like to see us come out of here with at least one win,” manager Sam Perlozzo said. “Obviously, I want to win all three of them. … We can’t just say we’ll beat up on everybody else.” … OF Jay Payton got a day off. Jay Gibbons played left, with Corey Patterson in center and Nick Markakis in right.
BOSTON: LHP Jon Lester played long-toss from 120 feet before the game, then threw from flat ground and offspeed pitches. He’ll play catch tomorrow then will throw a bullpen session on Sunday, manager Terry Francona said. … OF Manny Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a first-inning single. … OF J.D. Drew got the day off to get Wily Mo Pena in the lineup. … RHP Devern Hansack was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket and LHP Javier Lopez was called up to replace him.
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Devil Rays-Blue Jays
TAMPA BAY: IF Josh Wilson, who was claimed off waivers Thursday from Washington, joined the Devil Rays in Toronto before Friday’s game. Manager Joe Maddon said he’ll give Wilson a start at shortstop over the weekend. … Maddon said RHP Shawn Camp has recovered from hamstring tightness and is available to pitch. Camp left Thursday’s game after facing just one batter. … The Rays have come from behind in 12 of their 14 wins this season and lead the major leagues in comeback wins. Boston is second with 11.
TORONTO: RHP Roy Halladay was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks. … 3B Troy Glaus had an apparent leg injury as he ran out a fly ball in the first inning of Friday’s game against Tampa Bay. Jason Smith took over at third. Glaus missed 14 games earlier this season with a sore left heel. … Manager John Gibbons tinkered with his lineup as the Blue Jays faced Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir. OF Vernon Wells moved up into the second spot and Glaus started in the third spot. 2B Aaron Hill batted fifth and rookie OF Adam Lind dropped to eighth.
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Angels-Rangers
Seattle (1998-2004). Scioscia said 3B Maicer Izturis (hamstring) would return from the DL Tuesday. 2B Howie Kendrick (broken left middle finger) is in Salt Lake City preparing to begin an injury-rehab assignment. CF Gary Matthews was fourth in the batting order for the first time with the Angels, in an attempt to keep pitchers from walking No. 3 batter Vladimir Guerrero. Scioscia said, “Gary batting left-handed has been terrific.
TEXAS: Before the game, the team conducted its first kangaroo court of the season, and judge Sammy Sosa issued the first, and largest, fine: $200 to himself for being late. “I was guilty, right out of the chute,” Sosa said with a laugh. Manager Ron Washington said the fines handed out by Sosa and fellow judge Kevin Millwood were harsher than Washington remembered when he was a coach for the Oakland A’s. …Millwood remains on schedule to return to the rotation from the 15-day DL on Monday against the Angels. Millwood, who has missed two starts with a strained left hamstring, threw off the mound on Friday and didn’t report any problems. …SS Michael Young was back in the lineup after missing one game with a sore hamstring, his first missed game of the season.
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Tigers-Twins
DETROIT: Count manager Jim Leyland among the Twins’ biggest fans. Leyland said before the game after reading local newspaper coverage of the Twins that he deemed too negative. He said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is “in my opinion, the best manager in the league,” and called the Twins “a class organization from top to bottom.” … Curtis Granderson started in CF and batted ninth, taking Omar Infante’s place with Twins left-hander Johan Santana on the mound. “Infante’s about 0-for-180 against the guy with 11 strikeouts, so you might as well play the defensive guy,” Leyland said. Actually, Infante is 0-for-16.
MINNESOTA: Manager Ron Gardenhire once again moved 3B Nick Punto to eighth in the lineup and batted DH Jeff Cirillo second against Tigers left-hander Mike Maroth. “Cirillo’s always been able to hit lefties,” Gardenhire said. “That’s why we got him.” … With games against NL opponent Milwaukee coming next weekend, Gardenhire would like another position player, but he’s also hesitant to mess with the bullpen and go from seven relievers to six.
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Royals-White Sox
of Thursday’s 17-3 loss to Oakland. The Royals recalled Paul Phillips from Triple-A Omaha to back up John Buck. … The Royals are starting a season-high, 10-game road trip, with games in Chicago, Oakland and Colorado.
s got to run. He’s looking better though.” The White Sox aren’t rushing any of the players back. “I’ve expressed to all concerned, Toby, Podsednik and obviously Jim, I want them to be overly cautious in their assessment of their readiness,” White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said. “I’d rather have them out another three or four days than run the risk they come back too soon trying to be the hero.”
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Indians-Athletics
CLEVELAND: Manager Eric Wedge is not worried about Travis Hafner’s slump. “He’s such a great hitter sometimes we forget he’s human,” Wedge said. “Even the greatest hitters go through stretches like this. Among his attributes are his focus, his discipline and his toughness. That’s what will get him through this.” Hafner has four hits in his previous 29 at-bats (.138) and two of those came against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night. “He’s working his way back,” Wedge said. “He’ll get it straightened out and get back to his old self.” … OF Grady Sizemore can make the call on attempting steals, with some exceptions. “It’s situational but he’s always had a good feel for it out there and he has another year under his belt,” Wedge said. … RHP Fausto Carmona made one start in Oakland last year, allowing a run (Milton Bradley’s solo home run) on six hits over six innings.
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OAKLAND: OF Milton Bradley (strained left hamstring) returned from the 15-day disabled list after taking early batting practice and saying he was fit. “Obviously having his bat in the lineup will help tremendously,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “His defense will be nice to have in the outfield, too.” … OF Danny Putnam was optioned to Sacramento of the PCL to make room for Bradley. Putnam, who was called up from Double-A Midland on April 23, will be making his Triple-A debut. “He did a super job,” Geren said. “Where he was a month or two ago to where he is now you can see the strides he made. This can only help him the next time he comes up.” … OF Travis Buck, out with a wrist injury, took batting practice during Thursday night’s game and took a full session on Friday. “When he’s capable, he’ll play every day here,” GM Billy Beane said. … RHP Esteban Loaiza is on schedule to begin a rehab assignment, with his first stop at Single-A Inland Empire (San Bernardino).
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves-Pirates
ittsburgh. … LHP Chuck James (3-3) will oppose the Pirates for the first time in his career Saturday night. The Pirates will miss the Braves’ top two starters, John Smoltz (5-1) and Tim Hudson (4-1).
PITTSBURGH: A day after the Pirates’ offense finally showed some life in beating the Cubs 6-4 in Chicago, manager Jim Tracy stayed with a revamped order in which NL batting champion Freddy Sanchez led off, 3B Jose Bautista hit second and Jason Bay was third, where Sanchez normally hits. Jack Wilson, usually the No. 2 hitter, dropped to eighth. … Ryan Doumit, the Pirates’ most consistent hitter since his April 26 recall from Triple-A Indianapolis, figures to stay in the lineup as long as he keeps swinging the bat. He had at least one hit in 11 of his first 12 games back with the team. … LHP Zach Duke got through a scoreless first against Atlanta on Friday night after allowing a combined 12 runs in the first inning of his previous five starts.
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Marlins-Nationals
starters Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez. … OF John Gall was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque. … Entering Friday, Florida’s bullpen had six blown saves and ranked first in the majors with 130 innings. … The Marlins went into Friday leading the majors in runs with 176 and in strikeouts by their batters with 299.
WASHINGTON: Hitting coach Mitchell Page is taking a leave of absence that the team said Friday is “for undisclosed personal reasons.” Lenny Harris, the Nationals’ minor league infield coordinator, will replace Page on an interim basis. … 1B Nick Johnson fielded grounders for about 10 minutes before the game Friday night against Florida, the first time he’s worked in the field since breaking his right leg in September. “It’s still pretty sore going to my backhand. And even going to my other side, that’s bad. Just moving around today, I felt it,” said Johnson, who began hitting off a tee last week. … 1B Dmitri Young (left foot) was out of the starting lineup for a third consecutive game Friday. INF Ronnie Belliard made his first career start at first. … RHP Chad Cordero, on bereavement leave because his grandmother is dying of brain cancer, will return to the team by Sunday, Acta said.
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Cubs-Phillies
CHICAGO: Alfonso Soriano, who was coveted by the Phillies during the offseason before he signed with the Cubs, homered in his second at-bat in Philadelphia, extending his career-best hitting streak to 19 games. … The Cubs began a stretch where they play 13 of 16 games on the road. … OF Jacque Jones was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game against a left-handed pitcher in favor of Angel Pagan, who was called up Thursday. … Angel Guzman makes his second start Saturday since being recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
PHILADELPHIA: 1B Ryan Howard (quad) was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game. He was examined by a team doctor, took batting practice and was available to pinch-hit. … RHP Ryan Madson (oblique strain) started having a catch and should be ready to come off the disabled list soon after he’s eligible on May 19. Madson hopes to join the Phillies for their next road trip starting May 22. … Manager Charlie Manuel said closer Tom Gordon (rotator cuff strain) is doing “pretty good.” It’s uncertain if Gordon will be ready to pitch when he can come off the disabled list on May 17. Gordon went to the hospital with a high fever… Jon Lieber will start Sunday. He was supposed to pitch Friday night but had to be pushed back because of a finger injury.
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Brewers-Mets
MILWAUKEE: OF Corey Hart was held out of the starting lineup for the fifth straight game because of a sprained right wrist, originally injured when he stole a base April 21. He was to take batting practice in a cage before the game. “It got a little better and then he played him and it got a little sore,” manager Ned Yost said. “He feels much, much better. Doesn’t have any affects from it at all today. But I want him to hit.” Kevin Mench, who started in RF, began the night 5-for-9 against Mets starter Jorge Sosa. Hart pinch hit in the seventh and struck out against Pedro Feliciano…. The Brewers started a seven-game trip and a stretch in which they are to play 13 of 16 on the road. … Francisco Cordero this week became the fourth pitcher to save games on five straight days, joining Mark Davis (1989), Rod Beck (1998) and Steve Kline (2000).
NEW YORK: Three days after most players on the teams got buzz cuts in San Francisco, the Mets returned to home to signs of “Play Bald!” on the videoboards. SS Jose Reyes, one of the few players not to get a trim, said he might on Saturday. Pitching coach Rick Peterson also had a full head of hair. … RHP Orlando Hernandez, on the DL with right shoulder bursitis, threw about 65 pitches at 85 percent on Thursday, according to manager Willie Randolph. El Duque could return to the rotation next week. … Carlos Delgado homered for the second straight game after hitting one in New York’s first 32.
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Diamondbacks-Astros
ARIZONA: Randy Johnson did not make the trip to Houston and will reunite with his team in Colorado next week. Johnson had back surgery last October and manager Bob Melvin doesn’t want to risk Johnson re-injuring it. “Whether he gets some soreness flying, I kind of want to minimize that early on,” Melvin said. Johnson is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in four starts. He struck out nine, but got a no-decision Wednesday in a 9-3 loss to Philadelphia. Melvin said Johnson’s back isn’t sore now – the team is just playing it safe with the five-time Cy Young Award winner. “You want to just stay away from stiffness,” Melvin said, “and a lot of times travel and flying will do that. It’s just proactive.” … Rookie RHP Micah Owings has impressed Melvin with his versatility. The 24-year-old earned his second career victory on Tuesday night, pitching seven innings in Arizona’s 3-2 win over Philadelphia. Owings, who has a 3.18 ERA in his first five major-league starts, will likely be used out of the bullpen because he’s the fifth starter and isn’t needed for a while. “He’s a guy we’ve talked about internally as a guy that could probably be very good in any role you put him in,” Melvin said. “He could potentially be a closer down the road. This guy is an athlete and a guy that can probably acclimate to any role.”
emens told the Houston Chronicle that he was upset with what Garner said. But Garner also said in the interview that Clemens was never a detriment to the team, “elevated our baseball” and added that “I think our players appreciated what he did. Everybody was OK with it. I don’t think it was an issue.” Garner wants Clemens to see the entire transcript of what he said. “I don’t think I need any clarification,” Garner said. “You guys (the media) have never heard any utterance out of this office of anything other than how much we appreciated what Roger did for the Houston Astros. We did not have any issues with Roger.” … Demoted closer Brad Lidge may get his old job back soon. Lidge has not allowed a run in 13 of his last 15 outings, pitching well in his new role as setup man. “He’s pitching brilliant ball now,” Garner said. “If he has a glitch when he’s on the mound now, I’ve noticed at least once, where it seems like he stepped off, gathered himself, got back on and made quality pitches.”
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Giants-Rockies
into the No. 2 spot in the order. “It’s a good fit,” Bochy said. “Ryan has a good approach on 0-2 counts.”
COLORADO: Manager Clint Hurdle kept OF Willy Taveras out of the starting lineup another day to rest his groin injury. Taveras left Sunday’s game with the injury. He hit in the batting cage Friday. … The Rockies will make an evaluation of INF Kaz Matsui in the next few days to see how much his back has healed. Matsui has been on the disabled list since April 15. “His first stop will be extended spring for some game activity and then (Triple-A) Colorado Springs,” Hurdle said. … Hurdle started John Mabry at third over Garrett Atkins on Friday night. “I’m trying to find opportunities for our players on the bench to get at-bats to keep them sharp,” Hurdle said.
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