Notes from Saturday’s games

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox-Rangers
BOSTON: The Red Sox weren’t shut out on the road until their 42nd game away from Boston last season. They lost 2-0 at Texas on Friday night in their fourth road game this season. … RHP Curt Schilling makes his second start Sunday night. He gave up five earned runs in four innings in an opening-day loss at Kansas City. “He felt early on it was a fight for him the whole game,” manager Terry Francona said Saturday. “I think every pitcher is not going to throw every game perfect. He picked opening day.” … Francona said Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were late on the field before the Rangers’ home opener Friday because introductions were five minutes early. “It makes us look sloppy, which we weren’t,” Francona said.
urgery didn’t make it to the majors until 1981 with Minnesota. … Rookie C Chris Stewart is the only Texas player who hasn’t gotten into a game. Washington plans for Stewart to start Monday for RHP Brandon McCarthy. “I don’t want to sit on him too long,” Washington said.
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Orioles-Yankees
BALTIMORE: Chris Ray took blame for Saturday’s loss after giving Alex Rodriguez’s game-ending grand slam. “If I was making my pitches, we would have had a different outcome,” he said. “It had pretty good life on it. That one just got away from me.” … Melvin Mora matched his career best with five RBIs, the fourth time he’s accomplished the feat and first since Sept. 27, 2005, also against the Yankees. … The Orioles are 1-4 after starting the season 0-3 for the first time since 1995. … Aubrey Huff has a hit in every game and is batting .350.
NEW YORK: Alex Rodriguez hit the eighth game-ending grand slam in Yankees history, the first since Jason Giambi’s on May 17, 2002, against Minnesota. A-Rod has 14 slams and three of them ended games, tying the major league mark shared by Vern Stephens (1946, 1949, 1950) and Cy Williams (1924 and twice in 1926). Rodriguez’s other game-ending slams were off Oakland’s Billy Koch on July 27, 2002, and Boston’s Todd Jones on July 31, 2003. He has six game-ending homers overall, three with the Yankees.
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Blue Jays-Devil Rays
TORONTO: Manager John Gibbons has been impressed by the start of RHP Casey Janssen, who is working out of the bullpen this season after starting last year. In his first 3 2-3 innings, he has allowed one hit. “He’s very aggressive,” Gibbons said. “He throws strikes. If you throw strikes, you have a chance.” … C Jason Phillips made his first start of the season and caught RHP Tomo Ohka.
TAMPA BAY: The Devil Rays started Saturday leading the AL East. It’s just the 17th time they have been in first place or tied for the top spot in the nine-plus years of the franchise. The latest Tampa Bay started the day leading the division in any season was April 17, 2004. … Rocco Baldelli, who had been limited to DH duties because of a sore right hamstring, started in center field. Elijah Dukes will start in center Sunday with Baldelli being the DH.
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Tigers-Royals
DETROIT: Gary Sheffield’s two RBIs brought his career total to 1,505, just four behind Mickey Mantle for 45th on the career RBI list. Sheffield is 107 hits shy of 2,500. … RF Magglio Ordonez drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third, giving him 49 RBIs in 61 games at Kauffman Stadium. … The Tigers have won 10 of their past 11 games at Kansas City. … RHP Todd Jones earned his second save and is 35 saves of 300 for his career.
KANSAS CITY: Rookie 3B Alex Gordon, who went 1-for-15 with six strikeouts in his first four games, was not in the lineup against Tigers LHP Mike Maroth. Manager Buddy Bell said he was “absolutely not” sending a message at all to Gordon. “That was not my intention at all,” Bell said. In the first four games, the opposing starters were Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Justin Verlander. “We’d have no players left if we evaluated players on Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka and Verlander,” Bell said. … RF Reggie Sanders started for the first time this season and went 3-for-4 with a home run and double. His previous three-hit game was Aug. 10, 2006, against Boston. Sanders’ two RBIs brought his career total to 974.
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Athletics-Angels
OAKLAND: OF Milton Bradley returned to the lineup a day after being scratched because of soreness in his right side. “What was nice was he said he was fine before he got treatment,” manager Bob Geren said. “Him knowing he was OK was a really good sign.” … SS Bobby Crosby, who left Friday night’s game after five innings because of back spasms, said he felt much better and hopes to be in the lineup Sunday. “It’s not related to my other back injury,” he said. “I’ve had this before. I’m not overly concerned about it.”
LOS ANGELES: INF/DH Shea Hillenbrand missed his fourth straight start because of tightness in his right groin. Manager Mike Scioscia said it’s possible Hillenbrand will start Sunday. “Right now, we can absorb it,” Scioscia said of Hillenbrand’s absence. “We’re going to do what’s best for Shea. I think he’s very close.” … C Mike Napoli returned to the lineup after sitting out two games because of flulike symptoms.
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Twins-White Sox
MINNESOTA: LF Rondell White hurt his right calf as he came running out of the dugout right before the game and was a late scratch. Jason Tyner took his spot in left field. “Don’t know how bad it was. It was during the National Anthem when I changed lineups,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That tells you how late it was.” … The Twins also were unable to use reliever Juan Rincon, who came down with a stiff neck … The loss was Minnesota’s first of the season after starting 3-0. … Gardenhire said he met John Danks, the father of White Sox rookie lefty John Danks, in the lobby of downtown hotel. Gardenhire and the older Danks were athletes at the University of Texas at the same time, Danks as a basketball player and Gardenhire on the baseball team. The young Danks will make his major league debut Sunday, facing two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana.
m fans at the United Center. “They boo me every time. I felt like A. J. Pierzynski. Why do they boo me? I don’t know. I guess they don’t like me. There’s a lot of North Siders there,” Guillen said, laughing. When it was suggested that maybe it was Reinsdorf getting some of the boos, Guillen said that would be wrong. “They should love Jerry,” he said. “The only success any sport has in Chicago was Jerry’s. If they boo that man, they’re wrong. They can boo me anytime. I can take that. They boo me everywhere.” The Bulls won six titles in the 1990s and Guillen led the White Sox to the World Series title two years ago.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Phillies-Marlins
PHILADELPHIA: RHP Jon Lieber (ribcage muscle) threw 3 2-3 innings Friday for Single-A Clearwater and is expected to join the Phillies’ bullpen Monday in New York. … RHP Zack Segovia is scheduled to make his big-league debut Sunday against Florida. Segovia went 0-2 with a 4.30 ERA in four spring training games. … 2B Chase Utley batted third for the third game in a row Saturday after hitting cleanup the first two games. “Utley hits better in the three hole,” manager Charlie Manuel said.
FLORIDA: C Miguel Olivo, who left Friday’s game with a bruised right thumb, didn’t start Saturday but was available off the bench. … RF Jeremy Hermida (knee bruise) has yet to begin a rehabilitation assignment and might not rejoin the Marlins until May, manager Fredi Gonzalez said. … LHP Dontrelle Willis will wear Jackie Robinson’s retired No. 42 on April 15, the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s debut to break the big-league color barrier. … SS Hanley Ramirez’s home run Friday against the Phillies barely cleared an advertisement sign several feet lower than the scoreboard on either side. “That’s what you call good hitting,” Phils manager Charlie Manuel said. “That’s pretty good placement.”
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Diamondbacks-Nationals
ARIZONA: 1B Tony Clark started for the first time this season. … The Diamondbacks have four pitchers who started opening day games for their teams in 2006 (Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez, Doug Davis). … Manager Bob Melvin said RHP Juan Cruz was unavailable to pitch Saturday, because he had some stiffness below his shoulder after throwing two innings Friday. Melvin said he was not concerned about Cruz.
entering Saturday’s game. … Snow fell in the Washington area early Saturday morning, and the temperature was 41 degrees when the first pitch was thrown at 7:05 p.m.
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Pirates-Reds
PITTSBURGH: Manager Jim Tracy was noncommittal about whether 2B Freddy Sanchez will start Sunday’s game. The Pirates activated the defending NL batting champion off the 15-day DL following their 7-5 loss on Saturday. Sanchez sprained his knee on March 6. … Ryan Doumit was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he will be the everyday catcher. … All the Pirates will wear No. 42 on April 15, honoring the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. … Chris Duffy has hit safely in each of the first five games. … The Pirates walked nine batters in the cold on Saturday. They had walked a total of six – one intentional – in the first four games.
a second-game loss to the Cubs, but the runs were charged to starter Bronson Arroyo.
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Mets-Braves
NEW YORK: David Wright, who struck out three times against John Smoltz, singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, dating back to last season. He has hit in all five Mets games. … The Mets have allowed three runs over the first four games of the season, the fewest runs allowed by the team after the season’s first four games. The previous club record was six runs allowed in 1968. … For the second straight season, the Mets have the most foreign-born players on their opening day roster with 15. The Yankees are next with 13. … SS Jose Reyes had a triple from each side of the plate Friday night. He also did it on May 18, 2005, vs. Cincinnati. Over the last 40 years, only three other players have done that – Roy White, Yankees, 1969 and 1970, and Bernie Williams, Yankees, in 1998-1999, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
ason.
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Cubs-Brewers
CHICAGO: Aramis Ramirez, who hit his first home run Saturday, has 184 homers since 2001, the most among third basemen in the major leagues. … Derrek Lee’s first-inning double was his 500th extra-base hit. Lee also made a spectacular stop of a Prince Fielder liner in the fourth, starting a double play on a ball that easily could have been an RBI double. “Derrek can play, that’s all there is to it,” manager Lou Piniella said of the play. … RHP Wade Miller will make his season debut in a start against Milwaukee on Sunday. In 15 games against the Brewers, all when he was pitched for Houston, he is 11-1 with a 2.55 ERA.
MILWAUKEE: The Brewers were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position Saturday and are batting only .184 with runners in scoring position this year. … 2B Rickie Weeks snapped a 1-for-15 slump with a solo home run in the fourth, his first of the year. … Prince Fielder has a five-game hitting streak to open the season, but is batting only .238. … RHP Ben Sheets has not walked a batter in 15 innings this season. … Tony Gwynn, who won the last roster spot in spring training, is hitless in three at-bats this year, all coming as a pinch hitter. … Johnny Estrada, acquired from Arizona during the offseason, has caught all of the team’s first five games.
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Cardinals-Astros
ST. LOUIS: Scott Spiezio started in right field on Saturday. Spiezio has pinch-hit three times this season, but it was his first start of the year after struggling with a sore back. … With the first start of backup catcher Gary Bennett on Saturday, all the Cardinals’ position players have gotten at least one start. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa started Bennett in place of Yadier Molina to give Molina a break since Saturday night’s game is followed by a day game on Sunday. … St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter, who sat out his scheduled start on Friday because of inflammation in his right elbow, threw a bullpen session on Saturday. “He felt fine and we’ll just have to see how he responds tomorrow,” La Russa said.
gs and St. Louis RHP Kip Wells, who were teammates at Baylor, will start against each other on Sunday. Baylor coach Steve Smith is expected to attend the game. … Astros outfielder Carlos Lee will wear No. 42 on April 15 to honor Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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Rockies-Padres
COLORADO: Rockies pitchers didn’t issue a walk against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday or the Padres on Friday night, just the second time in franchise history they’ve done that over consecutive games. The other time was Aug. 11-12, 1995, at Atlanta.
SAN DIEGO: Russell Branyan started at 3B in place of rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff, who’s opened the season in a 2-for-17 (.118 slump). “I think Kouz needs a day to step back and watch a big league game,” manager Bud Black said. “I don’t think Kouz is overly pressing, but I think he’s come a little bit out of his game. A little bit. Not too much.” … The Padres wore camouflage uniforms to honor the military. … Capt. Michael Manazir of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which deployed Monday to the Persian Gulf, appeared on the big screen via a live video hookup to congratulate the Padres on their consecutive NL West titles.
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Dodgers-Giants
LOS ANGELES: Jeff Kent’s go-ahead, two-run double in the fifth gave him 1,385 career RBIs, moving him past Dwight Evans (1,384) for 65th on the all-time list. “I’m not a vengeful person, but it does give me satisfaction to do well here,” the former Giant said. “When the fans boo me, I understand it’s their job to do. When I go outside, they all want to hug me.” … Dodgers RHP Brett Tomko, another ex-Giant, celebrated his 34th birthday. … C Mike Lieberthal made his first start as a Dodger. He grew up in the Los Angeles area, the son of a former Giants scout, Dennis Lieberthal. … The Dodgers extended their winning streak in San Francisco to seven games dating to Aug. 19.
the NL in attendance so far at 205,869.