INTERLEAGUE
Braves-Indians
ATLANTA: The Braves’ stretch of facing tough starting pitchers will continue against Boston when they oppose RHPs Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett on Monday and Tuesday. The Braves have faced LHPs Johan Santana and C.C. Sabathia and RHP Fausto Carmona in the last week. Those five are a combined 38-14. … OF Andruw Jones has two hits in his last 20 at-bats. … RHP John Smoltz’s next start will come Saturday against Detroit, the team he grew up rooting for and was drafted by in 1985. The Tigers traded him to the Braves for RHP Doyle Alexander on Aug. 12, 1987. … 1B Scott Thorman got his third three-hit game of the season Sunday, going 3-for-4. … RHP Kyle Davies is 0-3 with an 8.36 ERA in his last three starts. … OF Willie Harris is hitting .382 (42-for-110) since April 30.
HP Joe Borowski has one-fifth of his 100 career saves in just 2 1/2 months with Cleveland. “It’s a satisfying number,” he said. “When I started my career, I never thought I’d have one.” … RHP Fausto Carmona has a 2.28 ERA and allowed three or fewer runs in 11 of 13 starts. His ERA is 3.12 overall. … The Indians are 33-7 when scoring five or more runs and their 22-10 record at home is second-best to the Los Angeles Angels (24-9).
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Nationals-Blue Jays
WASHINGTON: OF Ryan Church (sore quad) got the day off Sunday. “He’s a little banged up,” manager Manny Acta said. … The Nationals have an off-day Thursday and will skip RHP Levale Speigner (2-3, 8.76). Acta said Speigner, who started Saturday against Toronto, will be available to pitch in relief starting Tuesday. … RHP Luis Ayala, who is rehabbing from elbow surgery, will pitch for Triple-A Columbus on Monday and then work in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. Ayala pitched in back-to-back games for the first time last Thursday and Friday and reported no pain.
Sunday against Washington. … DH Frank Thomas hit his 496th career home run Sunday, his ninth of the season and first since May 31 against the Chicago White Sox. It was Thomas’ 244th home run as a DH, breaking the record set by Edgar Martinez. … Thomas verbally challenged Towers in the clubhouse during the game after Towers allowed two runs on a pair of doubles and a two-out single in the second inning. “It was about getting pissed off and not accepting what was happening,” Towers said. “It needs to be done sometimes. He’s the guy that’s not afraid to step up and let you know. It’s a good thing.”
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Rangers-Reds
TEXAS: The Rangers are 7-5 in interleague play. … RH Kevin Millwood struck out a season-high 10 to get his first victory since April 13. It was the 12th double-digit strikeout performance by Millwood, his first since Sept. 3 last season against Cleveland. … SS Michael Young had a pair of run-scoring singles, extending his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. The shortstop has a .348 career average in interleague play, the highest of any player with 300 plate appearances. … RF Marlon Byrd hit his first homer since July 4 of last season with Washington. The Nationals sent him to the minors on July 15, and he never returned. … Sammy Sosa gets his next swing at homer No. 600 on Tuesday in Chicago against his former teammates. Sosa last played for the Cubs in 2004.
CINCINNATI: The Reds are 5-7 in interleague play. … Adam Dunn’s two homers off Millwood left him 8-for-17 career against the right-hander with six homers and five strikeouts. It was the 19th multihomer game of Dunn’s career, his third this season. … Dunn has three homers in his last two games and has hit safely in his last seven (13-for-29 with four homers). … 2B Brandon Phillips was hit on the left hand by a pitch from Millwood in the first inning, and left the game three innings later. X-rays were negative. … The Reds are headed for their first series in Oakland since June 2004. During that series, the Reds gave up 40 runs and 51 hits while getting swept – the most runs the A’s have scored in a three-game series and the most the Reds had allowed in a series since 1950 against the Boston Braves.
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Tigers-Phillies
DETROIT: Tigers manager Jim Leyland originally wanted to give C Ivan Rodriguez the day off. But Leyland said Rodriguez insisted that he play on Father’s Day and instead will take a day off on Tuesday. … SS Carlos Guillen was not in the starting lineup. He’s been bothered by hamstring spasms. … No no-no for Justin Verlander with Adam Eaton in the lineup. Eaton, a career .185 hitter with only four hits this season, had two hits and an RBI off Verlander. “I’d say I’d like to face the pitcher, but he got two hits off me,” Verlander said. “He was my nemesis.”
PHILADELPHIA: RHP Adam Eaton had two hits for his eighth career multi-hit game and first since June 3, 2005 against the Cubs. The Phillies pitching staff has an NL-high 25 hits. … CF Aaron Rowand’s assist in the first inning was his seventh of the season. Phillies outfielders have a major-league high 25 assists this season. … Rowand left the game after the seventh inning with left leg cramps. Rowand said he felt his leg “lock up” while he jogged off the field after the top half of the inning. He tried to hit and felt the same thing, so he took himself out of the game. … RHP Antonio Alfonseca has a sore left ankle. He walked around the clubhouse after the game with a huge ice wrap on the ankle. … Phillies manager Charlie Manuel returns to Cleveland on Monday for the start of a three-game series. Manuel managed the Indians from 2000-02. “It’ll be special if we beat them,” he said.
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White Sox-Pirates
y better,” Guillen said. “When the general manager put this team together, the expectations were high, and because we have not gotten very good production on the field, obviously it’s not working out the way we wanted to.”
PITTSBURGH: RHP Ian Snell will have his next start pushed back from Tuesday in Seattle until Saturday in Anaheim. Snell, who pitched a complete game in his previous outing Wednesday, burned his right index finger while cooking. The remainder of the rotation moves up a day, and with the team idle, no starter will miss his regular rest. Snell’s 2.63 ERA ranks fifth in the NL. … It is the Pirates’ hope that 2B Freddy Sanchez and OF Chris Duffy will be able to return to the lineup Tuesday in Seattle. Sanchez has missed the past three starts with flu-like symptoms and Duffy has missed the past two after leaving Friday night’s game with a right hamstring injury. Duffy pinch hit Sunday afternoon and Sanchez was available in an emergency.
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Diamondbacks-Orioles
Webb has gone a minimum of seven innings in his last six starts and is 4-1 over that period.
BALTIMORE: OF Jay Gibbons got two hits in Sunday’s loss to Arizona and finished with three hits in 17 at-bats over the nine-game homestand. … Orioles relievers were 0-5 with one save and a 6.00 ERA (24 IP, 16 ER) during the 1-8 homestand. … Jay Payton’s pinch-hit double in the ninth inning Sunday was Baltimore’s fifth pinch hit of the season in 22 at-bats. … RHP Chad Bradford has allowed runs in his last three appearances and has taken two losses in those three games. In the weekend series, Bradford got only one out and allowed two hits and two earned runs.
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Mariners-Astros
and be home for a while,” Hargrove said.
HOUSTON: Reliever Rick White, who missed 15 games with a pinched nerve in his neck, made his return on Sunday. He allowed one hit and no runs in the ninth inning. “Physically I feel great,” he said. “It’s good to get out there with a big lead like that so I can just get the ball over the plate and try to get three quick outs. It wasn’t quick, but I got three.” … SS Eric Bruntlett made his first start of the season on Sunday. He got his first hit on a single to center field in the eighth inning. He was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday after Adam Everett was placed on the disabled list with a broken leg. … C Brad Ausmus had a double in the eighth inning on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to six games. He is hitting .545 during the streak and has a .480 average in Interleague games this season.
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Giants-Red Sox
SAN FRANCISCO: Manager Bruce Bochy said Barry Bonds will probably rest on Wednesday in Milwaukee. … Matt Morris, who threw complete games in his previous two starts, lasted just four innings for his shortest start since last July 25. His eight earned runs on Sunday were one more than his total from his previous five starts. … Omar Vizquel had two hits, including an RBI double in the third that snapped an 0-for-20 slump.
BOSTON: Manny Ramirez is tied with Jim Thome for 25th on the all-time list with 480 homers. He is tied with Willie McCovey for 36th on the career RBI list with 1,555. … The Red Sox played “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the middle of the sixth inning so they could play “God Bless America” in the seventh. … Boston placed RHP Brendan Donnelly on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right forearm on Sunday and recalled RHP Manny Delcarmen from Triple-A Pawtucket.
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Marlins-Royals
FLORIDA: The Marlins optioned outfielder Reggie Abercrombie to Triple-A Albuquerque following the game. They’re expected to bring right-hander Josh Johnson off the DL on Monday and start him against the Chicago White Sox. … It was a rough major league debut for center fielder Brett Carroll, who made two errors on one play and struck out to end the game with the potential tying run on first. He was 0-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt. “It didn’t go the way you want it to go on your first day, but you learn from it,” he said. … After going 8-for-9 the first two games of the series, Miguel Olivo went hitless for just the fourth time in 25 career starts against KC.
KANSAS CITY: The Royals had two wins and one loss against Florida, St. Louis and Philadelphia while going 6-3 in this nine-game interleague series. … Rookie 3B Alex Gordon shows signing of awakening from a two-month slump which has marred the beginning of his major league career. He went 2-for-4 Sunday with an RBI and a run scored and stretched his hitting streak to seven games. His average is now higher than it’s been, .215. He said he’s not going to look at his average when it appears on the scoreboard during his at-bats the rest of the year. “Why worry about the past?” he said. “I’m just looking to the future.”
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Brewers-Twins
MILWAUKEE: Just as he had planned, manager Ned Yost did not use rookie pitcher Yovani Gallardo out of the bullpen on Sunday, instead saving him to start Monday’s game against San Francisco. He was asked if he thought about changing that plan when Jeff Suppan was roughed up in the 10-9 loss. “We didn’t want to use him today when it was 5-0,” Yost said. “He has only been here three days, but I think he’ll be fine.” … Prince Fielder may weigh 262 pounds, but Geoff Jenkins wasn’t surprised when he rumbled around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning. “He runs better than you think,” Jenkins said. “I wouldn’t call him fast, but he’s quicker than you think.”
ark in 2010. … Rookie Kevin Slowey used his typical dry sense of humor to describe his start, in which he allowed four runs on eight hits with three home runs and threw 97 pitches in 5 1-3 innings. “I don’t think throwing all those pitches really hurt me,” Slowey said. “The home runs hurt me.”
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Devil Rays-Rockies
TAMPA BAY: OF Elijah Dukes was out of the starting lineup for a fifth straight day. “I want to see more of Jonny Gomes,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Jonny is seeing the fastball better.” Gomes rewarded Maddon with the fourth multihomer game of his career. … Gomes never saw Brad Hawpe’s grand slam or a fly ball hit by Garrett Atkins on Saturday. “The gray sky was the problem,” Maddon said. … Maddon played for a summer league team in nearby Boulder in 1975. “I was one of six catchers,” he said.
COLORADO: 3B Garrett Atkins has reached base on either a walk or hit in 18 straight games. “The kid can hit,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He’s turned the corner.” … RHP Aaron Cook has lost his last three decisions. … OF Brad Hawpe has homered in three consecutive games.
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Cardinals-Athletics
ST. LOUIS: Juan Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to 17 games – a Cardinals’ season high – with a single in the seventh. … So Taguchi hit an RBI single in the fourth to give him a 10-game hitting streak and stole his fourth base. … RHP Anthony Reyes avoided becoming the first St. Louis pitcher to lose nine straight decisions to start a season since Danny Jackson did it from April 27 to July 2, 1995. Reyes, the winner in Game 1 of the World Series against Detroit last fall who is 0-8 this year, was called up Saturday from Triple-A Memphis to make his 10th start of 2007. He gave up five runs in the first inning, when he also plunked two batters. “I wasn’t nervous, just a different setting, different from pitching up here than down there,” Reyes said. “It’ll take a little time to get comfortable again and I’ll try my best to grind it out.”
old Piazza has been sidelined since May 3 with a sprained right shoulder, missing his 41st game Sunday. Piazza, playing in the American League and as a DH for the first time after 15 seasons as a catcher, is batting .280 with one home run and four RBIs in just 25 games so far in 2007. … Injured RHP Rich Harden, sidelined since April 16 with a strained throwing shoulder, is slated to throw Monday against live hitters and perhaps pitch an inning Wednesday for Triple-A Sacramento.
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Angels-Dodgers
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: INF Casey Kotchman sat out Sunday with a mild concussion after being hit on the helmet by a pickoff throw at second base by Dodgers catcher Russell Martin on Saturday. Kotchman’s CT scan was normal and he received three stitches behind his right ear. … OF Garret Anderson went on the 15-day DL because of an aggravated right hip. To replace him on the 25-man roster, OF Terry Evans was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake.
trip starting Tuesday. … 3B Wilson Betemit went 0-for-3, striking out each time. … C Russell Martin, a Montreal native, returns to Canada for the first time as a major leaguer when the Dodgers open a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. It’s the team’s first trip north of the border since Aug. 26, 2004.
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Mets-Yankees
NEW YORK METS: Slumping CF Carlos Beltran said his sore left quadriceps is about 75 percent. He said if LF Moises Alou and backup OF Endy Chavez weren’t out with injuries, he would have considered resting for a week to see if that helped his leg feel better. “I can run. I’m not saying that I’m not able to run. I just get tight,” Beltran said. “I want to play through it.” Beltran said his ailing leg is affecting him at the plate, especially from the left side, but that’s not an excuse for why he’s been struggling. “He hasn’t said anything to me about it,” manager Willie Randolph said, adding that he thought Beltran was moving around well in center field. Beltran went 0-for-6 on Saturday and entered 6-for-35 (.171) on the team’s nine-game road trip, which ended Sunday. … C Paul Lo Duca batted second for the first time since April 30. Lo Duca, who had three hits Saturday, was in the No. 2 spot most of last year and early this season.
NEW YORK YANKEES: Manager Joe Torre said it would be C Jorge Posada’s choice whether he plays 1B in Colorado on Tuesday night, when backup Wil Nieves catches RHP Mike Mussina, which has become routine. But Posada sounded as though he was looking forward to the challenge. “Right now it’s a go. I don’t see why not,” Posada said. “I’m thinking of it almost like a day off. It’s not fun, but we’ll try and make it fun. I don’t want to hurt the team. I’ve taken grounders there. Knock it down and cover first base. That’s pretty much it. A one-day tryout.” … Torre said he was unsure whether DH Johnny Damon would play the outfield in Colorado this week, and the decision will be based on how Damon feels physically. … OF Kevin Thompson joined the team after he was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. “I don’t anticipate him getting a start unless there’s an injury,” Torre said. … LHP Kei Igawa is likely to come up from the minors to start Friday night in San Francisco.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Padres-Cubs
Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry and Peavy were ejected. … 3B Chase Headley got his first big league hit when he singled up the middle in the second inning. He was relieved after going a combined 0-for-5 in his first two games since being called up from Double-A San Antonio on Friday. “It was awesome,” he said. “I was waiting a few days to get it and I finally got one.” … 1B Adrian Gonzalez was 4-for-5 with a homer and a career-high three doubles. Gonzalez set career highs with four runs scored and 10 total bases – the most this season by a Padre.
CHICAGO: 1B Derrek Lee was awaiting word on any disciplinary action from the league resulting from Saturday’s bench-clearing altercation with the Padres. “I’m anxious to find out, see where it comes in at,” he said. … 3B Mark DeRosa was shocked to see Lee and Young go at it. “I played with Chris Young, I know what his makeup is,” said DeRosa, Young’s teammate with the Texas Rangers. “He’s a Princeton grad. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I could say the same for Derrek Lee.” … OF Cliff Floyd had some good news to share on Father’s Day; his dad Cliff Sr. is “getting a ton better.” Although the elder Floyd remains in intensive care in a Chicago hospital because of fluid around his heart and lungs, he was taken off a breathing tube on Saturday. And Floyd Jr. hoped his dad would start talking on Sunday. “I can’t ask for a better Father’s Day,” the younger Floyd said. … LHP Rich Hill lasted just three innings on Sunday – his shortest start since a three-inning outing against Cincinnati on Aug. 10, 2005.
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