NATIONAL LEAGUE
Reds-Pirates
CINCINNATI: RHP Aaron Harang is 6-3 in PNC Park during his career. … Several Reds players were visibly shaken by the death of former teammate Josh Hancock, a Cardinals reliever who died in a car crash early Sunday morning. The Reds and Cardinals played in St. Louis only last week. RHP Matt Belisle said, “It’s kind of a little turn in your gut. Bad day, bad day. It’s a pretty surreal moment.” … David Weathers, who spent time with Hancock in St. Louis last week, said, “You’re never prepared for it. It’s heart breaking.” … Hancock pitched in 23 Reds games in 2004 and 2005, going 6-1.
PITTSBURGH: LHP Paul Maholm had won his last four at home before losing 9-5 to the Reds on Sunday. … The Pirates, who begin a three-game series with the Cubs on Monday, have won six of their last seven against Chicago. … Ryan Doumit was leading the International League with a .415 average in 16 games before returning to the Pirates on Thursday. He is 6-for-11 with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs since returning to the club. Doumit said, “I’m seeing the ball well and my swing is where I want it to be. The big thing is I’ve had a chance to go out and play.” However, manager Jim Tracy wouldn’t commit to starting him Monday against Cubs LHP Rich Hill, if only because Doumit has more power batting left-handed than right-handed.
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Mets-Nationals
ball because I don’t have any weight on my back leg. I’m not using my hands, blah, blah, blah. I’m not anxious.” … SS Jose Reyes had two steals Sunday to raise his season total to 16.
WASHINGTON: RHP Jerome Williams (sprained left ankle) went on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and LHP Ray King (left shoulder tendinitis) came off the DL. … The Nationals said they plan to recall OF Kory Casto from Triple-A Columbus in time for Monday night’s game at the San Diego Padres. The team didn’t say what they would do to make room for Casto on the 25-man roster. … CF Nook Logan (foot) and SS Cristian Guzman (hamstring) – both sidelined since getting hurt on opening day – should be able to rejoin the team by its May 7-9 series at the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Manny Acta said. … Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Mets was only the second game that finished with that score at RFK Stadium since baseball returned to Washington in 2005. The other was on May 18, 2005, when Washington beat Milwaukee. … RHP Jason Bergmann (0-2) had a fourth straight quality start Sunday, lowering his ERA to 2.79 this season, but is still without a major league win since Sept. 15, 2005. … Six of OF Austin Kearns’ last seven hits went for extra bases.
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Marlins-Phillies
FLORIDA: 1B Mike Jacobs struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth-inning, ending his streak of reaching base safely in 17 games. … 2B Dan Uggla is 2-for-15 (.133) with seven strikeouts against Jamie Moyer in his career. … LF Josh Willingham went 5-for-12 (.416) with a homer and three RBIs and 3B Miguel Cabrera went 8-for-14 (.571) in the series. … RHP Henry Owens has retired the first batter in all 12 games that he has appeared. … RHP Ricky Nolasco, who went on the DL with right elbow inflammation retroactive to April 7, is scheduled to start on Tuesday at the New York Mets. … The Marlins are 8-15 at Citizens Bank Park.
PHILADELPHIA: CF Aaron Rowand hit .435 with five homers and 10 RBIs during his career-high 16-game hitting streak. He went 0-for-3 on Sunday. … LF Jayson Werth recorded an outfield assist, the club’s fifth in the last eight games. The Phillies are tied with Milwaukee with a major league-leading 11 outfield assists. … LF Pat Burrell was given a day off in favor of Jayson Werth, who was 2-for-2 with a double and triple in his career against Wes Obermueller. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel likes Werth’s potential. “He has all the tools and the ability. You come out and watch this kid hit in batting practice and he hits the ball as far as anyone. He has the potential to be a big-time hitter.” The Phillies finished their homestand at 5-2. They started the season 1-5 at home.
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Brewers-Astros
MILWAUKEE: Tony Gwynn Jr. started in center field on Sunday, one of several lineup changes. Gwynn has been a reliable pinch-hitter most of the season, with four RBIs in 10 at-bats. Manager Ned Yost would like to get Gwynn in the lineup more often, but doesn’t have a regular spot for him. “He knows what his job is every day and he comes to the park and prepares as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” Yost said. Gwynn, who went 1-for-4 on Sunday, replaced Bill Hall, who started 21 of Milwaukee’s first 23 games. … Tony Graffanino started at 2B for Rickie Weeks, who started 22 of the first 23 games. The Brewers are 11-2 when they score first this season. … Francisco Cordero set a franchise record with his 10th save in April.
ical as the fact that he’s pitching.” … The Astros are 0-10 when they score three runs or fewer this season.
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Braves-Rockies
ATLANTA: Manager Bobby Cox was perplexed about RHP Bob Wickman’s inability convert a save on Sunday. “Bob has always had terrific control, but the last two outings for some unknown reason he has been off target,” Cox said. … The Braves scored two more runs with two outs Sunday to increase their major league lead in that category to 67 for the season. … RHP Kyle Davies is winless in six starts over two seasons. His last win came Sept. 18, 2006.
COLORADO: SS Troy Tulowitzki registered the first unassisted triple play in club history and the 13th in major league history. It was the second triple play for Colorado. … RHP Rodrigo Lopez threw off a mound for the first time since going on the DL April 19. … 1B Todd Helton was walked a club record five times. … OF Brad Hawpe’s fifth inning home run ended an 82 at-bat homerless drought. … Colorado has homered in a season-high four straight games.
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Dodgers-Padres
LOS ANGELES: Derek Lowe got his 1,000th career strikeout Sunday but ended up with a no-decision after he couldn’t hold a 4-1 lead against San Diego.
SAN DIEGO: RHP Jake Peavy faces the Washington Nationals at home Monday night in his first start since tying his club record with 16 strikeouts Wednesday night at Arizona. Peavy left with a 2-0 lead but the Diamondbacks rallied against San Diego’s bullpen, winning it 3-2 on Stephen Drew’s two-run homer off closer Trevor Hoffman. … With three sellouts against the Dodgers, the Padres set a three-game series attendance record of 130,448 at Petco Park.
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Giants-Diamondbacks
SAN FRANCISCO: RHP Matt Cain allowed one run on one hit in six innings at Arizona on Saturday night but didn’t earn a decision. Cain’s 1.54 ERA is second in the NL, and hitters are batting .109 against him. He has allowed one run or fewer in four of his five starts. … LHP Noah Lowry faces Colorado in the opener of a three-game series Monday night in San Francisco. Lowry is 1-4 with a 7.74 ERA in eight career starts against the Rockies.
Unit’s personal catcher.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox-Yankees
BOSTON: Manny Ramirez became only the fifth player to hit 50 homers against the Yankees, joining Jimmie Foxx (70), Ted Williams (62), Hank Greenberg (53) and Carl Yastrzemski (52). … Hideki Okajima has pitched five scoreless innings in five appearances against the Yankees, allowing three hits, striking out seven (including four Sunday) and walking two. “It seems like every time he’s come in a game, he’s kind of been a rally killer for us. We need to figure him out,” Alex Rodriguez said. … When Coco Crisp was hit on a leg by a Chien-Ming Wang pitch in the fifth, it was the second time in 2,297 major league plate appearances Crisp was hit. The other was last July 19, when Kansas City’s Mark Redman hit him.
NEW YORK: Bobby Abreu’s eighth-inning single ended an 0-for-19 slide, the longest of his major league career. … The Yankees also were 6 1/2 games out of first at the end of April two years ago after a 10-14 start, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. But Boston (12-11) was four games back of the Orioles. … The Yankees became the first team to use five or more pitchers in 10 straight games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Two teams had done it nine in a row: Boston (2004-05) and Tampa Bay last September.
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Twins-Tigers
MINNESOTA: Manager Ron Gardenhire was not happy with his team’s baserunning blunders over the weekend – Minnesota runners were picked off twice Saturday and once Sunday, plus Mike Redmond was thrown out trying to go from second to third on a fly ball in the second inning Sunday. “The baserunning’s disappointing,” Gardenhire said. “We’re better than that.” … RHP Ramon Ortiz was saddened by the news of Cardinals RHP Josh Hancock’s death Sunday morning. Ortiz and Hancock played together with the Reds in 2005. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “This is a good friend of mine. He’s a good guy. I talked to him every day.”
DETROIT: 1B Sean Casey (flulike symptoms) left the park before the game because Tigers manager Jim Leyland was worried that more of his players might get sick. “It’s some kind of contagious thing, so we got him out of here,” Leyland said. “We’ll see tomorrow if he’ll be able to play. Right now, I don’t know.”
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Orioles-Indians
ames, going 8-for-26 (.308) with two homers and five RBIs to improve his average to .234. … LHP Brian Burres lowered his ERA to 1.35 by pitching four hitless innings Sunday. He has 15 strikeouts in 13 1-3 innings this season.
CLEVELAND: The Indians finished April with a 14-8 record, their best in the month since going 16-6 in 1999. … The Indians are 12-3 against right-handed starters this season. They went 53-52 against right-handers last season. … 3B Casey Blake has hit safely in eight of nine games, going 10-for-27 (.370) with a homer and five RBIs. … 2B Josh Barfield has hit .357 (5-for-14) over his last four games. … RHP Fausto Carmona has a 2.05 ERA over his last three starts, covering 22 innings. … DH-1B Travis Hafner has reached base safely in 13 consecutive games and 18 of 22 overall. He made his first start at first base Sunday since June 27 in an interleague game at St. Louis.
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Rangers-Blue Jays
-4 with a single and a double. … Manager Ron Washington celebrated his 55th birthday Sunday.
TORONTO: RHP Tomo Ohka earned his 50th career victory. He’s second to Hideo Nomo for career victories by a Japanese-born pitcher. Nomo won 123 games over 11 major seasons. … OF Alex Rios was held out of the starting lineup and manager John Gibbons moved everyone else one spot up in the batting order. OF Adam Lind led off, OF Vernon Wells was second, DH Frank Thomas hit third, 1B Lyle Overbay batted fourth and 3B Troy Glaus batted fifth. Rios is expected to return to the leadoff spot Monday. … With a victory on Monday, the Blue Jays (12-12) will finish April above .500 for the third year in a row. … The Blue Jays played under an open roof at Rogers Centre on Sunday, the first time this season the roof has been open.
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Angels-White Sox
being called up Thursday and was 1-for-8. That hit, a single, came Sunday. … LF Garret Anderson missed his second straight game because of a sore right hip, but Scioscia is optimistic that Anderson will avoid the disabled list.
CHICAGO: OF Brian Anderson was disappointed after being sent to Triple-A after Sunday’s game, but he realizes he needs more at-bats. And he wasn’t taking advantage of his limited opportunities. After losing the center-field job to Darin Erstad in spring training, Anderson is just 2-for-17 – a .118 average. “I’m 25 and I need to play,” he said. “So whether it be with Charlotte, here or somebody else, I need to be playing.” … Manager Ozzie Guillen said the White Sox considered calling up Josh Fields instead of Ryan Sweeney to replace injured DH Jim Thome. But Sweeney’s ability to play all three outfield spots was a deciding factor. “We thought about Josh Fields DH-ing, but he’s going to have less playing time than Ryan,” Guillen said. “I can use Ryan a little bit more and better.” … Guillen plans to give 1B Paul Konerko a rest during the upcoming eight-game trip, meaning Erstad will likely get a start at first. Erstad has a Gold Glove there, to go with the two he won as an outfielder.
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Royals-Mariners
KANSAS CITY: RHP Brian Bannister had extra motivation for his start Sunday. Not only did his dad, Floyd, previously pitch for Seattle, but his brother, Brett, recently retired from the Mariners’ organization after having arm problems. Brett Bannister was a 19th-round pick of Seattle in 2005, but didn’t pitch in 2006 after tearing his labrum. “I, just to myself, wanted to go out there and do it for him,” said Bannister (0-1), who allowed three earned runs and four hits in 6 2-3 innings in the loss. … The Royals have been shut out only once this season, but have been held to just one run six times. … On the first five games of their current road trip, the Royals are 10-for-53 with runners in scoring position. Half those hits came in the first inning on Saturday night.
SEATTLE: 1B Richie Sexson nearly ended April with a dubious honor – no singles. Sexson picked up his first single of the season – and an RBI – in the eighth inning Sunday. His previous nine hits were either doubles (six) or home runs (three). “It was strange to go that long without a single. Good time to get one with a guy on third,” Sexson said. … Seattle doubled its stolen base total for the season with two Sunday. Seattle’s four steals is fewest in the league. … Seattle’s bullpen has been solid the last 11 games, going 2-0 with three saves and a 2.62 ERA.
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Devil Rays-Athletics
TAMPA BAY: Rocco Baldelli returned to the lineup as the DH after missing two games with a bruised right knee and hit a solo homer in the fifth inning. Elijah Dukes followed with a home run, marking the first time this season the Devil Rays hit back-to-back homers. … Carl Crawford drew three walks, including an intentional free pass in the seventh. … B.J. Upton homered for the second consecutive game and stole two bases. … The Devil Rays finished 2-3 on their West Coast trip – a positive in the eyes of manager Joe Maddon after his young team completed a sweep of the New York Yankees at home Tuesday night before getting outscored by a combined 20-4 in a pair of losses to the Angels in Anaheim on Wednesday and Thursday. “Beautiful,” Maddon said about the trip. “It was a tough laid-out schedule.”
ed in the second inning Saturday but felt his calf bothering him on the basepaths and was replaced by Danny Putnam in LF to start the third. … Marco Scutaro, Oakland’s super-sub the past two seasons while filling in at SS, started in LF. It was his third OF start in six games and eighth lifetime. Seven of those have been in left. … Mark Ellis’ homer was his 39th as a second baseman, tying him with Dick Green for most in Oakland history. … The A’s acquired OF Ryan Langerhans from Atlanta for a player to be named later or cash and sent Sunday’s losing pitcher, Dallas Braden, to Triple-A Sacramento to make roster room. Langerhans is slated to join the team Tuesday in Boston.
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