INTERLEAGUE
Cardinals-Tigers
ST. LOUIS: Yadier Molina doubled Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a Cardinals catcher since Ted Simmons hit safely in 19 straight during the 1975 season. … Chris Duncan’s 429-foot solo homer to straightaway center at Detroit’s Comerica Park was the first such shot since Chicago’s Paul Konerko hit one on Sept. 26, 2005, off Jason Johnson. … The Cardinals’ 16-25 start is the club’s worst since the 1986 season and manager Tony La Russa’s worst since he joined the club in 1996.
DETROIT: The club should know by Tuesday whether RHP Jeremy Bonderman will return from the disabled list. He missed Friday’s start with a blister on his right middle finger. … The Tigers lead the American League with 133 extra-base hits after collecting four during Sunday’s win over St. Louis. Sean Casey and Carlos Guillen each doubled in the game to maintain the club’s league lead (105) in that category. … Detroit has had an extra-base hit in 30 of its last 31 games and a home run in 18 of its last 20.
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Reds-Indians
CINCINNATI: RHP Aaron Harang doesn’t believe being away from the team for three days to visit his ailing grandfather affected his performance Sunday. “I threw my bullpen on my normal bullpen day when I was home,” said Harang, who was activated from the bereavement list and gave up five runs over five innings in a 5-3 loss to Cleveland. “Everything was normal. I felt fine.” … 2B Brandon Phillips is batting .351 (34-for-97) during a career-high 22-game hitting streak. He has four homers and 15 RBIs during the streak which is the longest in the NL this year and longest by a Reds player since Hal Morris hit in 29 straight in 1996. … OF Ryan Freel has hit in seven of eight games, going 10-for-33 (.303) with five RBIs.
CLEVELAND: The Indians have won all seven of their home series this season. “I don’t know why. I can’t put my finger on it,” said RHP Paul Byrd, who’s 4-0 in four home starts. Byrd has pitched at least six innings in all seven of his starts overall. … SS Jhonny Peralta has 20 RBIs in his last 19 games. During a six-game hitting streak, he has batted .417 (10-for-24) with three homers and seven RBIs. … C-1B Victor Martinez has hit .359 (23-for-64) with three homers and 12 RBIs since May 3. … 2B Josh Barfield has hit .303 (10-for-33) with eight RBIs over his last eight games to put his average at .225. … 3B Casey Blake has hit safely in 11 of 12 games, going 17-for-48 (.354).
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Blue Jays-Phillies
TORONTO: The Blue Jays hit three homers in the eighth inning, tying their season high for most in an inning. They hit three in the first inning against Cleveland on May 1. … LF Matt Stairs homered in three straight games for the first time since he went deep in four straight in 2001. … The Blue Jays play Baltimore on Monday in the Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, N.Y.
PHILADELPHIA: RHP Adam Eaton made his third straight quality start, going 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA during that span. … LF Pat Burrell hit five homers on the Phillies 7-3 homestand. The Phillies hit 12 home runs on the 10-game homestand. … Phillies outfielders lead the NL with 20 assists. RF Shane Victorino leads the league with seven. … The Phillies sent LHP Fabio Castro to Double-A Reading, leaving them without a lefty in the bullpen. Castro was 0-0 with a 12.57 ERA in five innings. … Injured Phillies reliever Ryan Madson struck out two and gave up three hits in two scoreless innings in a rehab appearance at Reading. Manager Charlie Manuel said Madson should be activated before Tuesday’s game at Florida.
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Orioles-Nationals
anager Sam Perlozzo said. … Baltimore plays Toronto in the Hall of Fame game Monday in Cooperstown, N.Y. The Orioles will use 12 players from Class-A Frederick. Perlozzo said that none of his pitchers will appear in the game, but his position players will. “They’ll all start, but they won’t play very long,” he said. … LHP Erik Bedard tied his career high with 12 strikeouts Sunday, something he did twice before.
WASHINGTON: LF Ryan Church left Sunday’s game with a bruised and swollen left forearm after getting hit by a pitch. An MRI exam showed the arm wasn’t broken, and Church said he hoped to be able to play Monday at Cincinnati. … RF Austin Kearns went 0-for-3 Sunday to drop to 1-for-20 in his past six games, leaving his season batting average at .244. “It’s trying to get things done and I’m just not getting any results,” he said. “It’s nothing that I haven’t been through before and I’ll come out of it.” … CF Nook Logan didn’t have an RBI this season as of Friday. But he drove in a run Saturday, then produced a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth Sunday. “I’ve been having good at-bats the last couple of days,” he said. … Nationals pinch hitters are batting 7-for-73 (a .096 average) this season. The team’s pitchers are a combined 6-for-55 (.109).
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Marlins-Devil Rays
FLORIDA: RHP Anibal Sanchez, on the minor league DL because of right shoulder tendinitis, is expected to begin playing catch Monday. … RHP Josh Johnson, out since late March with a right elbow injury, will pitch a simulated game Tuesday in Jupiter, Fla. No date has been set for him to begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment. … OF Alejandro De Aza, sidelined since mid-April with a sprained right ankle, still isn’t ready to begin playing in minor league games.
TAMPA BAY: The Devil Rays have hit 53 homers, their highest total ever through 43 games. … LHP Jon Switzer began a minor league rehab assignment Saturday at Triple-A Durham. … C Josh Paul was not available Sunday after being shaken up when the Marlins’ Miguel Olivo slid hard into home plate Saturday night. X-rays were negative, however manager Joe Maddon’s said Paul’s sore left arm would be re-evaluated before Tampa Bay begins a three-game series against Seattle on Tuesday night. … With the team having an off day Monday, struggling LHP Scott Kazmir’s next start was moved up a day to Tuesday. Maddon said that would put him back on a normal schedule of pitching with four days’ rest, instead of five, and give Kazmir a chance to regain “the sharpness that he normally has.”
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Braves-Red Sox
ATLANTA: OF Andruw Jones, who had been suffering from tightness in his back, was in the lineup after missing the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. He struck out five times. … Recalled INF Martin Prado from Triple-A Richmond and put RHP Anthony Lerew on the 15-day DL because of inflamed nerves in his right forearm. … Matt Diaz, who had four hits, also made a nice catch in foul territory down the left-field line to retire Alex Cora in the sixth. Boston’s Manny Ramirez made one to retire Chipper Jones in the seventh. The line is only 3 feet from the wall in the area, and it’s unusual to see even one catch there.
BOSTON: Recalled LHP Kason Gabbard from Triple-A to start Sunday against Atlanta and then optioned him back after the game. Devern Hansack, Saturday night’s loser, was also optioned to Pawtucket, and Manny Delcarmen was to be brought up on Monday. Delcarmen is 2-2 with a 5.03 ERA in 14 appearances for Pawtucket. … Kevin Youkilis extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.
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Rangers-Astros
allpark. The cards will be placed at the first, third and home plate entrances to the stadium and sentiments can also be sent by e-mailing communitytexasrangers.com. … Kenny Lofton got caught stealing in both the first and second innings of Sunday’s 14-1 win over Houston. It marked the first time a Rangers player was caught stealing twice in one game since Tom Goodwin on Aug. 28, 1998.
nefit the Spina Bifida Association of America. The Astros’ wives got 21 hits to win the spirited competition 12-7.
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Twins-Brewers
MINNESOTA: The Twins currently have a better record on the road (10-10) than at home (10-13). … Minnesota came up short in its attempt to sweep the Brewers this weekend. The last time the Twins swept the Brewers in Milwaukee was September 1978. They swept the Brewers in Minnesota June 30-July 2 in 2006. … Sunday’s loss snapped a five-game winning streak against the Brewers dating back to last year. … RF Michael Cuddyer’s third-inning homer was only his second in 58 at-bats against Milwaukee. It measured 398 feet. … Sunday was only the fifth loss in 20 games in which the Twins scored four or more runs. … The four-run lead is the largest lead they have lost this season.
o the game 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in Milwaukee. … Geoff Jenkins’ fifth-inning homer was the 200th of his career, all as a Brewer. He is fourth on the all-time Brewers home run list, one shy of Cecil Cooper for third place. … The Brewers also erased a four-run deficit against the Chicago Cubs on April 23. They won that game 5-4 in 12 innings.
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White Sox-Cubs
ok itself in the mirror and be careful,” Guillen said. “If they don’t shake it up, I will shake it up. We’ve got guys down in the minor leagues that are throwing the ball well.” … A.J. Pierzynski’s grand slam was the sixth of his career.
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Dodgers-Angels
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: The Dodgers were outscored 19-4 by the Angels in their three-game interleague series. “We started out this week great, and we ended up playing poorly and getting beat three games,” manager Grady Little said. “We feel like we can score runs and we’ve got the people to score runs. It just didn’t happen for us this weekend. … The Dodgers have lost five straight games at Angel Stadium and are 10-21 against the Angels in Anaheim. … The Dodgers have lost 13 of their 18 interleague games since Little took over as manager last season, and 20 of their last 21 road games to AL teams. … RHP Jason Schmidt, who hasn’t pitched since April 14 because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder, threw about 60 pitches in the bullpen before the game. “He keeps extending out his work load,” Little said. “He’s throwing all his pitches.” No timetable has been set for Schmidt’s return. He’s 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA in three starts.
since April 17 because of a fractured middle finger on his left hand, should be ready to return sometime this week. Kendrick has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake. “His bat speed’s there, his timing isn’t quite yet,” Scioscia said. “We want to get him a few more at-bats. … Angels INF-OF Chone Figgins, mired in an 0-for-22 slump, was given Sunday off. His batting average has dropped to .108. … The Angels scored in the first inning in all three games against the Dodgers. They’ve outscored their opponents 48-15 in the first, and have a 19-3 record when scoring in the opening inning.
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Giants-Athletics
said. “He gives us some flexibility because he’s been stretched out. It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment for him.” … 1B Rich Aurilia returned to the Giants’ lineup after not starting the previous four games because of a stiff neck – and was pain-free for the first time in several weeks. He hit his second homer of the year. … C Bengie Molina had the day off. … 2B Ray Durham, nursing a sore groin, likely will be back in the lineup Monday in the opener of a three-game home series against Houston. … CF Dave Roberts did some running before the game and is continuing to work to gain strength and improve range of motion in his surgically repaired left elbow. He had a procedure May 11 to remove bone chips. Roberts hopes to begin doing baseball activities in about a week.
OAKLAND: Bobby Crosby had his nine-game hitting streak snapped. … RHP Esteban Loaiza, on the 60-day DL recovering from a bulging disk in his neck and nursing an injured right knee, is scheduled to pitch Tuesday for Triple-A Sacramento and throw 40 pitches. After that, he could pitch again next Sunday for Class-A Stockton. … LF Shannon Stewart had a day off. … Injured CF Mark Kotsay is slated to play for Sacramento on Monday and he has a schedule for minor rehab assignments that likely will put him on pace to return to the A’s around June 1. … Oakland is leaning toward starting RHP Colby Lewis on Tuesday at Chicago.
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Yankees-Mets
NEW YORK YANKEES: Manager Joe Torre said he spoke to owner George Steinbrenner before Saturday’s 10-7 loss to the Mets. “It was all about support,” Torre said Sunday. … Torre on the upcoming home series vs. AL East-leading Boston: “Until we can straighten ourselves out, we can’t be concerned about catching someone else.” … DH Jason Giambi said he expects to play Monday night when the Red Sox visit Yankee Stadium. Slowed by an aching left foot, he has one hit in his last 26 at-bats. … A light drizzle prevented the teams from taking batting practice on the field. The players hit in the indoor cages.
h said. El Duque could be in the bullpen in the next few days and might start next weekend in Florida. … Despite all the energy that the Subway Series generates, Randolph said he looks more toward the upcoming games against Atlanta. “I really think they’re more important,” he said. “They’re in our division and we have to beat them. The Braves are really where we’re going to earn our chops.”
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Padres-Mariners
zmanoff, after a tough April (.113), has hit safely in seven of his past eight games. He’s hitting .440 (11-of-25) in those games with five doubles and seven RBIs. … Marcus Giles hit .462 (6-of-13) in the three-game series with Seattle.
rove said. “Our bullpen is really thin right now. That’s a lot of baseball to play.” The Mariners also fly to Cleveland on June 11 and Aug. 30 for makeup games.
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Royals-Rockies
KANSAS CITY: RHP Joel Peralta, who began his career in the Dominican Republic as a shortstop, said he never developed a home run trot. “I just hit the ball and ran,” Peralta said after his 12th inning two-run double. … The win secured a 6-4 road trip. “We lost the game the first Saturday on this trip in Chicago with two outs in the ninth,” manager Buddy Bell said. “Since then, we are 6-2. That’s pretty good.” … The Royals have been hit 32 times to lead the majors. … 3B Alex Gordon, who was 2-for-5 on Sunday, had his second career multi-hit game. … 1B Ryan Shealy has consecutive three-hit games.
COLORADO: RHP Rodrigo Lopez (strained right elbow) will throw Thursday for Triple-A Colorado Springs. “We will evaluate him and go from there,” manager Clint Hurdle said. … RHP LaTroy Hawkins experienced soreness in his right elbow Sunday after working back-to-back days with Colorado Springs. … OF Jeff Baker will see more of his playing time at third base after the recall of OF Ryan Spilborghs. … Colorado stranded nine baserunners from the eighth inning on. 3B Garrett Atkins left eight runners alone. … 1B Todd Helton had his 20th multi-hit game of the year Sunday, finishing 2-for-4.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Diamondbacks-Pirates
ARIZONA: Arizona is 7-2 against Pittsburgh the last two seasons. … C Chris Snyder thinks there was a carryover from the Diamondbacks’ 9-8 comeback victory against the Pirates on Saturday night to Sunday, when they led by four runs in the fourth before winning 5-2. The Diamondbacks trailed 7-1 Saturday before scoring seven runs in the final three innings. Snyder said, “I think we picked it up yesterday (Saturday), and we fed off the momentum we built last night and took it into today.” Snyder’s three-run double in the fourth keyed Sunday’s victory. … Arizona totaled 19 runs in the three-game Pirates series, scoring at least five runs in every game. The Diamondbacks didn’t score more than four runs in any of their first 15 games in May.
PITTSBURGH: SS Jack Wilson (shoulder) didn’t start any of the three games of the Arizona series, but should be ready to play Tuesday at St. Louis. … The Pirates are 10-10 on the road this season after going 24-57 last season, when they didn’t get their 11th road victory until July 20. … CF Chris Duffy, his average down to .220, didn’t start the final two games of the Arizona series after starting all but five of the first 41 games. Sitting Duffy allows manager Jim Tracy to move Xavier Nady to center and start Ryan Doumit in RF. … The Pirates infield nearly turned an exceptional defensive play during the 5-2 loss Sunday to Arizona. With Conor Jackson on first, 2B Freddy Sanchez made a backhanded stop of Orlando Hudson’s grounder up the middle and made a backhand flip to SS Jose Castillo to start an apparent double play. But Castillo was ruled to be off the bag, and Jackson was ruled safe.
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