AMERICAN LEAGUE
Athletics-Red Sox
OAKLAND: CF Ryan Langerhans made his Oakland debut and batted ninth after being obtained in a trade with Atlanta on Sunday. Bobby Kielty went on the disabled list, the fourth Athletics outfielder currently on the DL. C Adam Melhuse was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. “It gives us flexibility now to give Jason (Kendall) a day off or pinch run for Mike (Piazza) whenever we need to,” manager Bob Geren said. … OF Nick Swisher, out with a strained left hamstring, probably will play Friday at Tampa Bay, Geren said. … With all the injuries, Geren said, “the way everything’s going right now, you just want to look at the short term. … It’s going to be a nice thing to have too many healthy bodies.”
ke Lowell, whose 14-game hitting streak ended in Boston’s previous game Sunday, singled in the first inning Tuesday. … Regular 2B Dustin Pedroia, in a 5-for-45 slump, returned to the lineup. His replacement, Alex Cora, homered on Sunday.
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Orioles-Tigers
BALTIMORE: Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said he didn’t think the hostilities from Monday night’s trouble with the Tigers would carry over. Both benches and bullpens emptied after Jeremy Bonderman threw a pitch that Orioles SS Miguel Tejada had to skip out of the way of. Tejada then pointed his bat at Bonderman. “That’s just an unfortunate situation,” Perlozzo said. “You don’t want to see that happen.” … Baltimore pitchers led the AL in walks. “We need to correct it,” Perlozzo said. “A little different game plan.”
DETROIT: Tigers manager Jim Leyland talked about pitching inside the day after both benches and bullpens emptied when Miguel Tejada had to skip out of the way of a pitch from Detroit RHP Jeremy Bonderman and then pointed his bat at Bonderman. “I think you have to pitch inside,” Leyland said. “But if you continue to pitch inside and plunk people, they’re going to get (mad).” … Leyland also said he would rest SS Carlos Guillen on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon against Baltimore because of a sore right shoulder. Guillen has been bothered by it for much of the season.
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Blue Jays-Indians
TORONTO: RHP Victor Zambrano, who underwent reconstructive elbow surgery a year ago, will make his first start of the season Wednesday. He has pitched just 5 1-3 innings in six relief appearances, going 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA. He’s replacing RHP Josh Towers, who is 1-3 with a 4.70 ERA in four starts, in the rotation. … RHP Dustin McGowan will be called up from Triple-A Syracuse to start Thursday’s game. He takes the rotation spot of LHP Gustavo Chacin, who was placed on the disabled list Monday with a sore shoulder. McGowan is 0-2 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts at Syracuse. … OF Vernon Wells, who missed Monday’s game with flulike symptoms, was in the lineup.
f four games against Seattle postponed because of snow last month. Casey Blake, the Indians’ player representative, took part in a conference call on Tuesday as both teams and baseball officials tried to sort out a plan. Most of the discussion centered on whether the games should be made up as part of doubleheaders and whether the Indians will have to play what were home games on the road.
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Twins-Devil Rays
MINNESOTA: INF Jeff Cirillo (left knee) was activated from the 15-day disabled list after playing one minor league rehab game Monday night with Class-A Fort Myers. “Just body soreness from not playing three weeks,” Cirillo said. “I’m good.” … To make room for Cirillo, INF Alexi Casilla was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. He will join Rochester on Wednesday. “A very exciting player,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s a fun player to watch. It will be good for him to get some action.” … 2B Luis Castillo (quadriceps) was back in the lineup for the first time since April 20.
sixth for the second time this season. He had been batting ninth. … CF Rocco Baldelli played in the field for the first time since bruising his right knee last Thursday. He was the DH on Sunday.
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Yankees-Rangers
NEW YORK: CF Johnny Damon, bothered by recent back trouble, didn’t start Tuesday. He said he felt better after several sessions with his Florida chiropractor and hopes to play in the final two games of the series. … RHP Chien-Ming Wang said he hopes to make his next start, which manager Joe Torre said will be Saturday at the earliest, after cracking the nail on his middle finger against the Red Sox on Sunday. Wang is scheduled to throw in the bullpen Wednesday. … Longtime Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer returned to the booth for the first time Tuesday since having surgery on a malignant brain tumor in December. “Everything is going along really well for me,” said Murcer, who plans to work 50 games this season.
orning. As a result, Washington gave OF/DH Sammy Sosa the night off.
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Angels-Royals
LOS ANGELES: INF Maicer Izturis and OF Garrett Anderson sat out again and manager Mike Scioscia said they would both probably miss another day or two at least. Anderson has a sore right hip flexor and Izturis is bothered with a sore right hamstring. … With a 15-11 record, the Angels tied their franchise record for victories in April. It’s the sixth time they’ve won 15 in the opening month, and the first time since 1998. … The Angels are in a stretch of 17 straight games without a day off. Their next off day is May 7.
KANSAS CITY: Billy Butler, just two weeks past his 21st birthday, was called up from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday and slated to start in left field. One of the Royals’ top hitting prospects in years, Butler was a first-round draft choice in 2004 and was hitting .337 at Omaha. The Royals also put 1B Ryan Shealy on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring strain and called up LHP Neal Musser from Omaha. … The Royals ended April 8-18 after going 6-18 in April of 2005 and 5-17 in April of ’06. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, KC is the only team in major league history to post three straight April records of 10 games under .500.
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White Sox-Mariners
CHICAGO: DH Jim Thome will miss the next couple weeks with a strained right rib cage. He was added to the 15-day disabled list on Sunday and did not accompany Chicago on this trip. Manager Ozzie Guillen said OF Scott Podsednik, on the DL since April 17 with a right adductor strain “may take a little while” before returning. Yet Guillen said he isn’t going to ask general manager Kenny Williams to obtain hitting help from elsewhere. “Not yet, no,” Guillen said. “We’ve got to learn to play the next couple weeks without them.” … Chicago was 12-11 in April, after going 17-7 in the previous two Aprils.
SEATTLE: Manager Mike Hargrove has decided whether Jeff Weaver’s next turn in the rotation or demote him from the staff. But the manager isn’t announcing the decision yet. “I’m not going to talk about the Weaver situation yet. OK?” he said before Tuesday’s game. Weaver is 0-4 with a 18.26 ERA and hasn’t made it past three innings in three of his first four Seattle starts since signing an $8,325,000 million, one-year contract as a free agent from St. Louis. RHP Felix Hernandez had another bullpen session Tuesday and if his strained forearm responds well, the ace will likely start on Friday at New York. Weaver would be due to pitch next on Saturday, but the team could skip his start because of an off day it had Monday. Or it may start Cha Seung Baek, who has allowed five runs in two no-decisions since Hernandez got hurt April 18.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs-Pirates
CHICAGO: The Cubs were 10-14 in April, disappointing the fans who thought a $300 million offseason infusion of players would significantly improve the team. Still, manager Lou Piniella wasn’t unhappy with his team’s effort, even though he was displeased with the results. Piniella said, “The team is playing hard. I’ve got no complaints. We’ve been in probably 22 or 23 games. The kids are playing hard, but we’re just not getting any key hits. … Our bullpen doesn’t have a win yet. Who would have thought that? All of these things invariably will improve and come together.” … The Cubs were the only team in the majors that didn’t win a one-run game in April. They were 0-6.
PITTSBURGH: Ian Snell, who starts Wednesday, is 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA in five career appearances against the Cubs. … OF Xavier Nady still hasn’t proven to the Pirates his hamstring injury has healed, so it he was held out again Tuesday against the Cubs. Nady hasn’t started since getting hurt April 21 against the Dodgers, a span of nine games. There is no definite date for Nady’s return. Manager Jim Tracy said, “He continues to have good strength in the hamstring, but as he goes through some of the workouts he still experiences some weakness toward the latter part of the workout. To me, that’s still a little bit of a red flag.” … Nady had three homers and 12 RBIs in 18 games before being injured.
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Marlins-Mets
FLORIDA: RHP Nate Field was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for RHP Ricky Nolasco, who was activated off the disabled list to start against the Mets. Nolasco went on the DL on April 9 with right elbow inflammation, with the move made retroactive to April 7. … RHP Sergio Mitre (blister) is expected to come off the DL in time to start Saturday’s game against San Diego. … The Marlins entered Tuesday night’s game with 19 homers in their last 10 contests. They hit 13 in their first 15 games. They were second in the majors with 32 homers behind Atlanta (36).
.. 2B Jose Valentin was on crutches when he came in the clubhouse before Tuesday’s game. The Mets put him on the disabled list Monday with a partially torn ligament in his right knee. “It’s not sore. It’s not swollen. It’s just stiff,” said Valentin, who is expected to be out about four weeks. Valentin is riding a bicycle for about 20 minutes every day and is expected to travel to Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Wednesday to continue rehabbing the knee at the Mets’ spring training facility.
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Phillies-Braves
PHILADELPHIA: CF Aaron Rowand rejoined the lineup after leaving the previous night with strained back. Rowand hurt himself sliding into second base in the fifth inning and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh. … The Phillies had another losing April, but at least they bounced back from a dismal start. After losing 10 of the first 13 games, Philadelphia closed the month 8-4. Manager Charlie Manuel said he’s most proud of “the fact that we bounced back. We’ve got a long way to go.”
e Pirates closer. “Remember, I did that all of last year.” … OF Willie Harris nearly had a major embarrassment in his first game with the Braves, but Andruw Jones bailed him out. Harris had trouble picking up a fly ball against the dark, cloudless sky on Monday night. But he managed to see it just in time, reaching out to make the catch while standing against the wall. “Andruw kept saying, ‘You’re right on it, you’re right on it,”’ Harris said. “Finally, I saw it. He’s pretty good, you know.”
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Reds-Astros
on. It’s one of six road trips of at least 10 days for Cincinnati this season, the most in the majors.
HOUSTON: RHP Jason Jennings, who has been on the disabled list since April 9 with tendinitis in his throwing elbow, will throw his fourth bullpen session on Wednesday. If that goes well, he’ll likely pitch two simulated games next week. He’s eligible to come off the disabled list now, but Astros manager Phil Garner said he’ll be out for at least two more weeks. “At the end of next week we’ll make a determination on where we are and what we’re going to do,” Garner said. “I think a rehab assignment is probably in order.” Garner said he’d like Jennings to have a rehab start to build his arm strength and help guard against a setback. Jennings is confident he’s making progress. “I feel as I would during the season,” he said. “I feel pretty strong going into it. Hopefully I’ll feel good coming out of it.” … Mike Lamb started at third base Tuesday as Garner mixed up the lineup in an effort to spark Houston’s offense.
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Cardinals-Brewers
thony Reyes in the series finale. Reyes is currently riding a six-game losing streak that dates back to last season. In his career, he is 2-1 against Milwaukee, including 1-0 at Miller Park with a 2.87 ERA. … The Cardinals are a better team on the road (7-5 entering Tuesday’s game) than at home (3-9). Last year, the Cardinals went 49-31 at home, second best in the National League. … Closer Jason Isringhausen is one save short of 256 in his career, which would tie him for 24th all-time with Todd Worrell.
MILWAUKEE: The Brewers finished April in first place for the first time since 1998. The 16 wins by the Brewers in April is good enough for second all-time in franchise history, behind 1987 when they finished April with 18 victories. That was the year the Brewers won 13 consecutive games to start the season. … With RHP Jeff Suppan’s complete game victory Tuesday night, the Brewers finished April with two pitchers with four victories each for the first time in franchise history. … In the series finale, LHP Chris Capuano to the mound. Capuano is 4-3 lifetime against the Cardinals, with a 5.43 ERA in nine starts. … 2B Rickie Weeks was back in the starting lineup Tuesday evening after sitting due to an injured finger the last two games.
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Diamondbacks-Dodgers
ARIZONA: The Diamondbacks finished April with a .251 team batting average and a 3.57 ERA. RHP Edgar Gonzalez gave up eight home runs in his five starts, tying Carlos Zambrano and Vicente Padilla for the most allowed by any pitcher during the month. … RHP Micah Owings, sidelined due to an injured right hamstring, will come off the disabled list Thursday to start against the Mets. Gonzalez, who was scheduled to start that day, will go back to the bullpen. … 1B Conor Jackson, who had two stitches on his right hand after getting thrown out on a headfirst slide into home plate on Sunday, did not start for the second straight game.
ashington last August. He started 15 games at 1B for the Mets in 2005.
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Rockies-Giants
COLORADO: INF Clint Barmes was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs and the Rockies recalled INF Omar Quintanilla from Colorado Springs. Barmes had been called up two weeks ago when second baseman Kazuo Matsui went on the 15-day disabled list with back spasms. Barmes appeared in 10 games for the Rockies, going 2-for-20. Quintanilla hit .255 with six RBI in 17 games for Colorado Springs. Matsui was hitting .361 with three RBIs and had five stolen bases in five attempts when he went on the DL on April 15. … SS Troy Tulowitzki will be getting the ball from his unassisted triple play from Sunday. Steffan Tubbs, co-host of the Colorado Morning News show for Denver radio station KOA, retrieved the ball and plans to personally give it back to Tulowitzki – hoping for a signed bat or jersey in return.
hat he would be healthy and we’d see a different Armando Benitez,” Bochy said. “And we have.” … The Giants wore gray No. 42 jerseys for batting practice in honor of Jackie Robinson. Players around the league wore Robinson’s number on April 15 for the 60th anniversary of him breaking baseball’s color barrier, but San Francisco was rained out that day in Pittsburgh and finally found an opportunity to wear them Tuesday. The shirts will be signed and auctioned off for Robinson’s foundation.
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Nationals-Padres
WASHINGTON: Monday night’s win against Padres ace Jake Peavy improved Washington to 8-9 since its 1-8 start. It also gave the Nationals the chance for their first series victory of 2007. The series concludes Wednesday night.
SAN DIEGO: 2B Marcus Giles was feeling better but missed his second straight start Tuesday night due to a rib cage injury sustained during a 17-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Manager Bud Black thinks Giles will be able to play beginning with a weekend series at Florida. … INF Russell Branyan is expected to rejoin the team Friday at Florida. He’s been on the bereavement list since Friday due to the death of his father-in-law. … Neither the Nationals nor the Padres were able to take batting practice due to a college game between UC San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene. Black visited both dugouts, but the presence of aluminum bats didn’t sit well with him. “I don’t like the sound,” Black said.
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