Friday, Sept. 24, 2004 | 2:15 a.m.
OAKLAND: The Athletics, in a 6-11 slide, are still alone atop the AL West. They've been there for 49 straight days, their longest stretch since 1992. ... RF Jermaine Dye is 9-for-22 with five doubles in five games since missing 16 of 17 with a sprained left thumb. ... 1B Scott Hatteberg is 2-for-22 the past six games, dropping his average from .305 to .296.
TEXAS: RHP Doug Brocail has gone 17 2-3 consecutive innings over 15 outings without allowing an earned run. He threw another scoreless inning Thursday. ... The 5-4 win Thursday over Oakland was the 15th win this season for Texas in its last at-bat, and sixth in the bottom of the ninth inning or later.
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Devil Rays-Yankees
TAMPA BAY: Manager Lou Piniella reiterated that he intends to stay with the Devil Rays despite reports that the Mets are interested in hiring him, but said his agent will meet with Tampa Bay management on Monday to discuss the direction the team is headed. ... 3B Aubrey Huff was hitting just .207 with four homers and 18 RBIs on May 19. After going 4-for-4 with an RBI on Thursday, he's batting .301 with 28 homers and 100 RBIs. "Just to be able to come back and put up some good numbers is rewarding," he said ... Rookie LHP Scott Kazmir will have his scheduled start Friday against Toronto pushed back to Monday because he has a tender left middle finger. Mark Hendrickson will start in his place against Toronto. ... Rookie RHP Doug Waechter, who lasted just one-plus inning Wednesday, was dropped from the rotation and sent to the bullpen.
NEW YORK: RHP Kevin Brown had the pins removed from his broken left hand, and will throw a bullpen session Friday. Manager Joe Torre hasn't announced the starter for Sunday's game against Boston, and didn't completely rule out Brown. "Hopefully he'll get to the mound a couple of times before the season ends," Torre said. "We could decide to simulate a game and then get him in a real game next week. We'll see." Brown, wearing a protective wrap around his hand, said he had some internal padding added to his glove. "All I know is that I'll throw whenever they want me to throw," Brown said. "Beyond that, I'll make no prognostications." ... DH-1B Jason Giambi went 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI and is 2-for-17 in five games since coming off the DL. "It's getting there," Giambi said. Torre has been happy with how Giambi's looked in his past two games, but won't make a decision on whether the slugger will make the postseason roster until the end of the regular season. "I'm not even worried about that right now," Giambi said.
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Orioles-Red Sox
BALTIMORE: Brian Roberts led off the game with his 48th double of the season, breaking Cal Ripken Jr.'s franchise record from 1983.
BOSTON: OF-DH Ellis Burks was activated from the 60-day disabled list before the game. He has played in nine games this season in his second stint with the Red Sox before having two operations on his left knee. To make room for Burks on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox released LHP Phil Seibel, who will undergo reconstructive surgery on his left elbow in the offseason. ... Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn were given the night off from the starting lineup. ... Jason Varitek stole his career-high ninth base of the season in the second inning.
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Twins-Indians
MINNESOTA: LHP Johan Santana, who is 19-6 with a .2.65 ERA, goes for his 20th win against Cleveland Friday. "That's a special number, but to me it's not about his record," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's how he's throwing. He's been unbelievable. He's been dominating. He doesn't give up many runs and he doesn't give up many hits." ... 1B Justin Morneau (right hand) could be back in the lineup Friday. He hasn't played since Sept. 18. He got hit on the hand by Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia on Aug. 15 and later had it stepped on.
CLEVELAND: After a shaky start, SS Omar Vizquel entered Thursday night with a 48-game errorless streak. Vizquel, vying for his 10th Gold Glove in what could be his final season in Cleveland, has only one error in his last 74 games and four in his last 112. ... DH Travis Hafner was back in the lineup after missing one game with a sore elbow. Hafner was awaiting MRI results on the elbow, which he expects to have surgery on to clean out in the offseason.
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Royals-White Sox
KANSAS CITY: SS Angel Berroa was out of the lineup against the White Sox on Thursday. He left in the third inning of Wednesday's extra-inning win at Tampa Bay with a bruised left shoulder. He was hit by a pitch in the second inning. Berroa is currently in an 0-for-15 slump.
CHICAGO: INF Juan Uribe missed his second straight game with a sore lower back. ... LF Carlos Lee was back in the lineup on Thursday after missing Wednesday's game for personal reasons. ... The White Sox are 27-18 in one-run games. The 27 victories are the second-most in the American League, behind Oakland with 30. ... Before Thursday's game, Lee has yet to make an error in left field this season and has a streak of 156 games without a gaffe. Lee has not made an error since Sept. 13, 2003, versus Boston. Only four other outfielders in White Sox history have gone an entire season without an error.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs-Pirates
CHICAGO: RHP Kerry Wood should have no problem making his next scheduled start, Sunday in New York. Wood went back to Chicago to be examined after he complained of back pain brought on by a soft hotel bed in Pittsburgh. ... Sammy Sosa was thrown out at second on an RBI single Tuesday night because he mistakenly thought the ball was a home run. Sosa did his trademark hop at home plate and jogged down the first-base line as the ball hit off the wall. Manager Dusty Baker shrugged it off saying, "Sammy was hopping before I got here." Sosa snubbed reporters after Wednesday's game, apparently upset that his hop had become an issue. Before Thursday's game he said, "I've been doing the hop for 14 years. You want me to change now? Like I said, this is my style and I'm going to keep it, like it or not."
PITTSBURGH: 3B Aramis Ramirez is hitting .319 for the Cubs with 34 home runs and 100 RBIs. The Pirates virtually gave him away in a July 2003 trade caused by financial concerns. McClendon said Ramirez's success comes as no surprise. "The player that he is now, he would have been the same player here. It wasn't Rammy's defense or offense as to why we traded him. I think we all know that. We didn't have a choice. It had nothing to do with the player, it was the money." ... SS Jack Wilson was involved in one of the Pirates' two double plays on Thursday. He's been in 121 this season, seven shy of the Pirates record for a shortstop set by Gene Alley in 1966.
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Cardinals-Brewers
ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals have a winning record against every team they've played this season. St. Louis is 7-6 against Milwaukee with four games left between the teams. ... 1B Albert Pujols, who was 1-for-11 in the first three games of the series, didn't start Thursday, but pinch hit in the eighth inning and struck out. ... As of Thursday afternoon, no decision had been made on RHP Julian Tavarez's appeal of a 10-game suspension stemming from having a foreign substance on his hat during an Aug. 20 game against Pittsburgh.
MILWAUKEE: Geoff Jenkins' solo homer in the sixth inning was the first in seven home games for the Brewers, a span of 218 at-bats. ... Nos. 5-9 in the batting order went a combined 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts. ... The Brewers sent INF Matt Erickson outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, leaving the roster at 39 players.
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Diamondbacks-Rockies
ARIZONA: OF Robby Hammock hit his first home run since May 28, a span of 85 at-bats since he homered at Los Angeles. ... RHP Brandon Webb is 3-11 since June 9 and leads the NL with 16 losses. ... LHP Michael Gosling turned 24. ... Manager Al Pedrique was impressed with what he saw of Colorado LHP Jeff Francis. "What I like the most about him is he's not afraid to pitch inside," Pedrique said. "If he keeps doing that he is going to be successful up here." ... LHP Shane Nance complained of soreness in his right knee after the opener. He is to be re-examined Friday.
COLORADO: Five rookies were in the starting lineup for the Rockies in the opener, the fifth time that has happened this year. C Charles Johnson was in the starting lineup for the first time in nine games ... OF Jeromy Burnitz has 17 RBIs against Arizona this year, the most by any Diamondbacks' opponent. ... 3B Andy Tracy played third base for the first time since June 13, 2001, at Yankee Stadium. ... Burnitz was 4-for-30 in September before his three hits in the first game.
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Mets-Expos
NEW YORK: CF Mike Cameron missed his second straight game because of a strained tendon in his left wrist. Cameron sustained the injury during Tuesday's 6-1 loss and had to leave that game after singling in the seventh inning. He is day to day and hopes to return to the lineup Friday.
MONTREAL: Players' association chief operating officer Gene Orza met with Expos players in their clubhouse prior to batting practice. C Brian Schneider, the team's player representative, said that Orza wanted to meet with the players to ensure they are properly prepared for the possibility that the team's long-awaited and much-anticipated relocation will come about for 2005. "All the indications and everything that everyone has been telling us, it looks like it might happen," Schneider said.
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Phillies-Marlins
PHILADELPHIA: Wednesday's victory assured the Phillies a winning record in road series this season. Philadelphia, which opens its final road series of the season Friday at Montreal, has won 11 road series, lost nine and tied six.
FLORIDA: Josh Beckett made his 24th start Thursday, tying his season best, set last year. ... Alex Gonzalez's third-inning double Wednesday gave him 30 for the season, making him the only NL shortstop with 30 doubles and 20 homers. ... The Marlins, who begin a 10-game trip Friday at Atlanta, finish the season on the road for the first time since 2001.
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Reds-Braves
CINCINNATI: After attending his grandfather's funeral in Texas, RHP Ryan Wagner is expected to rejoin the team Friday in Pittsburgh. ... RHP Joe Valentine had been a closer throughout his professional career until he opened this season at Triple-A Louisville as a starter while fine-tuning his third pitch, a changeup. Recalled on Aug. 14, Valentine now is the fill-in closer for the Reds while Danny Graves is out with strep throat. "It's an unfortunate thing with Danny but hopefully I can step into the role and the team will not miss a beat," said Valentine, who earned his second save Wednesday night. "It's an opportunity for me to showcase what I can do." Valentine was acquired from Oakland as part of the July 30, 2003, trade that sent OF Jose Guillen to the Athletics.
ATLANTA: Manager Bobby Cox said Thursday he could not remember the last time he had to go to the mound to pull closer John Smoltz out of a game, as Cox did Wednesday night after Smoltz blew a save by giving up five runs in the ninth inning. "I started to tell John 'I don't recall meeting you here before' but I know he wouldn't have thought that was funny," Cox said. ... LHP Mike Hampton threw in the bullpen again before Thursday night's game and said he expects to start Saturday's game against Florida if he has no discomfort Friday. Hampton has torn cartilage in his left knee that will require offseason surgery. Cox said rookie Jose Capellan would start Saturday if Hampton is unable to pitch.
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Dodgers-Padres
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Astros-Giants
HOUSTON: Until they lost their first two games in San Francisco earlier this week, the Astros hadn't lost a series since Aug. 20-22 against the Chicago Cubs. They entered the series finale 27-9 - tied with Boston as the majors' best record since Aug. 15.
SAN FRANCISCO: Manager Felipe Alou prefers a tight division race to a runaway finish. the Giants coasted into the playoffs last season after clinching the NL West early. "The last two weeks, there was no real incentive to come to the ballpark," Alou said. "That might be one of the reasons that we lost in the first round."
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