Sunday, Sept. 26, 2004 | 2:08 a.m.
OAKLAND: Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Angels was the Athletics' fourth in five games and they're 10-13 in September. ... Two of Oakland's top three starters, Barry Zito and Tim Hudson, are not facing the Angels this weekend. ... Oakland rookies left the stadium Saturday dressed in gaudy women's clothing and wigs; it was the team's hazing day.
ANAHEIM: SS David Eckstein drew an intentional walk from Ricardo Rincon with first base open and two out in the eighth - the first intentional walk of Eckstein's big league career. Chone Figgins followed with an RBI single in the Angels' 5-3 win. ... Saturday's game was a sellout, as is Sunday's. That assures the Angels of a club-record 45 sellouts this year. The previous high was 25 last season.
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Tigers-Orioles
DETROIT: Omar Infante struck out with the bases loaded in the fifth, making him 1-for-10 in that situation with five strikeouts. ... The Tigers failed to get an extra base hit Saturday against the Orioles, only the second time that has happened in 45 games.
BALTIMORE: SS Miguel Tejada doubled in the eighth, extending his hitting streak to 12. ... New closer B.J. Ryan recorded his second save of the season. ... Jay Gibbons made his ninth start of the season at first base Saturday, after playing Friday in right field and going 0-for-3 at the plate.
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Blue Jays-Devil Rays
TORONTO: With Sunday's game at Tampa Bay cancelled by Hurricane Jeanne, LHP Gustavo Chacin will have his start pushed back to Wednesday. ... RHP Roy Halladay will make his scheduled start Monday. "He needs to stay on line," manager John Gibbonss said. It will be Halladay's second outing since being sidelined by a right shoulder injury. ... Gibbons said C Gregg Zaun (sore foot) could start a couple times during the upcoming four-game series at Baltimore.
TAMPA BAY: With Sunday's game cancelled because of Hurricane Jeanne, RHP Rob Bell will have his start pushed back to Friday. ... LHPs Scott Kazmir and John Halama remain the scheduled starters for the first two games of a three-game set with Boston that begins Monday. Wednesday's starter has not been announced. ... Manager Lou Piniella believes LF Carl Crawford should win a Gold Glove this season. "He'll get to balls and make better plays than the rest of the left fielders," Piniella said.
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Yankees-Red Sox
NEW YORK: RHP Kevin Brown will return to the rotation Sunday to start the series finale against the Red Sox. Brown has been out since breaking his non-pitching hand when he punched a clubhouse wall in frustration on Sept. 3. "The good thing about this is I get a chance to get my feet wet before playoffs."
BOSTON: Manager Terry Francona doesn't believe that Pedro Martinez has thrown in the towel against the Yankees. Martinez said after losing on Friday, "call the Yankees my daddy," but Francona said, "I know if we had to go back and play them again, I wouldn't have a problem sending him out there. I think he'll be OK."
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Twins-Indians
MINNESOTA: SS Cristian Guzman did not start Saturday night, becaming the latest regular to get a late-season break. "He's scuffling at the plate a little, so we'll give him a day off," manager Ron Gardenhire said of Guzman, who is hitting .118 (2-for-17) on the Twins' trip. ... OF Torii Hunter and 2B Luis Rivas did not start for the second straight day. ... Gardenhire said he'll try to give his bullpen the right balance of work heading into the playoffs. "Our bullpen was pretty good last year and we've been just as good this year with more arm strength," he said. "We definitely have more power arms." ... RHP Joe Nathan supplies most of that power. The hard thrower, acquired last winter from San Francisco, has 43 saves in 46 chances.
CLEVELAND: 2B Ronnie Belliard returned to the lineup after missing three games with flu-like symptoms. "They never said what it was, but I feel better, so I want to play," said Belliard, who hit just .211 (24-for-114 in his previous 31 games before Saturday. ... Manager Eric Wedge said 1B Ben Broussard's strong second half has made an impression. "Benny has earned the right to start at his position," Wedge said when asked about plans for 2005. Broussard has hit .298 with 11 homers and 39 RBI since the All-Star break and has 54 RBI in his last 74 games.
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Royals-White Sox
KANSAS CITY: 1B Ken Harvey and RHP Scott Sullivan will miss the rest of the season. Harvey has a sprained right knee and Sullivan is out with a back strain. Harvey last played Sept. 18 at Cleveland. He ended the season with a .287 average in 120 games. He also hit 13 homers and drove in 55 RBIs. Sullivan was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 29. Sullivan was 3-4 with a 4.77 ERA in 49 relief appearances.
CHICAGO: C Sandy Alomar Jr. is hoping to be back with the White Sox next season. "I hope it is here, if it's not here I will stick somewhere else," Alomar said. Alomar has only played in 49 games this season. He is hitting .238 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. He has been used as third string catcher for most of the second half of the season. Alomar, 38, hasn't talked to anyone about his future. "I have no clue, I haven't talked to anyone, I'm a free agent, I'm anticipating their (White Sox) not going to pick up my option."
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Mariners-Rangers
SEATTLE: When 1B Raul Ibanez stretched his on-base streak to 11 straight plate appearances on Friday night, he matched Ken Griffey Jr.'s club record set in 1989. ...Batting coach Paul Molitor, who finished his Hall of Fame playing career with 3,319 hits, said he's had fun being a part of Ichiro Suzuki's pursuit of the all-time single-season hits record of 257 set by George Sisler in 1920. "It's been a joy for me to watch," Molitor said. "It's been like a hitting streak for him. He gets one, and then he can get greedy and add on."
TEXAS: RHP Carlos Almanzar's four-game suspension is up on Sunday, but manager Buck Showalter said he is unsure if the reliever has recovered enough from a sore right forearm to be able to pitch. ...2B Alfonso Soriano wants to DH while he recovers from a strained left hamstring, but team doctors nixed the idea because he could aggravate the injury. Soriano thinks he could be ready to DH if the Rangers make the playoffs.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs-Mets
CHICAGO: 2B Mark Grudzielanek has a strained right hamstring and probably will not play until Monday at the earliest. ... Sammy Sosa struck out four times for the second time this season. He's struck out six of nine at-bats. ... A goat might not have been welcome into Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series, but the Cubs have a new four-legged friend in their clubhouse: a plastic buck. Reliever Kyle Farnsworth brought the buck to a game several weeks ago and the team adopted it as their good-luck charm. The buck was wearing a Farnsworth jersey Friday and Saturday, and had a seat on one of the small couches in the visiting clubhouse at Shea Stadium. Before Saturday's game, one of his antlers was broken off and a piece of white medical tape covered its spot on the buck's head. "He's not injured, he's undergoing repairs," Farnsworth said. The Antler was back in its place before the clubhouse was closed.
NEW YORK: The Mets improved to 11-6 in extra-inning games. They are 68-87 overall. ... Jose Reyes pinch-hit with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and grounded into a force at home. ... Reliever Tyler Yates pitched 1 1-3 innings to extend his career-best scoreless streak to 8 1-3 innings.
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Astros-Brewers
HOUSTON: In five of their last six games, the Astros have failed to score more than two runs. "We just have to keep thinking we're going to break through," manager Phil Garner said. ...CF Carlos Beltran needs two home runs to become the fourth player in major league history to record 40 stolen bases and 40 home runs in one season. ... RF Lance Berkman needs one home run to become the first Astros outfielder to register three straight seasons of at least 30 home runs.
MILWAUKEE: With Saturday's win evening their series with Houston at 1-1, the Brewers will attempt to win just their third series since the All-Star break on Sunday. ... Milwaukee concludes its home season Sunday. It is 36-44 at home this year. ... RHP Wes Obermueller, who won Saturday's game, was 2-for-4 Sunday and is hitting .395 this season (15-for-38).
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Cardinals-Rockies
ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals' bullpen has 55 saves this season, a new team record. The previous record was 54 in 1993. ... Jason Isringhausen has 100 saves with St. Louis, 176 overall. He has 46 this season, one short of Lee Smith's team record set in 1991. ... John Mabry matched a career-high with his 13th homer Saturday against Colorado. He also had 13 in 1996. ... St. Louis has 102 wins, most since 1944 (105) and tied for fourth-most in franchise history.
COLORADO: RHP Steve Reed dropped his appeal and started a reduced two-game suspension on Saturday. He was ejected on June 6 for arguing balls and strikes against San Francisco. ... At 38-42, Colorado is assured of its second home losing season in the 10-year history of Coors Field. The Rockies were 39-42 there in 1999. ... 1B Todd Helton committed his first error since Aug. 17 on Saturday when he couldn't handle a low throw by C Todd Greene in the seventh inning Saturday against St. Louis.
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Dodgers-Giants
LOS ANGELES: LHP Wilson Alvarez, who has discomfort in his hip and missed his start Thursday, pitched a bullpen session and could be available for long relief as soon as Monday. ... 1B Shawn Green observed the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur and didn't play.
SAN FRANCISCO: Giants CF Marquis Grissom got the day off. He's 4-for-20 lifetime against Dodgers starter Jose Lima. ... J.T. Snow batted in the No. 2 hole for the Giants and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk. ... Barry Bonds, who hit his 702nd career homer Friday night, matched his career high with five walks, including three intentional.
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Marlins-Braves
MARLINS: While Florida has been a major disappointment down the stretch, the Marlins do have a chance to set a club record for road wins. They went 40-41 away from home in 1997 - three more wins than they had going into Saturday night's game. They're finishing the regular season with a 10-game road trip. ... Juan Pierre broke his own club record when he beat out a bunt leading off the fourth for his 205th hit of the season. The speedy outfielder had 204 hits last season.
BRAVES: LHP Horacio Ramirez was activated the disabled list. A valuable member of the rotation early in the season, Ramirez had been on the DL since May 26 with a sore shoulder. The problem stems from an inflamed nerve, which weakened his rotator cuff. But Ramirez felt ready to return to the active roster after a couple of pain-free sessions in the bullpen. In nine starts, he was 2-4 with a 2.28 ERA. ... While the Braves gave most of their regulars the night off, 3B Chipper Jones remained in the lineup to pursue RBIs. He had 93 before Saturday's game, giving him an outside shot to extend his streak of eight straight seasons with at least 100.
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Reds-Pirates
CINCINNATI: Cincinnati first baseman Sean Casey, a Pittsburgh-area native, was honored by his alma mater Upper St. Clair High School Saturday when it retired his number 22. Casey is one RBI shy of driving in 100 for the season. His previous best of 99 came in 1999. ... Paul Wilson will try to become the second Reds pitcher in as many nights to win his 10th game. Aaron Harang became the first since 2002 when he took home the decision in the Reds 14-8 victory Friday night.
PITTSBURGH: Pittsburgh left-hander Sean Burnett made his first appearance in the Pirates clubhouse since he underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday. The 22-year-old who was taken 19th overall in the 2000 draft is expected to miss most of next season during his rehabilitation. ... Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon announced pitcher Ian Snell will get his first career start Tuesday in Philadelphia. Snell, 22, spent most of the season with Double-A Altoona where he went 11-7 with a 3.16 ERA and three complete games in 26 starts. In two relief appearances with the Pirates, Snell has allowed two runs in seven innings.
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Phillies-Expos
PHILADELPHIA: RHP Felix Rodriguez rejoined the team Saturday after missing six games. Rodriguez, who returned to the Dominican Republic last week to attend his grandmother's funeral, experienced delays in returning to the team because of visa problems.
MONTREAL: 1B Brad Wilkerson became just the fifth Expos player to reach 100 walks in a season when he was intentionally walked by Philadelphia's Kevin Millwood in the second inning Saturday. Wilkerson is the first to reach 100 walks for Montreal since Bob Bailey accomplished the feat in 1974. Rusty Staub drew over 100 walks in both 1969 and 1970 and Ken Singleton had a team-record 123 walks in 1973.
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Diamondbacks-Padres
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