FRIDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Michael Young Hit two solo homers and has hits in his last seven at-bats. H R RBI HR 5 3 2 2 Hero of the day Reds third baseman Aaron Boone hit a tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Pirates with another homer in the 11th. Goat of the day Blue Jays starter Justin Miller lasted 4 1/3 innings after giving up six earned runs on eight hits. He also walked six batters. Injury report Phillies LF Pat Burrell didn't start because of a strained right biceps. He had an MRI Thursday that revealed no damage to his rotator cuff or labrum. Marlins LHP Oswaldo Mairena pulled an abdominal muscle in the 14th inning and might be placed on the disabled list. Reds CF Ken Griffey Jr. was out of the starting lineup for the sixth consecutive game because of a strained right hamstring. An MRI found nothing more serious than a strain, but Griffey is expected to miss the weekend series. Mets OF Jeromy Burnitz left the game against the Yankees with a headache after being hit in the helmet with a pitch. Brewers CF Alex Sanchez didn't start because a tight hamstring but pinch-hit in the fifth and is available for the weekend. Rangers 1B Rafael Palmeiro sat out the game with a sprained left ankle. He is day-to-day. Cleveland 2B Ricky Gutierrez did not play after straining his right groin Thursday night against Baltimore. Stat of the day Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa hit career home run No. 475, tying him with Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 19th on the all-time list. Stat of the day, part deux Angels pitcher Ramon Ortiz gave up only four hits -- all solo homers -- in a complete-game victory over the Dodgers. The last word "I have been divorced twice. I have been released and have been shot at. Are you kidding? We just lost some ballgames.'' -- Rockies skipper Clint Hurdle on the club's 2-8 slide.

INTERLEAGUE
Orioles-Phillies
Baltimore: RHP Calvin Maduro underwent successful surgery Friday for a fractured bone spur and bone chips in his right elbow. Maduro is expected to miss 8-to-12 weeks. He was 2-5 with a 5.56 ERA in 12 appearances this year. ... RF Jay Gibbons was back in the lineup Friday night after sitting out against left-hander Chuck Finley on Thursday. Gibbons hasn't started against lefties six times since May 20, but manager Mike Hargrove insists he's not in a platoon situation. ... The Orioles played for the first time at Veterans Stadium without Cal Ripken.

Philadelphia: LF Pat Burrell didn't start Friday night because of a strained right biceps. He had an MRI Thursday that revealed no damage to his rotator cuff or labrum. Burrell is day-to-day as far as throwing is concerned, and has no problems hitting. He had a nine-game hitting streak, batting .395 (15-for-38) with two homers and 13 RBI during that span. C Mike Lieberthal took Burrell's spot as the cleanup hitter in the batting order and grounded into a double play in the first inning. ... RHP Carlos Silva was activated from the disabled list before the game, and LHP Hector Mercado was sent to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. ... Bobby Abreu's fourth-inning double gave the Phillies doubles in 59 of 64 games.

Cubs-White Sox
Cubs: RHP Matt Clement got his fourth win in five starts, and has gone at least seven innings every game in that span with a 2.58 ERA. He hasn't given up more than four runs in a game since his first start of the season. ... While Wrigley Field was awash in sunshine at the time of the scheduled first pitch, the game was delayed 16 minutes at the start because of pregame showers. Rains returned sporadically throughout the game without causing delay, but it was sunny again when the last out was made. ... In the 25th game of the Cubs-White Sox interleague series, attendance passed the 1-million mark. While most of the 38,051 fans on hand at Wrigley pulled for the Cubs, perhaps 25 percent rooted for the South Siders, as Paul Konerko's two homers drew loud cheers and Sammy Sosa got booed. "Sometimes you need to hear that to motivate yourself, to be on top of your game,'' Sosa said. "Every chance we have to play the White Sox, it's like the World Series. Everybody comes here, we sell out every time.'' ... INF Mark Bellhorn hit a two-run triple in the eighth to replenish the Cubs' four-run lead. The White Sox had crept closer in the top half of the inning on Konerko's second homer. "It's not Sammy. A lot of guys are contributing,'' said Bellhorn, who has a .487 slugging percentage and 21 RBI in 119 at-bats. ... Bobble head dolls of former Cubs great Ryne Sandberg were passed out to fans.

White Sox: Prior to the game, 2B/OF Willie Harris was called up from Triple-A Charlotte, where he hit .295 with four homers, 21 RBI and had a league-leading 23 steals. Harris, who was one of the final cuts in spring training, popped out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth in his first major league at-bat. "I was down there, just waiting for them to pull the trigger. Now I'm ready to go,'' Harris said before the game. ... Frank Thomas went 0-for-1 with a strikeout Friday as one of the league's most-expensive pinch-hitters, and with Paul Konerko's two-homer game, Thomas will be back on the bench Saturday. Thomas, who has two errors in two games in the field, said he won't mind being out of the lineup for much of the White Sox's NL swing. "I'm still fine with it. We'll be OK without me in there,'' Thomas said. "And it's not much of an adjustment for me. I DH every game, and that's like pinch-hitting four times a night.'' ... OF Kenny Lofton, who went 0-for-3 with a walk, ran tentatively on his sore right hamstring, and might not play the rest of the series, White Sox manager Manuel said. Aaron Rowand would start instead. "Kenny's game is speed, and he thinks he's probably 85 percent right now,'' White Sox trainer Herm Schneider said. "He could probably play, if he had to.''

Blue Jays-Expos
Toronto: RHP Luke Prokopec was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday. Prokopec, who has flexor tendinitis in his right elbow, is 2-7 with a 5.86 ERA in 12 starts this season. ... RHP Steve Parris was activated from the 60-day DL and will make his first start since last July 23 in Sunday's finale of the three-game series. Parris had shoulder surgery last Sept. 25 after going 4-6 with a 4.60 ERA in 19 starts with the Blue Jays last season. ... Toronto has a 16-9 mark overall against the Expos, including a 7-4 record at Olympic Stadium.

Montreal: The Expos reworked their pitching staff Friday, acquiring RHP Jim Brower from Cincinnati in a trade for LHP Bruce Chen. Montreal recalled RHP Zach Day from Triple-A Ottawa and signed free agent RHP Mike Buddie to a minor league contract earlier in the day. Brower, who is expected to join the team Saturday, was 2-0 with a 3.89 ERA in 22 relief appearances with the Reds this season. He went 7-10 with a 3.97 ERA in 10 starts and 36 relief appearances last season. Chen, who was acquired by Montreal on Apr. 5 from New York after making one appearance for the Mets, was 2-3 with a 6.99 ERA in 15 games with Montreal, including five starts. ... Day, who turns 24 on Saturday, was acquired from Cleveland last July 31 for outfielder Milton Bradley. He was 4-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 13 games with the Lynx this season, his seventh in the minors since he was chosen by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1996 June draft. ... Buddie, 31, will report to Ottawa on Saturday. He was designated for assignment by Milwaukee on May 31 after going 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA in 25 games this season. ... RHP Britt Reames was optioned to Ottawa after going 0-2 with a 7.76 ERA in 27 appearances, including two starts.

Devil Rays-Marlins
Tampa Bay: General manager Chuck LaMar says top prospect Carl Crawford may be recalled from Triple-A Durham in the next week or two to replace struggling Greg Vaughn in left field. "We might have to cut our losses with Vaughn,'' LaMar said.

Florida: Right-hander Brad Penny (sore elbow) threw 55 pitches in a simulated game Friday and reported no pain. "It went all right,'' he said. "It felt good.'' He's targeted to be activated June 28. ... The Marlins hope SS Alex Gonzalez (shoulder) and RHP Josh Beckett (finger blisters) can return around the All-Star break. ... LHP Michael Tejera will start Sunday against the Devil Rays. ... The Marlins promoted Stan Meek to director of scouting. Meek, who joined the team as a national crosschecker in February, has been in professional scouting for 12 seasons.

Yankees-Mets
Yankees: 3B Robin Ventura, who played three seasons for the Mets, returned to Shea Stadium for the first time since being traded in December to the Yankees for David Justice. "I enaying here,'' he said. "I still want them to do well.'' ... OF Rondell White did not start for the fourth straight game because of a ruptured tendon in his left middle finger. "It's a little sore but nothing that will change my swing,'' White said. "It feels better than I thought it would.'' ... David Cone was at the game as a broadcaster for the Yankees' local carrier. Cone is still throwing and hasn't ruled out a comeback. "I'm like any other athlete. I can't let go,'' he said.

Mets: Chris Chambliss was in an odd situation for his first game as Mets hitting coach. Chambliss played seven seasons for the Yankees and was the team's hitting coach for five years, winning four World Series titles, including in 2000 against the Mets. "It kind of puts him in a weird situation, but he probably has some inside information on them,'' manager Bobby Valentine said. ... Saturday's starter Shawn Estes isn't worried about whether his teammates expect him to hit Roger Clemens for revenge for his beaning of Mike Piazza in 2000 -- when Estes pitched for the Giants. "I think they expect me to go out there and pitch a good game,'' Estes said. "That's it. Whatever happens after that happens. I just have to try to win the game.'' ... The Mets signed two more picks from this month's draft: C James Anderson (seventh round) and RHP Timothy McNabb (22nd round). The Mets have signed 11 of their 50 picks.

Red Sox-Braves
Boston: During batting practice, RHP Pedro Martinez took very few swings and worked mostly on his bunting. RHP John Burkett, who's scheduled to start Saturday night, also took BP before the game. ... Burkett, who played in Atlanta the past two years, showed up at Turner Field with newly dyed blond hair. He got the look after losing a bet with his son. Burkett signed with Boston after he couldn't work out a deal with the Braves. "It's going to be strange, but I've got a job to do,'' Burkett said. "I don't have any bitterness towards them at all, so I wouldn't want to say I'm trying to prove myself to them. I think I already did that the two years I was here.'' ... RF Trot Nixon, mired in a 13-for-79 slump (.165), hit seventh. He was hitting .239 entering Friday night's game.

Atlanta: Matt Franco started at first base Friday night for the third time. He went 3-for-10 on the recent interleague road trip and hit two home runs. Manager Bobby Cox said Franco's success in the past against Boston starter Pedro Martinez was a factor in the decision. Franco is 2-for-6 in his career against Martinez, with a homer. "He's had a couple of hits off him,'' Cox said. "Just look for little things. It may not make any difference.'' ... After committing 43 errors in their first 45 games, the Braves have made only six in the past 21. INF Jesse Garcia, called up from Triple-A Richmond on May 18 to replace the injured Mark DeRosa, has been a big part of that. He helped turn several double plays on the recent road trip. "I'm finally getting comfortable out there, getting used to the guys and the atmosphere,'' Garcia said. "Defense, that's what the Braves are all about.'' ... Closer John Smoltz, a native of Warren, Mich., wore a No. 39 Detroit Red Wings jersey in honor of Dominik Hasek, who helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup on Thursday night.

Rangers-Astros
Texas: No one can blame SS Alex Rodriguez for the kind of season the Texas Rangers are experiencing. His 10-year, $252 million contract hasn't been a distraction or kept him from being a leader in the clubhouse. "I didn't realize how good he was until I played with him every day,'' new teammate Jay Powell said. "There's a reason he's the highest paid player in baseball. He deserves it. He's the best player in baseball.'' Rodriguez is glad this season attention has turned more to baseball. "This year is a different focus,'' Rodriguez said. "It's just on playing baseball and winning games. It's not so much `is he worth it?'''

Houston: Shane Reynolds' season-ending surgery left the Astros' pitching staff even younger. Reynolds, 36, and Dave Mlicki, 35, opened the season in the rotation but Mlicki also is on the disabled list with a strained left rib muscle. Rookie RHP Kirk Saarloos is expected to replace Reynolds and make his major league debut Tuesday at Seattle. Are they too young? "It's scary but we had some kids come up and do pretty well for themselves last year,'' Jeff Bagwell said. Wade Miller and Roy Oswalt were early call ups for the Astros last season and combined for a 30-11 record. Carlos Hernandez and Tim Redding also made impressions last year. Miller is the oldest at 25. Oswalt and Redding are 24, Saarloos is 23 and Hernandez 22.

Twins-Brewers
Minnesota: Twins General Manager Terry Ryan wants to keep playing the Brewers. "I would hope they keep it as such and that every year we have an interleague game. I think that's good for both franchises.'' The teams play a second three-game set in Minneapolis June 27-29. ... The Twins signed two more draft picks Friday, giving them 8 of the 50 players they drafted. They signed C Danny Matienzo, taken in the 23rd round, and RHP John Cahill, taken in the 36th. ... Rick Reed, who started Friday night against Milwaukee, has allowed just 1.69 walks per nine innings pitched since getting to the major leagues in 1988. That makes him the active career leader among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings over that period. Second is Arizona's Brian Anderson (1.84) and third is Twins' teammate Brad Radke (1.86).

Milwaukee: The Brewers were grateful Friday night to be back at Miller Park. Even though their home record of 14-18 is four games below .500, their road record is a woeful 8-25 for a 22-43 overall mark. ... The Brewers opened inter-league play Friday night against the Minnesota Twins, a team they will play six times this season. Last season Milwaukee lost two of three to Minnesota. ... The Brewers have signed 19 of their 42 draft choices. The latest to sign Friday were sixth round selection Khalid Ballouli and 19th round pick Bo Hall. Both are right-handed pitchers.

Royals-Cardinals
Kansas City: The Royals are beginning a 10-day, nine-game road trip in St. Louis. After a three-game set with St. Louis, the Royals go to Montreal and New York to play the Mets. ... Jeff Suppan (5-5) will make his 15th start of the season on Saturday. He is 0-1 with a 7.63 ERA in his last three starts. It will be his first start against St. Louis. The Royals have signed David Jensen, their third-round draft pick this year. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound first baseman from Brigham Young University was listed as a Top 100 prospect and the top prospect from Utah by Baseball America. He batted .392 with 10 home runs and 57 RBI. The Royals have signed 20 of the 50 players they selected.

St. Louis: Reliever Jason Isringhausen was evaluated by team physician Dr. George Paletta on Thursday. He was given an MRI exam. It revealed Isringhausen, who has 15 saves, has a slight strain to the flexor muscle in his right forearm. He last pitched June 4 at Cincinnati. "The results of his test were good,'' manager Tony La Russa said. "Whether he's available tonight or not, I don't know. We'll see how he plays catch out there. I would say he'll be available to pitch sometime this weekend.'' ... Jim Edmonds continues to make progress with his strained right wrist. He hit before Friday's game. He is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday. He hurt his right wrist sliding into home plate against Pittsburgh on May 31. "He still has some tenderness,'' La Russa said. "He'll hit today and he'll throw and catch. We'll see how he does. We don't want to put him out there until he feels good.''

Indians-Rockies
Cleveland: Manager Charlie Manuel is enjoying a homecoming with the three-day trip to Colorado. Manuel managed the Indians' Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs from 1990-92. "I don't recognize Denver,'' Manuel said. "I can't find many of my old hangouts.'' This is a literal homecoming for OF Ellis Burks, who played for the Rockies five-plus seasons and didn't move his family from its suburban Denver home when traded to San Francisco in 1998.'' This is the best road trip for me,'' Burks said. "I get to eat at home and sleep in my own bed for three days.'' ... Friday's game is the first of a 12-game, 14-day road trip to four cities that will cover 5,965 miles. ... RHP Charles Nagy is scheduled to make a rehab start on June 19 for Triple-A Buffalo against Toledo. Nagy has been on the DL since June 5 with a strained right elbow. ... Manuel and Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd embraced behind the plate before the game. The two worked together in Cleveland's minor league system. ... The Indians are 9-15 over the past two years of interleague play.

Colorado: Todd Helton started his 669th game at first base, tying him with Andres Galarraga for the franchise record. ... 2B Jose Ortiz was out of the starting lineup to rest a sore hamstring. "Juan ran, the trainers tested him and I think he is available to be used,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. ... Despite seeing SS Juan Uribe's batting average plummet from .370 to .250, Hurdle refuses to bench him. "When you are pitching, do you want Uribe at shortstop because the other guys aren't as good a shortstop as Uribe?'' Hurdle said. "I knew he wasn't a .377 hitter, and not a .250 hitter either. He's better.'' ... Hurdle refused to identify Colorado string of losses, 7-of-9 as his first managerial crisis. "I have been divorced twice. I have been released and have been shot at,'' Hurdle said. "Are you kidding? We just lost some ballgames.''

Athletics-Giants
Oakland: OF Nick Swisher, the Athletics' first-round draft pick from Ohio State, was at Pacific Bell Park on Friday to meet his future teammates and take some batting practice. "I'm walking through the locker room and seeing all these guys I've seen on TV, and it's unbelievable,'' said Swisher, who signed Monday. "I'm so nervous. My body's just shaking.'' Swisher is headed to Vancouver on Sunday to join Oakland's Class A team in the Northwest League. ... David Justice will play left field Saturday for the first time since returning from the disabled list. Justice was the A's designated hitter in eight of nine games since returning to action June 4 from a strained groin. "We'll take a look and see how he's doing, how he moves and how he recovers from it,'' Howe said. "We want him active all the rest of the way.'' ... Howe is skipping RHP Cory Lidle's next turn in the rotation, giving LHP Barry Zito an additional start Sunday instead. The A's aren't pleased with Lidle, who's 1-6 -- though he rallied from a slow start last season to win 13 games.

San Francisco: In another example of Barry Bonds' increasing sociability, the Giants' moody slugger has signed on as the spokesman for a national campaign to select the "most memorable moments'' in baseball history. With Bonds kicking off the campaign at next month's All-Star game, MasterCard will distribute 12 million ballots in every ballpark, culminating in Bonds' unveiling of the top 10 moments at the World Series. After years with relatively few endorsement deals for a superstar, Bonds' visibility has picked up since his 73-homer season with several deals. ... Damon Minor jumped into the Giants' starting lineup Friday night ahead of J.T. Snow, and manager Dusty Baker wouldn't say if it was temporary. Minor is hitting .362 since returning from the disabled list last month, while Snow hit .161 on the Giants' recent road trip. "If the guy keeps performing at a high level, who knows?'' Baker said of Minor. "But I've got to get J.T. in there sometimes in case we need him.'' ... Baker would prefer to play the Giants' cross-Bay rivals four times, not the six times currently on the schedule. "In my ideal world, we would all play the same teams,'' Baker said. "We wouldn't be playing the A's while Arizona is playing Detroit -- nothing against Detroit.''

Angels-Dodgers
Anaheim: RHP Donne Wall was given his unconditional release Friday, and RHP Scot Shields was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake. Wall was 0-0 with a 6.43 ERA in 17 games this season. He was on the DL from April 29-May 20 due to tightness in his right arm. Shields was 2-2, with one save and a 3.06 ERA in 28 games for the Stingers. He allowed 39 hits, struck out 50 and walked six in that span. ... Although Anaheim is just 35 miles from Los Angeles, the Angels' three-game series opener at Dodger Stadium on Friday began their longest road trip of the season. They'll play 14 games during the stretch, with stops at St. Louis, Milwaukee and Texas.

Los Angeles: RHP Kevin Brown returned to the Dodgers' clubhouse before the game against the Angels. Brown, 37, who underwent back surgery Tuesday, said he was feeling much better after Dr. Robert Watkins repaired an extruded disc in the nerve canal of his lower back. ... Heading into Friday night's game against the Angels, the two Los Angeles area teams were 13-13 in their interleague series that began in 1997. ... The Dodgers had scored 151 runs in their last 25 games, an average of more than six runs a contest.

Tigers-Diamondbacks
Detroit: The Tigers were 3-10 on their just-completed 13-game homestand, the club's longest since 1995. They start a 12-game trip with a three-game series at Arizona. Detroit's 7-22 road record is the worst in the NL. ... RHP Brian Moehler will make his fourth rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Sunday. Tuesday night at Durham, Moehler went six innings, allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out three. He is returning from rotator cuff surgery last July.

Arizona: RHP Matt Mantei and RHP Todd Stottlemyre both are to make rehab appearances this week for Triple-A Tucson. Mantei, coming off elbow surgery, could be back by the June 28-30 series at Cleveland, manager Bob Brenly said. ... 3B Matt Williams will begin running the bases this week, the last step before he begins a rehab assignment. Williams, who broke an ankle early in spring training, is expected back after the All-Star break.

Mariners-Padres
Seattle: Josh Womack, the Mariners' second-round draft pick, got a special treat Friday when he took batting practice with the Mariners. Womack is a senior at San Diego's Crawford High. He turned down a full-ride scholarship offer from San Diego State -- where he would have been coached by Tony Gwynn -- and quickly signed with the Mariners. "I wanted to get going,'' said Womack, who was grinning the whole time he was in the in the Mariners' clubhouse. "I didn't want to let things drag on. I was anxious.'' Womack said he wasn't paying much attention to the draft "because I didn't expect to get picked that high.'' ... Edgar Martinez, sidelined since the second week of the season by a ruptured tendon behind his left knee, was activated before Friday night's game against San Diego. Martinez is Seattle's designated hitter, but because the Mariners will play nine straight games in NL ballparks, he'll be available only as a pinch-hitter. The Mariners also visit Cincinnati and Houston. Martinez, 39, was on the 60-day disabled list. He was hitting .243, with two doubles and five RBI, in 10 games before he was injured running to first base April 11 in Anaheim.

San Diego: OF Eugene Kingsale was claimed off waivers from Seattle on Friday, just before opening a three-game series with the Mariners. Kingsale was 2-for-3 in two games with the Mariners, who purchased his contract from Triple-A Tacoma on June 5. ... Kingsale became the first native of Aurba to play in the big leagues when he appeared in two games for Baltimore in September 1996. To make room on the roster, the Padres put Mark Sweeney on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained oblique muscle. Sweeney, primarily a pinch-hitter, is hitting .182 with one homer and four RBI in 40 games. The Padres also transferred right-hander Brian Tollberg from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pirates-Reds
Pittsburgh: Former Reds 2B Pokey Reese was booed loudly during pregame introductions and again when he came to bat for the first time in the second inning. He singled off Elmer Dessens, extending his hitting streak to seven games. Reese, traded after last season, said during spring training that OF Ken Griffey Jr. was divisive in the Reds' clubhouse. OF Dmitri Young, now with Detroit, also said Griffey's special treatment fractured the team. ... CF Chad Hermansen made a wild throw to first base trying to double up Barry Larkin on a flyout in the first inning -- the Pirates' first error in 57 innings, their best defensive stretch of the season. ... OF Brian Giles singled in his first at bat, making him 14-for-22 career against Dessens.

Cincinnati: CF Ken Griffey Jr. had an MRI that confirmed a strain in his right hamstring, which he injured last Friday in Anaheim. He was out of the starting lineup for the sixth consecutive game. ... The Reds traded RHP Jim Brower to Montreal for LHP Bruce Chen, who is expected to become their fifth starter. He might make his first start for the Reds on June 22 or 23. ... Judging by attendance, the Chris Sabo bobblehead dolls given away before Friday's game weren't as popular as the Johnny Bench bobbleheads given away on Friday, May 31. The Reds sold 38,777 tickets for that game, their second-biggest gate of the season. There were empty seats in the upper deck for Sabo's day.