WEDNESDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Mike Piazza Smacked two three-run homers in an 8-7 loss to the Phillies AB H RBI HR 5 2 6 2 Hero of the day Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, leading Texas over the Devil Rays 6-5. Pudge also hit a two-run homer in the first. Goat of the day Reds starter Chris Reitsma allowed nine runs -- five of which were earned -- in four innings in Cincinnati's 11-4 loss to Houston. Injury report Royals first baseman Mike Sweeney left in the fourth inning after getting hit by a pitch. He has a cut on his ring finger and a precautionary X-ray was normal. San Diego Padres left fielder Ray Lankford strained his right hamstring after making a running catch at the warning track. He was placed on the 15-day DL. Tigers shortstop Ramon Santiago left in the seventh inning after fouling a ball of his right knee. He has a bruised knee and is day-to-day. Rangers designated hitter Frank Catalanatto was scratched from the starting lineup with a sore right groin. Streak of the day Indians slugger Jim Thome homered for the seventh straight game in the Indians' 11-8 loss to the Yankees. Stat of the day The Diamondbacks ended a 23-inning scoreless streak with a sacrifice fly in the second inning of the Arizona's 5-3 win over the Dodgers. The last word " To hear that noise is nice. It's not something you normally hear at the Vet.'' -- Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins on the 50,952 fans at Veterans Stadium.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Blue Jays at Red Sox
Toronto: Eric Hinske was named AL Rookie of the Month for June. He hit .338 with six homers and 15 RBI, but is currently in an 0-for-15 slump entering Wednesday's game. ... Carlos Delgado grounded out in his first at-bat Wednesday after going 0-for-9 in the doubleheader Tuesday. ... The Blue Jays scored in the top of the first Wednesday, making 10 it of the last 13 games that they have scored first.

Boston: Closer Ugueth Urbina was selected to the AL All-Star squad on Wednesday to replace teammate Pedro Martinez, who was selected but declined due to personal reasons he didn't disclose. ... Manager Grady Little and trainer Jim Rowe went to the mound to visit starting pitcher John Burkett in the second inning, but Burkett stayed in the game and retired the next batter. ... Johnny Damon, who left Tuesday night's game in the sixth inning with leg cramps due to the heat, was the DH Wednesday.

Indians at Yankees
Cleveland: Yankees manager Joe Torre said Indians 1B Jim Thome would probably be the first position player chosen as an AL All-Star replacement if needed. Thome, barely beaten out by Boston's Johnny Damon in Internet voting for the 30th and final spot on the team, came in with 25 homers and 59 RBI. He had homered in six straight games. "Like most guys, he would love to be there, but I don't think he's going to grunt about it,'' manager Charlie Manuel said. ... Manuel said RHP Jason Phillips will start Saturday against the Chicago White Sox.

New York: RHP Roger Clemens was pulled after five innings and 74 pitches Tuesday night because of cramps in his right leg, likely caused by the muggy, 95-degree conditions. Clemens said Wednesday he did not expect to miss his next start. "It's not bad at all. It's hard to pinpoint it,'' Clemens said. "I haven't done a whole lot, but it feels OK. I'm going to try to do my normal activities. I just have to deal with it.'' Torre said the worst-case scenario is that Clemens would miss his scheduled start Sunday against Toronto and pitch next Thursday night at Cleveland in the first game after the All-Star break. If so, LHP Ted Lilly would start Sunday. ... All-Star 3B Robin Ventura was given the night off against LHP C.C. Sabathia and replaced by Enrique Wilson in the starting lineup. ... Ron Coomer was in the lineup at DH after missing time with muscle spasms and a pinched nerve in his neck. It was his first action in 10 games. ... OF Shane Spencer, nursing a sprained left wrist, was still unavailable. Torre said he expected Spencer to be ready to play Thursday. The trade for RF Raul Mondesi figures to cost Spencer more playing time than anyone else. "I don't know what his role is,'' Torre said. "Right now the only thing I can tell him is, `You're not playing right field.'''

Devil Rays at Rangers
Tampa Bay: The team started Wednesday with eight complete games, tied for first in the majors with Detroit and Florida. RHP Tanyon Sturtze's first complete came of his career in Tuesday night's 3-1 defeat to Texas gave the Devil Rays eight complete games since May 21. Before that, the club had gone a major league record 194 games without a complete game. ...CF Randy Winn started Wednesday with 97 hits in 80 games. Quinton McCracken is the quickest to 100 hits in club history, reaching the mark in 83 games in 1998.

Texas: LF Rusty Greer's rehab assignment games as a DH for Double-A Tulsa. Greer has been on the DL since June 4 with a bone bruise in his back. ...Two pitchers on the DL began new rehab assignments this week. LHP Rich Rodriguez has been assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma and RHP Danny Kolb has joined Tulsa. Kolb was assigned to Class-A Charlotte on June 25 where he was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in four relief appearances.

Tigers at White Sox
Detroit: Manager Luis Pujols was still marveling at all the home runs Tuesday night, when a record 62 were hit, including 12 at Comiskey Park. "Sixty-two in one night? It took Sosa how long? McGwire how long?'' Pujols asked jokingly. ... RHP Nate Cornejo was named the organization's pitcher of the month in June, but Pujols does not expect to call him up soon. Cornejo went 4-1 with a 3.20 ERA for Triple-A Toledo during the month after struggling with the major league club earlier in the season. "Being down there is not hurting him,'' Pujols said. "We believe some of the things that happened here did because of confidence.'' ... Brian Moehler made his first start in 15 months Wednesday. It was also almost a year to the day after he had arthroscopic surgery to fix tears in his rotator cuff and labrum. Moehler had six rehab starts in the minors, going a combined 3-2 with a 4.21 ERA in 36 1/3 innings between Single- and Triple-A. ... Moehler became the 45th player (22nd pitcher) used by the Tigers in 2002, equaling the number of players used in 2001. ... Bo Flowers, the club's fifth-round pick in the June draft, worked out with the team in his home town. Flowers attended Walther Lutheran High School in west suburban Melrose Park.

Chicago: 1B Paul Konerko, who hit .340 with 12 homers and 22 RBI in June, was named AL Player of the Month. The first-time All-Star, who leads the AL with 71 RBI, has four multihomer games since June 11. ... Struggling is DH Frank Thomas, who came in batting .245, well below his .319 career average. Thomas's average slumped to .265 in 1998, and his power fell to 15 homers in 1999 before he went outside the organization for help. Manuel said he would not mind if Thomas turned to someone like Walk Hriniak, who was the Chicago's batting coach when the slugger came up in 1990. "We're not closed to anyone. If it's someone who he's had success with, be it a Hriniak or someone, we would not at all be opposed to him coming in and helping,'' Manuel said. "I don't think (current hitting coach) Gary Ward would have a problem with that, and I know I wouldn't. If we had the answers, we'd try to find a solution of some sort. The consistency hasn't been there all year for him.'' ... Former pitcher and Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell is expected to sing the national anthem Friday before the game against Cleveland. McDowell won 127 games in 12 seasons before retiring with injuries in 1999. Now 36, McDowell looks and acts the part of a rock star, and is trying to make it in music with his band, Stickfigure.

Orioles at Angels
Baltimore: Manager Mike Hargrove entered Wednesday night's game three wins short of 900 in his 12-year career. He is 897-817, including 176-236 in three seasons with the Orioles. ... RHP Scott Erickson hasn't won since April 28 at Kansas City. He's 0-5 in his last 11 starts. ... The Orioles, who were an AL-worst 12-27 in one-run games last season, are 14-13 in such games this season and 10-4 in two-run games.

Anaheim: DH Brad Fullmer underwent tests Wednesday to check out the flulike symptoms that caused him to be scratched from Tuesday's game. ... LHP Jerrod Washburn faced the Orioles on Wednesday night for the first time in three years. In his last start against them at Edison Field, he lost 4-2 on Sept. 17, 1999. ... Anaheim is 41-20 over its last 61 games, baseball's second-best record in that span behind Atlanta (42-18). ... Garret Anderson, who handled DH chores in place of Fullmer, started his 82nd game Wednesday night, the only Angel to start every game this season.

Royals at Mariners
Kansas City: Manager Tony Pena kept 2B Carlos Febles out of the lineup for one more day to ensure he has recovered from a leg injury. "I want to make sure he's 100 percent,'' Pena said. "It's better to be sure than sorry.'' ... Pena is confident his team can win in close games -- like Tuesday's 7-5 victory in which the Royals homered twice in the ninth. "I'm not going to panic,'' Pena said. "I know we can get the job done.'' ... RHP Shawn Sedlacek (0-0, 3.44) will make his fourth major league start Thursday at Oakland and is looking for his first win. In his previous three starts, the bullpen was charged with the loss. ... RHP Paul Byrd (11-5), the winning pitcher Tuesday, has a 9.32 ERA in his five losses. In his 11 wins, he has given up only 16 earned runs in 76 2/3 innings for a 1.88 ERA.

Seattle: 3B Jeff Cirillo returned to the lineup after getting Tuesday off because he had the flu and chills. He said he was still a little weak but ready to play. Cirillo's hoping to improve his hitting in the season's second half. He was batting .253 heading into Wednesday's game. "I just have to show up to play every day,'' he said. "I'm starting to feel the way I should feel in the field. But it's always a work in progress.'' ... Pitching coach Bryan Price said no decision has been made on who will start against Minnesota on Sunday, which is RHP Rafael Soriano's day to start. But Soriano has struggled and could be sent down or moved to the bullpen. RHP Ryan Franklin could move into the rotation, or LHP John Halama. "Whatever they decide is fine with me,'' said Franklin, who's made two starts this season. "Obviously, I want to start but I don't really think about it. If it's me, good. If it's Halama, good.'' ... Price reviewed tape of closer Kazuhiro Sasaki's loss Tuesday, in which he gave up two homers in the ninth. He only made a couple of bad pitches, Price said. He threw 21 pitches, 14 for strikes.

Twins at Athletics
Minnesota: CF Torii Hunter, who will make his first All-Star game appearance next week, was not in the Twins' starting lineup Wednesday night. The Twins have a quick turnaround with a day game in Seattle on Thursday. ... Guzman has hit safely in 15 of his last 18 games, going 24-for-80 (.300) with a triple and seven RBI. ... RHP Juan Rincon was scheduled to start Thursday against Mariners' ace Freddy Garcia. Rincon took over RHP Matt Kinney's spot in the starting rotation when Kinney went on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. It will be Rincon's first start.

Oakland: LHP Mark Mulder, who started Wednesday against the Twins, was the AL's Pitcher of the Month for June. He went 6-0 with a 2.51 ERA. Mulder also won pitcher of the month honors last July. ... Mulder's six victories last month were the most by an A's pitcher in one month since August 1990, when Bob Welch also had six. ... Olmedo Saenz, fresh off his pinch-hit, game-ending home run in the A's 4-3 victory over the Twins Tuesday night, got the start at first base on Wednesday. ... RHP Cory Lidle was scheduled to start Thursday against Shawn Sedlacek of the Kansas City Royals. Lidle has a career high seven losses this season.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Brewers at Pirates
Milwaukee: Milwaukee was 8-25 away from Miller Park until winning five of the first eight games on a 13-game trip that ends with a four-game series in Cincinnati. ... The Brewers lost 40 of their first 68 games under new manager Jerry Royster. ... Royster on the improvement made of late by the Brewers' starting pitchers, who lasted at least six innings in all but one of the first eight games of the road trip: "Sometimes I think we try to make them too good. All they have to do is go out and give us a chance. I believe they're good enough to give us a chance every game, they just have to be a little more consistent.''

Pittsburgh: 2B Pokey Reese didn't start Wednesday night's game because of a strained muscle in his left side. Reese has had a succession of nagging injuries again this season, and he may learn Thursday if he will go on the DL. Reese has been excellent defensively, making only one error all season, but did not play in 27 of the Pirates' first 82 games. Reese initially felt the injury during batting practice Monday, but played that night and started Tuesday night before being pulled after one inning. ... With bobblehead doll promotions for Willie Stargell and Jason Kendall accounting for two of the Pirates' largest home crowds this season, they have added a Reese giveaway on Sept. 21. They already had two other bobblehead giveaways scheduled that month, a Pirate Parrot mascot bobblehead the following day, Sept. 22, and a Brian Giles giveaway Sept. 6. ... Manager Lloyd McClendon considered using catcher Keith Osik to pitch the ninth inning of Tuesday's 12-6 loss to Milwaukee. The Pirates went into the ninth down by eight runs. McClendon said, "If we were on the road, I might have done it.''

Mets at Phillies
New York: Joe McEwing, a native of Bristol, Pa., started at 2B Wednesday night, despite an 0-for-29 slump. ... Manager Bobby Valentine still hasn't decided who will start Friday against the Marlins. Scheduled starter Steve Trachsel was put on the disabled list Tuesday with a strained muscle near his shoulder. ... Al Leiter (8-6) starts in Florida on Thursday. Leiter, who played for the Marlins, is 20-7 with a 2.52 ERA lifetime at Pro Player Stadium. ... John Valentin made his 11th start at shortstop Wednesday.

Philadelphia: 1B Travis Lee didn't start because of a posterior strain of his left shoulder. He'll be re-examined Thursday. Lee was hurt on a headfirst slide into home in the third inning of Tuesday's 12-6 loss. Tomas Perez started instead of Lee because Jeremy Giambi still is bothered by tendinitis in his right wrist. ... Jimmy Rollins, the starting shortstop for the NL All-Stars, is the first Phillies player and 26th player in the majors to make the All-Star team his first two years. ... LF Pat Burell became the first Phillies player since Mike Schmidt to hit 20 homers before the All-Star break when he connected Tuesday night. Schmidt had 21 at the break in 1980.

Astros at Reds
Houston: RHP T.J. Mathews will start a rehabilitation assignment on Friday with Triple-A New Orleans. Mathews went on the 15-day DL on May 3 with strained biceps in his pitching arm. He was moved to the 60-day DL on June 27. Mathews threw 30 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday. ... RHP Nelson Cruz will make his eighth career start Saturday in place of Carlos Hernandez, who went on the 15-day disabled list. Cruz has made one start and 20 relief appearances this season, going 0-4 with a 4.62 ERA. Am MRI on Hernandez's left shoulder showed no structural damage. ... Jeff Bagwell's three-run homer Wednesday was the 362nd of his career. ... Craig Biggio's RBI infield since in the third inning extended his hitting streak to five games. In his next at-bat, he hit a two-run homer, his first since June 15.

Cincinnati: RHP Luis Pineda was placed on the 15-day disabled list after an MRI detected tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. He'll be on a strengthening program for 2-to-4 weeks. Pineda made his last two appearances as a starter. He allowed five runs and retired only one batter last Sunday in St. Louis, where the Reds rallied for a 12-8 win. Pineda hadn't pitched since then. ... RHP Jose Rijo threw in the bullpen for the first time since he went on the DL on June 7 and felt refreshed. Rijo went on the DL with weakness in his right shoulder. He'll throw in the bullpen again on Friday and could be activated within the next few weeks. ... 1B Sean Casey was out of the lineup, getting a day to rest and take extra batting practice. After a nine-game hitting streak, he went into an 0-for-10 slump.

Expos at Braves
Montreal: LHP Scott Stewart threw only one pitch Tuesday night to get his 10th save, but he wouldn't admit it was easy. "They're never easy,'' he said. "I had a rough game last weekend in Toronto, so everything eventually evens out.'' ... The grand slam Tuesday night by 3B Fernando Tatis was the Expos' second of the season; 2B Jose Vidro hit one to beat Philadelphia on May 25. Last year, RF Vladimir Guerrero's on July 1 was the only one for Montreal. ... C Michael Barrett has homered in two of his past three games, his first home runs since May 7.

Atlanta: RHP Jason Marquis will move ahead a day to start Thursday against the Chicago Cubs, giving RHP Kevin Millwood an extra day to treat a blister on his index finger. ... LHP Tom Glavine, who left Monday's game after three innings because of a blister, plans to make his next start Saturday. "It feels better,'' he said. "I'm going to do everything I can to pitch.'' If he can't go, his appearance in next week's All-Star game would be in doubt. "I want him to go,'' manager Bobby Cox said. "I'd rather he not pitch.'' Cox said the decision would be Glavine's.

Cubs at Marlins
Chicago: When Sammy Sosa and Fred McGriff each homered Tuesday, it was the 10th time both have homered in the same game this year. ...Sosa has 478 career homers against 293 pitchers, and McGriff has 463 home runs against 328 pitchers. ...The Cubs signed Orange Coast (Calif.) Junior College RHP Matt Clanton. Clanton, the 38th overall pick last month.

Florida: The Marlins lead the majors in steals with 99, and have 30 multi-steal games. ... In their first two games in July, the Marlins are batting .400, with two home runs, five doubles and 20 runs scored. They have 10 hits in 24 at-bats with runners in scoring position. ... Reaction was mostly negative to the New York Yankees' decision to tell RHP Orlando Hernandez that they will no longer provide him an interpreter and expect him to learn English. "Interpreters are provided for Japanese and Korean players,'' said third-base coach Ozzie Guillen, who occasionally has acted as an interpreter for current Marlins. "Are they better than Latin players? They're telling Latin guys to suck it up.'' ... Luis Castillo will receive a $50,000 bonus for making the All-Star team, and Mike Lowell a $10,000 bonus.

Padres at Cardinals
San Diego: The Padres have July 4 off for the first time in franchise history and this is their 34th year in the NL. They open a three-game series in Denver against the Rockies on Friday. ... CF Mark Kotsay had his fifth three-hit game of the season on Tuesday and was 17-for-42 (.405) his last 10 games. ... The Padres, who concluded a three-game series against the Cardinals on Wednesday, also return to action after the All-Star break with three games against St. Louis in San Diego July 12-14. ... Entering Wednesday's game, Padres starters were winless in their last 11 games, going 0-4 with a 7.15 ERA.

St. Louis: RHP Jason Simontacchi was named NL Rookie of the Month for June on Wednesday. Simontacchi was 3-1 with a 3.14 ERA in five starts. ... OF J.D. Drew took batting practice Wednesday for the first time since going on the disabled list. He's eligible to be activated the day after the end of the All-Star break. "It's good, everything seems to be responding well,'' Drew said. "Another week off will be nice.'' ... Placido Polanco has five home runs, tying his single-season best set in 2000. He has four in the last 37 at-bats after hitting one in the first 212 at-bats. ... RHP Mike Timlin needed only 28 pitches to retire the Padres in the sixth through eighth Wednesday.

Giants at Rockies
San Francisco: OF Marvin Bernard was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to Tuesday with torn cartilage in his left knee. Bernard originally suffered the injury two weeks ago and re-injured it this past weekend in Oakland. "The injury didn't show up in an MRI, but a tear did show up in a second MRI taken,'' team trainer Stan Conte said. "We think he re-injured the knee making several defensive plays against Oakland.'' ... San Francisco called up OF Tom Goodwin from Triple-A Fresno to take Bernard's roster spot. "We're fortunate to have Tom Goodwin, a guy who took the assignment for the team,'' manager Dusty Baker said. Goodwin was flying in from Portland on Wednesday and had not arrived at the ballpark when the team took batting practice. ... 2B Jeff Kent was given the night off Wednesday. Kent, the NL Player of the Month in June, is hitting .394 with eight home runs and 35 RBI over the last 38 games. "Jeff has been hurting and has been tired, and those circumstances increase the chance of injury,'' Baker said. "I had to give him a night off so he could be ready for Arizona.'' ... 1B J.T. Snow was back in the starting lineup for the first time in five games. Snow suffered a sprained big left toe in Oakland last Friday was a defensive replacement in ninth inning against Colorado on Monday.

Colorado: GM Dan O'Dowd said the Rockies will look at trade possibilities, but are in no rush to juggle the roster. "We've had the fewest number of moves in baseball to date. We want some stability on the roster, but we're going to look at options for the club. The economics of the system may not allow that to happen, but we'll take a peek and see what happens.'' ... Manager Clint Hurdle said he feels no urgency to decide whether to move LHP Denny Neagle to the bullpen. Neagle has allowed at least four earned runs in his last six starts -- 10 in two innings Tuesday against the Giants -- and hasn't won since May 30 against San Diego. He added that even if a move to the bullpen doesn't help Neagle, it could benefit the rest of the team. "If nothing else it can change up the scenery a little bit and change the way things have gone. It's like getting up two hours later and then going through your day. You run into a whole different group of people and a whole different group of situations. Things change and you adjust.'' ... Hurdle said he believes the recent scoring outburst at Coors Field -- 144 runs in the past eight games -- has little to do with the altitude's affects on the ball or the Rockies' use of a humidor to store baseballs. "It basically still comes down to locating pitches. If you watch ... those balls that are hit out of the park, very rarely are they where they were supposed to be.''

Dodgers at Diamondbacks
Los Angeles: The Dodgers have shut out 10 opponents this season. They beat the Diamondbacks 4-0 Monday and 8-0 Tuesday night, recording the first consecutive shutouts by the staff since 2000, when they beat San Diego 1-0 on Sept. 24 and San Francisco 9-0 on Sept. 26. ... Los Angeles, which hit three homers the previous game, is 36-9 when one Dodger homers and 17-4 with two. ... The Dodgers have won 11 of their last 14 games and are 12-2 in their last 14 series. ... At 52/31, the Dodgers came in tied with Atlanta and Seattle for best record in the majors. ... C Paul Lo Duca is 4-for-8 against Arizona since Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly left him off the NL All-Star roster. ... 2B Mark Grudzielanek, who got a concussion running into Brian Jordan, sat for the third straight game and Alex Cora started. Manager Jim Tracy said he was in no hurry to bring Grudzielanek back early, although he's been cleared by head trainer Stan Johnston. "It's a matter of how he feels and where he's at,'' Tracy said. ... Andy Ashby started this game trying to extend a string of 18 consecutive scoreless innings by Dodgers starters.

Arizona: RHP Todd Stottlemyre had bone chips removed from his right elbow Wednesday and went on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 27. Stottlemyre, who began this season on the disabled list and missed the first seven games, has been in five games, including four starts. The Diamondbacks recalled RHP Erik Sabel from Triple-A Tucson to fill his roster spot. ... RHP Rick Helling reported soreness in his right ankle after turning it during a play at home plate Tuesday, but said he would make his next start. There was little swelling in the high ankle sprain. ... 3B Matt Williams, who broke his left leg during spring training, left for Class-A Lancaster and will continue his rehabilitation Thursday, playing six to seven innings per game through the weekend. Williams may rejoin the Diamondbacks on July 11 after the All-Star break. ... LHP Greg Swindell gave up two home runs in two innings the previous game and has surrendered seven in six games, but manager Bob Brenly continues to believe in him. "Every mistake gets hit into the seats,'' Brenly said. "I've never seen a run quite like this.'' ... Luis Gonzalez, in an 0-for-16 slump, was benched, with David Dellucci replacing him in left field. But Brenly said Gonzalez was available for pinch-hitting duty, which would keep his 409-consecutive-game streak alive.