SATURDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Moises Alou Cubs star enjoyed his 21st career two-homer game in a 7-3 victory over the NL East-leading Braves. H R RBI HR 4 3 4 2 Hero of the day Michael Tucker's 405-foot single in the 10th inning lifted the Royals to a 4-3 victory over the A's. Tucker launched what he thought was a two-run homer in the top of the inning, but a baserunning blunder -- he passed pinch-runner Mike Caruso, who thought the ball was caught by A's center fielder Terrence Long -- turned the home run into a base hit. Goat of the day Pirates starter Kip Wells suffered his fourth defeat in five decisions, losing to the Astros after yielding seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Wells gave up seven hits and walked four. Injury report Cardinals starter Woody Williams left after five innings with back spasms. Tigers OF Dmitri Young, the starting DH Friday who left after his second at-bat after aggravating a hernia, didn't play. Cleveland 1B Jim Thome missed his second straight game with a sore back. Kansas City 1B Mike Sweeney, headed to his third straight All-Star Game, was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game. Sweeney had two stitches in his right ring finger after getting hit by a pitch from Seattle's Joel Pineiro on Wednesday. Streak of the day Expos left fielder Brad Wilkerson homered for the third straight game, lifting Montreal to a 5-3 victory over Philadelphia. Stat of the day Mariners centerfielder Mike Cameron fanned four times in a loss to the Twins, giving him 95 for the season -- tops in the AL. He was called out on strikes three times. The last word "It's great the way I am going home now and sit down, relax and swim a little bit. Just be at my house and chill, play with my flowers.'' -- Red Sox starter Pedro Martinez on his plans for the All-Star break, after striking out eight in five innings to help shut out the Tigers.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tigers at Red Sox
Detroit: Mike Maroth went less than four innings for the second time in his last three starts, but manager Luis Pujols said he didn't think it was difficult for Maroth to pitch after learning early Saturday he would fill in for the traded Jeff Weaver. "I think he was aware that something could happen,'' Pujols said. ... Damian Easley was hit by a pitch twice. After it happened in the first inning, he was picked off by Pedro Martinez. Easley had been hit by only two pitches all season. ... 1B Carlos Pena, obtained early Saturday morning in a three-team trade that sent Weaver to the New York Yankees, was expected to join the Tigers after Saturday's game. Pena was traded by Oakland. Minor league reliever Franklyn German, also obtained in the deal, is headed for Triple-A Toledo ... Leadoff hitter George Lombard went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, ending a five-game hitting streak in which he went 10-for-20.

Boston: No Red Sox players had faced Maroth before Saturday. The Tigers obtained him on July 31, 1999 from Boston for RHP Bryce Florie. ... Nomar Garciaparra's two doubles gave him 30 for the season. Alfonso Soriano of the New York Yankees started the day as the AL leader with 31. ... Doug Mirabelli's homer gave him five against Detroit of the 16 he's hit as an American Leaguer. ... A sign of the Red Sox bullpen strength: they're 42-2 when leading after the sixth inning.

Blue Jays at Yankees
Toronto: Saturday's game marked the second straight start in which Steve Parris had pitched seven innings. He lost July 1 at Boston. ... Ken Huckaby hit his first major league homer Saturday, a two-run shot in the fifth off reliever Brandon Knight. Huckaby had three hits, giving him his sixth multihit game of the season. ... Saturday's game was Parris' first win since July 4, 2001.

New York: Reggie Jackson received his plaque in Monument Park before the Yankees' Old Timers game on Saturday. ... Jeff Weaver arrived in New York in the middle of the Yankees' annual Old Timers ceremonies Saturday. "I guess I couldn't have picked a better day to show up,'' Weaver said. "I'm going to get used to it quick, I'm very excited.'' ... The start of the game was delayed 29 minutes by a police chase that ended in the Bronx and the Old Timers game, which ran late.

Orioles at Rangers
Baltimore: Mike Hargrove entered Saturday night with a managerial record of 898-819, two short of becoming the seventh active manager and 54th all-time to reach 900. ... After the All-Star break, the Orioles have a stretch of 12 of 14 games at home. ... Baltimore will enter the break with its best record since 1997 when the Orioles were 55-30.

Texas: LF Rusty Greer was batting .375 (6-for-16) in his first five games of a minor league rehab assignment for Double-A Tulsa. Greer, out since June 4 due to a bone bruise in his back, will probably be activated after the All-Star break. ... OF Gabe Kapler took batting practice on Saturday and reported improvement with his sore left wrist. Kapler is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment after the break. ... RHP Jeff Zimmerman begins a rehab stint with Class-A Charlotte. The projected Rangers closer hasn't pitched this season following right elbow surgery and is on a schedule that would have him activated off the DL by late July.

Indians at White Sox
Cleveland: Jim Thome's sore back kept him out of the Indians' lineup a second straight day. Thome is coming off one of his best streaks ever when he set a club record by homering in seven straight games from June 25 to July 3. "He's feeling better. Hopefully he'll be ready to go tomorrow,'' Indians manager Charlie Manuel said Saturday. ... Jason Phillips retired 10 straight batters between the second and fifth innings but was still saddled with the loss in his first major league start. He made six relief appearances for the Pirates in 1999. "This is something I have to learn from. I can't worry about it, can't dwell on it,'' said Phillips, called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start Saturday's game. "If they want me to pitch I will be ready, if it is out of the bullpen, I will be ready. ... Ellis Burks homered again Saturday and now has five in his last nine games.

Chicago: Chicago GM Kenny Williams says Frank Thomas needs time to clear his mind and find his batting stroke. Thomas says he and hitting coach Gary Ward have a plan worked out to get him out of his hitting slump. Part of his problem, Thomas says, is that after missing most of last season with a triceps injury, he "wanted to do too much too fast.'' Thomas, benched the last two days, said he wants to play and not sit, but that he's not going to cause a stir in the clubhouse, although he's not happy about being out of the lineup. ... Mark Buehrle said he'd be ready to throw an inning or face a batter Tuesday when he makes his first All-Star appearance. Buehrle threw 112 pitches Saturday but usually takes two days off after a start and then works in the bullpen. His 12th win tied him with Mike Mussina and Derek Lowe for the AL lead. ... Damaso Marte got his first career save with 1 2/3 innings and has now allowed just four earned runs over his last 29 outings.

Devil Rays at Angels
Tampa Bay: Devil Rays 3B Russ Johnson received permission from the club to return home to Baton Rouge, La., until after the All-Star break for personal reasons, according to manager Hal McRae. He remains on the active roster. ... McRae would not say whether Johnson's sudden departure was in any way related to the aftermath of Friday night's 10th-inning loss, when the postgame clubhouse was closed for 1 hour, 17 minutes until all the players had left the ballpark. "We're going to treat it separately. Last night was last night,'' McRae said. ... McRae entered Saturday 372-422 as a big league manager, joining Cincinnati's Bob Boone (292/342) and Florida's Jeff Torborg (583-655) as the only current managers whose career records were at least 50 games under .500. Of the six managers who have been fired since opening day, the only one who did not fall into that category was Buck Martinez (100-115). ... The Devil Rays are one of only two teams this season that have three pitchers who have worked at least 100 innings for them, along with the Yankees. The combined ERA of Tanyon Sturtze, Joe Kennedy and Paul Wilson is 4.47 -- while New York's Roger Clemens, David Wells and Mike Mussina have a cumulative ERA of 4.14. ... Tampa Bay's starting pitchers have gone the distance in eight of the last 40 games, following a major league-record 194-game drought between complete games. ... RHP Jorge Sosa started again in place of Ryan Rupe, whose sore right knee will keep him sidelined until July 15 at the earliest. ... LHP Joe Kennedy, appealing his seven-game suspension for throwing behind Toronto's Ken Huckaby on June 6, has a hearing scheduled for July 15 in St. Petersburg the day before his scheduled start against Oakland at Tropicana Field. If the suspension is upheld, Kennedy will miss at least two starts.

Anaheim: Friday night's 6-5 victory over Tampa bay made the Angels 5-0 this season in extra-inning games at home. ... Of designated hitter Brad Fullmer's last 25 hits entering Saturday, 19 have gone for extra bases. ... The Angels are among the AL's top five teams in batting average, ERA and fielding percentage. The last time that happened over a full season was 1982, when they won their second of three division titles. ... 3B Troy Glaus, whose 103 home runs are the most among third basemen since the start of the 2000 season, had only five RBI in 22 games entering Saturday. Of his 58 RBI this season, 18 have given the Angels a lead. ... Bengie Molina has thrown out 24 of 51 runners trying to steal, the best percentage in the majors. Last season he was only 19-of-79. ... Tim Salmon entered Saturday needing four doubles to break the club career record of 282, held by Brian Downing. Salmon, who broke Downing's Angels mark of 526 extra-base hits on May 10, also has more home runs, RBI -- and strikeouts -- than any player in franchise history. ... Troy Percival will go into the All-Star break with at least 20 saves for the fifth straight season and sixth time in his career. ... The Angels have not lost consecutive home games since Apr. 13, when they dropped their sixth straight at Edison Field.

Royals at Athletics
Kansas City: Scott Mullen pitched the ninth in Saturday's strange, 10-inning 4-3 victory over the Athletics. It was his first major league victory. "I never really thought about how the first one would go,'' he said. "I'm just glad I finally got one. I'll probably just call my wife in South Carolina.'' ... Brad Voyles got his first major league save in the 10th. He'd had 49 saves in the minors. He was just as surprised as everyone else with the ending, when Michael Tucker's homer was called an RBI single because he passed another runner on the base path. "I didn't know what was going on. I thought I'd see two guys running around the bases and then there's a little fiasco going on.''

Oakland: Left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly, acquired by the A's in a three-team trade between the Yankees and Detroit early Saturday, was expected to join his new team on Sunday. A's manager Art Howe said Lilly would be in the bullpen for the series finale against the Royals, before joining the starting rotation. Howe was not saying who would fall out of the rotation with Lilly's addition. "I'll let you know,'' he said. ... The A's did not immediately make a corresponding roster move to make way for Lilly. ... The A's have played in six straight one-run games, tying an Oakland record set April 25-May 1, 1973. The A's have won three of the games. ... Miguel Tejada's double in the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Twins at Mariners
Minnesota: New Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Tice was on the field before the game and talked to rookie manager Ron Gardenhire of the Twins. Tice brought his wife and two children to the game. "I still have a house in the Seattle area,'' said Tice, who began his NFL as a tight end with the Seattle Seahawks. "Both my kids were born in Seattle. They're Mariners fans.'' ... The Twins lead the majors with 195 doubles. At their current pace, they would break the team record of 332 doubles, set in 1996. ... With Torii Hunter's and Jacque Jones' home runs in Friday night's games, Twins OFs have combined to hit 46 of their team's 81 homers, 57 percent. Hunter leads the Twins with 19 homers and Jones is second with 12.

Seattle: Mariners manager Lou Piniella declined to talk about the New York Yankees' latest trade that landed them starting pitcher Jeff Weaver from Detroit in a three-team deal. Earlier this week, the Yankees acquired OF Raul Mondesi in a trade with Toronto. "I have no opinion whatsoever,'' said Piniella, obviously perturbed that the Yankees might be pulling away from the Mariners in the talent race. The Yankees have beaten the Mariners in the past two AL championship series. Saying they don't intend to go over their player payroll of $90 million, the Mariners appear unlikely to be willing to make a deal before the July 31 trading deadline although GM Pat Gillick has said he'd like to add another veteran hitter and a starting pitcher to the team's roster. ... The Mariners are one of two teams in the majors with four players that have driven in 50 or more runs this season. Bret Boone has 52 RBI, Mike Cameron and Ruben Sierra 51 each and, John Olerud 50 for the Mariners. The Yankees are the other team with four players with 50 or more RBI.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Expos at Phillies
Montreal: Going into Saturday's game, RF Vladimir Guerrero has struck out more than once in a game just three times this season. However, two have come in the first two games of the Expos' series with Philadelphia. ... 2B Jose Vidro has been named the Expos' player of the month for June, as selected by the Montreal chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Vidro, who also won the award for May, batted a team-best .352 with three homers, a team-high 16 runs scored and 15 RBI in June. ... Wil Cordero's homer on Saturday was the 100th of his career and his first since July 27, 2001. ... RHP Bartolo Colon will make his second NL start on Sunday. Colon (1-0) went seven innings, surrendering one earned run and five hits, in his Expos debut on Tuesday against the Braves. ... 1B Andres Galarraga put on a dazzling power display in Saturday's batting practice, launching seven balls into the stands including three into the upper deck.

Philadelphia: CF Doug Glanville has lost his starting job, but he's contributing off the bench. He is 3-for-5 as a pinch-hitter, including singles in each of his last two appearances going into Saturday's game. ... 1B Travis Lee, who has missed the last three games with a sprained left shoulder in Tuesday's game, wasn't in the starting lineup but was available for pinch-hitting duties. ... LF Pat Burrell hit a disappointing .245 in his previous 11 games, but it's been an otherwise productive stretch with 11 runs scored, three doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI. ... Pitching prospect Brett Myers struck out 10 and picked up the win in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 8-3 victory against Ottawa on Friday. He gave up three runs and seven hits over eight innings. RHP Myers and CF Marlon Byrd will be playing in the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday at Miller Park. Myers (8-6) is 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA in his last three starts. ... Sunday's starter Terry Adams is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in three games (17 innings) against the Expos.

Brewers at Reds
Milwaukee: The Brewers are on their longest road trip of the season, a 13-game swing through St. Louis, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. ... After Friday night's 8-6 loss, when Glendon Rusch lasted just 4 1/3 innings, Milwaukee was 0-14 when its starting pitcher did not complete five innings. ... Starter Jamey Wright, who set a franchise record for most hits by a pitcher with 13 last season, struck out with the bases loaded in the first inning.

Cincinnati: Ken Griffey Jr. will not travel with the Reds when the team goes to Houston for a four-game series following the All-Star break. Griffey went on the 15-day DL effective June 24 with a strained right hamstring. Manager Bob Boone said Griffey might rejoin the team July 15 in Milwaukee or July 17 in Pittsburgh. ... Barry Larkin is No. 2 on the Reds' all-time doubles list, but a long way from No.1. Larkin doubled on Friday night, giving him 390 -- one more than Dave Concepcion. Pete Rose heads the list with 601.

Astros at Pirates
Houston: RHP T.J. Mathews (strained biceps muscle) began a minor league rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A New Orleans on Friday, allowing one hit and striking out one in one scoreless inning. He is expected to pitch again Sunday night for the Zephyrs. ... Wade Miller, who starts Sunday in Pittsburgh, is 3-1 with a 4.62 ERA over seven starts since coming off the disabled list May 29. The Astros are 6-1 in those games. ... The Astros' bullpen is getting plenty of work without the injured Shane Reynolds, Dave Mlicki and Carlos Hernandez in the starting rotation. But Pedro Borbon said that wasn't why he gave up Aramis Ramirez's game-winning homer in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday night. "We've been used a lot, but that didn't have anything to do with the home run,'' Borbon said. "It was just a bad pitch. It seems this year that every time I make a bad pitch, they capitalize on it.''

Pittsburgh: Mike Williams' 25 saves are the most by a Pirates reliever before the All-Star break. Only eight times since saves became an official statistic in 1969 has a Pirates pitcher had 25 or more in a season. ... Bruce Kimm, hired as the Chicago Cubs' interim manager following Don Baylor's dismissal, was a Pirates coach under manager Jim Leyland in the early 1990s. ... Left-hander Sean Burnett was picked to play in Sunday's Futures game in Milwaukee for top minor league prospects. He is 11-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 16 starts at Class A Lynchburg. ... Manager Lloyd McClendon juggled his starting rotation to give Kris Benson's surgically repaired right elbow some extra rest. Benson, who didn't allow an earned run in six innings against the Astros on Friday night, won't start again until July 15 in Houston. Josh Fogg, who beat Milwaukee on July 3, will face the Brewers again Thursday, followed by Jimmy Anderson, Kip Wells and Joe Beimel. Benson said his arm feels strong and he easily could have pitched seven innings Friday. But he said the extra time off will be a help as he expects to make 15 starts during the second half of the season.

Dodgers at Cardinals
Los Angeles: With Kazuhisa Ishii (11) and Odalis Perez (10), the Dodgers have two pitchers with double-figure victory totals at the All-Star break for the first time since 1977. That year, Doug Rau, Tommy John, Don Sutton and Rick Rhoden had 10 or more. ... The Dodgers are getting encouraging signs from RHP Darren Dreifort, who threw 66 pitches -- 36 in the bullpen and 30 in live batting practice -- on Friday. But there's no timetable for a rehab assignment for Dreifort, recovering from a torn ligament in his elbow last July. ... LHP Omar Daal, who pitches in the series finale on Sunday, has a chance to even his career record. He's 60-61. ... C David Ross, recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 27 to replace the injured Chad Kreuter, made his first career start Saturday and was 0-for-3. ... Paul Lo Duca had a pinch hit in the ninth and singled in the 11th for his team-leading 32nd multihit game, including nine of his last 12. ... The Dodgers are 4-1 in extra innings.

St. Louis: During the first 12 games of the Cardinals' 13-game homestand, closer Jason Isringhausen has four saves, three blown saves and one loss. ... LF Alber Pujols, hit on the wrist by a pitch from Paul Quantrill Friday, played on Saturday, wearing a wrap and pad. He was 0-for-2 with two walks. "It's pretty sore, I won't lie to you,'' Pujols said. "But I'm a warrior. If I can hit and run, I'll be out there.'' ... RHP Dave Veres has allowed one earned run in his last 12 2/3 innings after working three perfect innings Saturday with four strikeouts. ... RHP Woody Williams, who left Saturday's game after five innings with the score tied at 1, hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in 18 straight outings dating to Aug. 25, 2001 at Chicago. ... The staff combined for 13 strikeouts Saturday, tying a season high.

Mets at Marlins
New York: With LHP Michael Tejera on the mound for the Marlins, 1B Mo Vaughn and OF Roger Cedeno, both lefties, were out of the starting lineup Saturday. ... OF Joe McEwing snapped an 0-for-33 hitless streak with a single in the third inning. ... LHP Shawn Estes had six walks Saturday, giving him four or more in five of his last seven starts.

Florida: Manager Jeff Torborg held a closed-door meeting with his players before Saturday's game, relaying a message from owner Jeffrey Loria concerning rumors about another dismantling. "He said, 'I'm not quitting. Tell the club that,''' Torborg said. ... Making his first rehab start, RHP Josh Beckett threw four innings and had no blister problems in a Gulf Coast League game Saturday. Beckett gave up five hits and two runs. He struck out seven and walked one. "The blister is fine,'' Torborg said. "That's the key. We know the arm is fine.'' Beckett will make another start Thursday in a Florida State League game. ... 2B Luis Castillo was out of the starting lineup Saturday for just the second time since ending his 35-game hitting streak. He missed the game with a sore hamstring. "His legs are barking a little bit,'' Torborg said.

Cubs at Braves
Chicago: CF Corey Patterson missed the game with a sore left foot. He was hit by a pitch from Kevin Millwood in Friday night's game. ... After the All-Star break, the Cubs play 18 of their first 23 games at Wrigley Field. They're in the middle of stretch where they play 12 of 45 games away from home. ... 1B Fred McGriff, who hit his 465th career home run Friday night, also has 1,455 RBI -- good for 44th all-time. He's had 14 straight seasons with at least 80 RBI, the second longest streak ever. Hank Aaron did it 17 straight years.

Atlanta: The Braves haven't had much help from Chipper and Andruw Jones during their recent hot streak (14-2 in their past 16 games). Chipper is 4-for-36 (.111) in his past 11 games, and Andruw is 8-for-65 (.123). Neither has been out of the lineup, though. ... Wes Helms, who shared duties at first base with Julio Franco at the start of the season, hasn't had many opportunities with the emergence of Matt Franco. Helms, who started 10-for-22, has just 12 hits in his past 109 at-bats (.193). ... RHP Greg Maddux will start Sunday instead of LHP Damian Moss. Moss was standing by for Saturday night's game in case LHP Tom Glavine had to leave because of a blister problem.

Padres at Rockies
San Diego: Reacting to the firing of Don Baylor in Chicago, RHP Steve Reed said, "It's part of the business. He knew that and understood it.'' Reed was with Baylor in Colorado when Baylor managed the Rockies. ... Bochy was interested to see youngsters Jake Peavy and Oliver Perez would react to their first outings in Coors Field. Each started the season at Double A and were rushed to the big club when injuries decimated San Diego's starting rotation. "They'll be tested because this is not an easy place to pitch and they know that,'' Bochy said. "At the same time (Colorado) is in our division and in the National League and they know we play here a lot and they need to learn to pitch in a park like this.'' Peavy allowed three runs in a 3-2 loss, but only one run was earned.

Colorado: In the bullpen for the first time since 1993 with Pittsburgh, LHP Denny Neagle said he'd been approached about waiving his no-trade clause. "I said no seven times,'' Neagle said. "I've earned that right.'' ... Manager Clint Hurdle named the rotation order he will use to start the second half. Jason Jennings will start on Thursday in San Francisco followed by Mike Hampton, John Thomson, Shawn Chacon and Denny Stark. "There is no ranking involved in this order,'' Hurdle said. "What this does is give all of them the same amount of days off - seven or eight days.'' ... Ben Petrick, once the organization's top catching prospect, becomes the team's primary reserve in left field and allows Terry Shumpert to spell Todd Zeile at third base and Brent Butler at second. ... Hurdle made it clear Petrick's days as a catcher are a thing of the past. "Unless I get two catchers go down, Ben won't catch,'' Hurdle said.

Giants at Diamondbacks
San Francisco: Entering Saturday's game, Barry Bonds had gone 10 games without a home run (32 at-bats), his longest lull of the season. "He might be a little tired,'' manager Dusty Baker said. "It's that time of year. He is 37 going on 38.'' Baker says Bonds seems to go through such homerless streaks once a season. ... Bonds was the only left-handed batter in the lineup against Randy Johnson on Saturday.

Arizona: 2B Junior Spivey went 0-for-4 on Friday night to snap an 18-game hitting streak that tied him with Mark Grace for fourth-longest in franchise history. ... With his four-hit complete game victory on Friday night, Curt Schilling has an eight-game winning streak against NL West opponents. ... The game marked the ninth time this year that Schilling did not allow a walk. His 0.8 walks per nine innings ratio is second in the NL only to the 0.7 of Jon Lieber of the Chicago Cubs.