SUNDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Barry Bonds After enduring his longest home-run drought of the season, Barry Bonds homered in his second straight game in the Giants' 5-2 win over the D-Backs. H R RBI HR 3 2 3 1 Hero of the day Tim Salmon singled home the winning run in the 10th inning to cap the Angels' 2-1 comeback victory over the Devil Rays. Goat of the day Rangers starter Kenny Rogers allowed seven runs in the fourth inning as the Orioles took advantage in a 10-4 rout. Injury report Braves LF Chipper Jones, who's in a 4-for-37 slump, missed Sunday's game with a bruised knee. Detroit 2B Damion Easley was not in the lineup on Sunday, one day after being hit on the left hand by a pitch from Pedro Martinez. An MRI exam was scheduled for early this week. Streak of the day The Tigers will have just one representative at the All-Star Game for the eighth consecutive year. Stat of the day John Olerud hit a pair of two-run homers in the Mariners' 8-2 win over the Twins, giving the first baseman 15 home runs before the All-Star break. It matches a career-best he also set in 1993 with Toronto. Stat of the day, part deux Barry Zito (11-3) scattered nine hits to become the first A's pitcher with 11 wins at the All-Star break since Dave Stewart (11) and Bob Welch (13) did it in 1990. The last word "It ain't 100-percent true, so it hasn't sunk in yet. On the other hand, I'm more frustrated because nothing has been said to me, nothing has been said to Dempster." -- The Marlins' Cliff Floyd on hearing trade rumors during Florida's rain-delayed loss to the Mets.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tigers at Red Sox
Detroit: Tigers 1B Randall Simon missed his second straight game for personal reasons. ... Detroit 2B Damion Easley was not in the lineup on Sunday, one day after being hit on the left hand by a pitch from Pedro Martinez. An MRI exam was scheduled for early this week. ... Carlos Pena was the 46th player the Tigers have used this year, surpassing the total from all of last season. ... The Tigers will have just one representative at the All-Star Game for the eighth consecutive year.

Boston: The Red Sox will have a major-league high seven players represented, counting Pedro Martinez, who has opted not to attend. ... The Red Sox allowed children to run the bases after Sunday's game. ... Sunny Kiim went 2 2-3 innings, the shortest start of his career. ... Brian Daubach had his fifth career multi-homer game. Six of his 12 homers have either tied the game or given Boston the lead. ... Johnny Damon's 22 stolen bases are the most for a Red Sox player at the break since Otis Nixon had 34 in 1994.

Blue Jays-Yankees
Toronto: The Blue Jays have now lost seven of their last eight overall and nine of its last 10 on the road. ... The 52 losses at the All-Star break are the most by a Blue Jays club since 1979 when they had 64. ... Josh Phelps, the designated hitter, was 1-for-4 Sunday and now has hit safely in all seven of his major league games. ... RHP Corey Thurman allowed two runs in the sixth inning, the first runs he has allowed in his last eight appearances totaling 14 2-3 innings. ... Jays open second half at Skydome with an 11-game, 11-day homestand that begins with a 4-game series against Boston starting Thursday. ... Jays are now 72-92 lifetime at Yankee Stadium.

New York: Closed out 9-game homestand with 7-2 record and won six of the last seven. ... Yankees now 8-5 against Toronto this season. ... Derek Jeter's homer in the seventh inning gave the Yankees homers in 12 of their last 13 games and increased their major-league-leading team total to 134 for the first 87 games (Yankees had 101 homers after 87 games last season). ... Alfonso Soriano broke an 0-for-11 slump with a single in the third inning then added his AL-leading 32nd double in the sixth. ... Mike Stanton worked the final two innings Sunday and tied Steve Karsay for the team lead with 43 appearances. ... Yankees now 49-0 when leading after eight innings and 688-22 in that category since the start of the 1994 season.

Orioles-Rangers
Baltimore: The Orioles had their Mexican battery together again Sunday night, with rookie Rodrigo Lopez pitching and Geronimo Gil catching. Gil has been the catcher in 11 of Lopez's 14 starts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are the first Mexican-born pitcher-catcher combination on the same team since 1987, when the Los Angeles s' Alex Trevino caught five of Fernando Valenzuela's games. Lopez was born in Tlalnepantla, Mexico and Gil is a native of Oaxaca, Mexico... After the All-Star break, the Orioles play 12 of 14 games at Camden Yards, beginning with four games against Oakland and two against Seattle.

Texas: SS Alex Rodriguez is the only Texas player who hasn't gotten a day off this season. He's also the only Ranger that's going to the All-Star Game. Rodriguez has played in all 86 games, starting 85. The only game he didn't start was June 16 at Houston, a day after he sprained his left ankle. His streak of 291 starts ended, but he came on as a pinch-hitter and then was back in the starting lineup the next game. Rodriguez has played in 310 straight games, since sitting out for Seattle on July 23, 2000, including all 248 since he joined the Rangers before the 2001 season. ... OF Gabe Kapler, who has been on the disabled list since June 24 with left wrist tendinitis, is expected to begin a rehab assignment Thursday. ... The Rangers have lost 782 days from the 14 players that have spent time on the disabled list. Kapler is one of eight players currently on the DL.

Indians-White Sox
Cleveland: Jim Thome missed his third straight game with a sore back, but expects to ready when the Tribe resumes play after the All-Star Game in New York on Thursday. Thome, not on the All-Star team, finished the first half with 26 homers, the same number he had at this juncture last season when he finished with 49. Albert Belle set Cleveland's first-half homer mark with 27 in 1996. ... Ryan Drese went seven innings plus Sunday, just the third time in 17 starts he's gone seven innings or more. ... Matt Lawton's homer was his first in nearly two months, since May 14 against the Orioles. ... The Indians also scored eighth runs in one inning, their season high, against the White Sox on June 1.

Chicago: The White Sox failed to take advantage of a nine-game homestand heading into the All-Star break against three teams under .500. They went 4-5 against the Cubs, Tigers and Indians. ... Struggling Todd Ritchie is 2-7 with a 8.59 ERA over his last 10 starts when he's allowed five ore more earned runs seven times. He was booed loudly by the Comiskey Park crowd Sunday. ... Kenny Lofton sat out the final two games of the series and the White Sox's player rep heads into the All-Star break in an 8-for-55 slump. He will attend a players' meeting Monday to discuss the labor situation. "We're going to go in there as a group and figure out what we're doing to do,'' Lofton said. "We're going to try and figure out what is best for the game of baseball.''

Devil Rays-Angels
Tampa Bay: Midway through their fifth season, the Devil Rays have only three players on their 25-man roster from the 35 they selected in the November 1997 expansion draft -- CF Randy Winn, 1B Steve Cox and RHP Esteban Yan. By contrast, seven players picked by the Anaheim Angels in the 1960 expansion draft played for them during their fifth season. ... Winn, who will represent the Devil Rays in Tuesday's All-Star Game, entered Sunday's contest hitting .311 with six homers and 41 RBI in 331 at-bats. Last year at the break, he was batting at a .291 clip with four homers and 25 RBI in 179 at-bats. "He's done more than we expected,'' manager Hal McRae said. "I thought he was a 350 at-bat guy, somebody who's play three or four days a week. He thought he was better than that, and he's proven it -- and that's all right with me. He's improved his all-around game, plus the ability to play consistently every day.'' ... The Devil Rays reached the All-Star break in last place for the fourth time in their five-year history. "Playing on a last-place team, you have to find a way to motivate yourself every day to go out there and compete at the highest level, stay focused and stay determined,'' said 11-year veteran C John Flaherty. "A lot of these young guys are finding out now what it takes for them to do that. It's a lot easier to play baseball when there's no pressure on you, you're in last place and you don't have the pressures of a pennant race. But it's a tough game when you're fighting for a playoff spot and you find out a lot about yourself. And hopefully, this organization will be in that position soon.'' ... Winn, who was born in Los Angeles and was a college teammate of Dallas Mavericks guard Steve Nash at Santa Clara, won a car at a Clippers-Cleveland game on Jan. 18 by making a basket from the midcourt line. The Mitsubishi Lancer went to his mother. Winn declined to disclose what he drives.

Anaheim: Manager Mike Scioscia will be one of the AL coaches in Tuesday's All-Star Game. "My wife's looking forward to going to Milwaukee. She loved `Laverne and Shirley,' '' said Scioscia, referring to the 1970s TV show in which the principal characters worked in a Milwaukee brewery. ... Despite the fact that the Angels have never won a pennant, one of their managers did manage in an All-Star Game. It was Dick Williams, who piloted the 1974 AL team in his Angels uniform after guiding Oakland to its second of three straight World Series titles. Williams replaced Bobby Winkles as Angels skipper 74 games into the '74 campaign. ... The Angels, with 50 victories heading into Sunday night's game, will go into the All-Star break with more wins than they've had since 1989 -- the year they hosted the midsummer classic. They were 52-33 at the break that season and led Oakland by 1 1-2 games, but finished eight games behind the AL West champion A's despite winning 91 games. ... Garret Anderson, the Angels' only All-Star representative, entered Sunday night's contest with 15 homers and 62 RBI -- the same exact numbers he had last year at the All-Star break. "I don't think it's difficult to project what Garret's seasons are going to be like,'' Scioscia said. "He's become one of the most productive players in our league. He plays every day, plays hard, and he got rewarded with an All-Star selection -- which was very well deserved.''

Royals-Athletics
Kansas City: 1B Mike Sweeney, the Royals' lone all-star representative, returned to the starting lineup on Sunday, four days after suffering a cut finger when he was hit by a pitch by Seattle's Joel Pineiro during a 3-0 loss on Wednesday. Sweeney will be appearing in his third consecutive All-Star Game, becoming just the fifth Royal to be selected for three straight all-star teams. He joins George Brett, who made 13 consecutive appearances, Amos Otis, Cookie Rojas and Dan Quisenberry. ... Entering play on Sunday, four of the past five K.C. games have been decided in the final at bat, including the first three against the Oakland Athletics. ... LHP Darrell May will open the second half of the season for the Royals on Thursday against the Anaheim Angels. He will be followed by RHP Jeff Suppan on Friday, RHP Paul Byrd on Saturday and RHP Miguel Asencio on Sunday.

Oakland: LHP Ted Lilly, whom the A's acquired in a trade on Friday night, arrived in time to play in Sunday's game. After working out of the bullpen on Sunday, Lilly will join the A's starting rotation. "Just having another left-handed starter seems to be a plus,'' said A's manager Art Howe. "He's a young arm and has a chance to get better. I'm not sure if he got regular work in New York.'' ... RHP Mike Fyhrie was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento of the PCL to make room for Lilly on the 25-man roster. Fyhrie was 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA in 13 appearances for the A's. ... OF Jermaine Dye was given the day off on Sunday to help give his leg a longer rest. Dye missed the first month of the season recovering from a broken left tibia. "These three days gives everybody a chance to get recharged and get ready to go for the second half,'' said Howe. ... RHP Aaron Harang will assume the long relief role out of the bullpen as Lilly takes his place in the rotation. "He showed he can pitch at this level and we need a long guy,'' said Howe. "We can also spot start Aaron.'' ... LHP Mark Mulder will start Thursday's game in Baltimore when the season resumes. He will be followed by RHP Tim Hudson, LHP Barry Zito, RHP Cory Lidle and Lilly.

Twins-Mariners
Minnesota: The Twins outhomered the Mariners 7-4 in the series. ... With 20 HRs, All-Star Torii Hunter is the first Twins' player since Kent Hrbek in 1987 to have at least 20 HRs by the All-Star break. ... The Twins lead the AL in fielding at the All-Star with the fewest errors, 47. They didn't make one in the Seattle series.

Seattle: Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners, the top vote getter for the All-Star Game, went 2-for-4 and is hitting .357 with a major league-leading 124 hits at the All-Star break. At the All-Star break last season, Suzuki was hitting .345 with 133 hits. ... John Olerud had the 15th multihomer game of his career and the first this season. ... John Halama is 6-0 lifetime against the Minnesota. ... Mark McLemore had his 15th SB and the Mariners lead the majors with 84 SBs.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Expos-Phillies
Montreal: OF Wil Cordero had two pinch-hit homers -- both into the upper deck -- in the series. ... The Expos finished their longest road trip of the season at 6-7. ... Montreal pitchers combined to issue 20 walks in the final two games of the series.

Philadelphia: Phillies manager Larry Bowa doesn't know much about RHP Joe Roa, who was 14-0 with a 1.86 ERA at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. "I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door,'' Bowa said. The Phillies purchased the contract of the 30-year-old pitcher on Sunday and designated RHP Jose Santiago for assignment. Roa was scheduled to play in Sunday's Futures Game at Milwaukee and Wednesday's Triple-A All-Star Game. Bowa was looking forward to meeting his new pitcher. "He's 14-0, even in Little League, that's intriguing,'' he said. ... SS Jimmy Rollins has grounded into nine double plays. Last season, he grounded into just five. ... 3B Scott Rolen has hit in eight straight and 14 of 15 since missing four consecutive games with a sprained left ankle. ... 1B Jeremy Giambi has walked 30 times in 105 plate appearances with the Phillies.

Brewers-Reds
Milwaukee: Richie Sexson has played in every game and has started 86 of the 88. He pinch hit in the seventh and grounded out. Sexson, after hitting his 19th homer Saturday night, was invited to participate in the Al-Star home-run derby. ... Fellow All-Star Jose Hernandez, who had appeared in 86 games, had the day off.

Cincinnati: Austin Kearns was a late scratch from the starting lineup because of a jammed right index finger. Russell Branyan started in his place and doubled and scored his first at-bat. Kearns pinch hit in the eighth and flied out to end the inning. ... Barry Larkin, who trails only Pete Rose on the Reds career doubles list, has doubled in three consecutive games.

Cubs-Braves
Chicago: 2B Mark Bellhorn popped out to shortstop as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, ending his eight-game hitting streak. ... In the sixth, with Joe Girardi on second after a leadoff double, RHP Jon Lieber swung at the first pitch instead of squaring to bunt. It worked out for the Cubs, though, when Lieber grounded out weakly and moved Girardi to third. "It was something we talked about earlier,'' Lieber said of interim manager Bruce Kimm. "If he lays one in, I would whack it.'' ... CF Darren Lewis got his first start of the series and went 0-for-4.

Atlanta: LF Chipper Jones, mired in 4-for-37 slump, had been trying to get his father, Larry, in to look at his swing for several days. Larry Jones made it in Saturday and showed his son a few tips, all with hitting coach Terry Pendleton's blessing. "I don't have all the answers,'' Pendleton said. "I told Chipper, 'Your dad knows you better than anybody. Have him take a look at your swing and see what he thinks.''' Chipper Jones sat out Sunday's game with a bruised knee, the first game he's missed this season. ... LHP Tom Glavine passed up a chance to pitch in the All-Star Game but still will travel to Milwaukee and sit on the bench. He's been bothered with a blister on his index finger, and isn't scheduled to start again until next Saturday in Montreal.

Astros-Pirates
Houston: Houston's bullpen allowed only six earned runs in 37 innings during a 7-2 road trip to Texas, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Orlando Merced said, "We have a good chance any time our starters go five or six. If they can get us that far, we have a great bullpen.'' The Astros are 28-4 when leading after six innings and 33-3 when leading after seven. ... Daryle Ward's 479-foot homer Saturday night into the Allegheny River on the fly was the second longest so far at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. Sammy Sosa of the Cubs had a 484-foot drive to center. ... Lance Berkman was 14-of-33 (.424) with six homers and 17 RBI during the road trip. ... RHP Dave Mlicki is expected to begin a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A New Orleans on Thursday. He will work three innings or make 50 pitches, whichever comes first.

Pittsburgh: The Pirates are 38-49 and a season-worst 11 games under .500, compared to last year's All-Star break when they were 33-53 on the way to 100 losses. They were 34-53 last year after 87 games. ... LHP Jimmy Anderson has allowed 11 runs in 5 2-3 innings in his last two starts after yielding only nine runs in his previous five starts. He has had a five-run inning in each of his last two starts. ... 2B Pokey Reese (strained muscle in left side) is expected to return Thursday in Milwaukee after missing the Houston series. ... Craig Wilson singled in his first at-bat Sunday but goes into the break in a 7-for-47 slump. ... RHP Kip Wells gave up as many homers (3) in a two-inning span of Saturday's 10-2 loss to Houston as he did in his 12 previous starts. ... LHP David Williams is expected to have season-ending shoulder surgery next week and has won only five games in the majors. But his No. 36 will be retired Thursday by Single-A Williamsport because he is the first former Crosscutters player to reach the majors.

Dodgers-Cardinals
Los Angeles: RHP Paul Quantrill has given up no runs on seven hits in his last 16 appearances, covering 12 2-3 innings. He pitched a scoreless 10th on Saturday for his first victory since Sept. 30, 2001, at Tampa Bay, while with the Toronto Blue Jays .... Dodgers starters lead the major leagues with 44 victories, two more than the Red Sox. ... Despite losing the finale, the Dodgers are 27-19 on the road. They were 5-5 on a 10-game trip leading into the All-Star break. ... The Dodgers have scored 253 runs in their last 48 games, an average of 5.3 per game. ... The Dodgers left 13 on base on Sunday, one shy of their season high. They stranded 14 in a 16-inning game at Atlanta on May 7.

St. Louis: RHP Woody Williams said it was too soon to determine the extent of his back injury. Williams left after five innings due to spasms on his left side, and said he was still very sore on Sunday. He could be in doubt for his first start after the All-Star break. "Woody's status is uncertain,'' manager Tony La Russa said. ... RHP Mike Timlin issued his first unintentional walk in 32 innings since May 2, when pinch hitter Joey Cora got a pass on four pitches in the seventh. ... Polanco's first career five-hit game was the Cardinals' first since Fernando Vina went 5-for-6 with three RBI in a 12-9 victory at Arizona on April 6, 2001. ... C Mike Matheny heads into the break on an 0-for-19 slump, including a pop-up in a pinch-hit appearance on Sunday. ... Mike Coolbaugh was 0-for-11 since his callup from Triple-A Memphis last Sunday before getting an infield hit in the eighth.

Padres-Rockies
San Diego: Padres manager Bruce Bochy said there will be playing time for INF Ramon Vazquez once 3B Phil Nevin returns from the DL. "Ramon will get some action at short and even some third because I want to get Ramon as much playing time as I can,'' Bochy said. "I think he's gotten better with more playing time.'' ... Seven of the 11 runs allowed in the first two games of the series were unearned, the result of five San Diego errors. ... The home run D'Angelo Jimenez hit Saturday was his first in 150 at-bats and first since May 17th. ... The Padres have started 0-5 in back-to-back months for the first time in franchise history. "We just aren't doing the things you need to win games,'' Bochy said. "We are making key errors in critical situations, but I can't complain about the effort. The effort is there.'' ... San Diego starters have gone winless in the team's last 14 games and are 0-7 in that stretch. ... Of San Diego's 66 home runs, 39 were solo shots. ... Mark Kotsay has hit in 12 of 13 games, batting .382 with eight RBI to raise his average to .310. "I'm concentrating on making contact with good pitches,'' Kotsay said. "I'm not trying to hit the ball out of the park on each at-bat. ... RHP Steve Reed will continue to enjoy the comforts of home through the All-Star break. Reed maintains a home in suburban Denver.

Colorado: 1B Todd Helton was held out of the starting lineup with a sore lower back. Helton was injured in the last day of the Los Angeles series on June 27 and missed the first two games of the Seattle series. "I reinjured it with a swing in my last at-bat on Saturday night,'' Helton said. "I don't know the severity. Only that our training staff will try to work it out.'' ... 2B Jose Ortiz continued his rehab assignment in Triple-A Colorado Springs going 4-for-7 with a triple in a double-header on Saturday. Ortiz played shortstop and second base. "I told them I want him to play second base, I want him to play shortstop and take some ground balls at third base,'' manager Clint Hurdle said of Ortiz who has played three games in Colorado Springs. "If and when he comes back with us it won't be only as a second baseman. ... Before the game, the Rockies held a Family Day on the field. ... LHP Kent Mercker will accompany the team to San Francisco after the All-Star break. "I will throw on the side on Thursday,'' Mercker said, who had pins removed from his left hand last Friday. "I was scheduled to throw two days ago, but the doctors had to go deeper into the hand than expected.'' ... Larry Walker is hitting .422 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI in 32 games since June 1.

Mets-Marlins
New York: All-Star C Mike Piazza was scratched from the lineup because of back spasms, ending a streak of 28 consecutive starts. GM Steve Phillips said the injury wasn't serious, and he expected Piazza would be able to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Piazza had started every game, as either catcher or designated hitter, since sitting out June 5 against Atlanta. ... Phillips denied having plans to trade closer Armando Benitez, but he said he is willing to make any deal that would improve the club. "I don't think there's one trade that's going to fix everything for us,'' Phillips said. "Most of the solutions come with the current cast of characters.'' ... LHP Mike Bacsik probably will get another start while RHP Steve Trachsel is on the DL. Bacsik, who allowed six hits and two runs in five innings to beat Florida in his first major league start Friday, is scheduled to start Saturday against Philadelphia. ... RHP Kane Davis, on the DL since May 13, will have elbow surgery Monday.

Florida: SS Alex Gonzalez was taken to a hospital for tests after waking up with stomach pains Sunday. Team officials were unsure what was wrong. Gonzalez has been on the DL since May 21 because of a dislocated left shoulder. He had a setback Thursday when he left a rehabilitation assignment with pain in the shoulder. Tests showed torn scar tissue. ... Following a successful rehab start, RHP Josh Beckett is scheduled to rejoin the rotation July 16 against the Mets at Shea Stadium. Beckett has one more rehab start before then. ... Making his second start since coming off the DL, RHP Brad Penny allowed five hits and two runs in three innings Sunday. He also struck out four without a walk, but did not return after a third rain delay.

Giants-Diamondbacks
San Francisco: The addition of closer Robb Nen gives San Francisco three players in the All-Star Game. The others are OF Barry Bonds and C Benito Santiago. ... After ending a 10-game homerless drought with his first ever off Randy Johnson on Saturday night, Bonds needs seven to reach 600. ... The Giants go into the All-Star break with their most victories since 1999 -- they were 48-48 entering Sunday night's game. ... RHP Felix Rodriguez singled off Johnson in his first at bat of the season. It was Rodriguez's first hit since 1999. ... The Giants were 14-14 in their last 28 outings entering Sunday's contest.

Arizona: RHP Curt Schilling's chances of starting for the National League in the All-Star Game were enhanced when Tom Glavine announced a blister would prevent him from pitching in the game. Schilling has a major league-best 14 victories and Arizona's Bob Brenly is managing the NL team. ... 3B Matt Williams is expected to rejoin the team after the All-Star break. Williams broke his left ankle March 22 while fielding grounders in spring training. ... With the addition of RHP Mike Fetters, the Diamondbacks designated RHP Erik Sabel for assignment.