WEDNESDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Randy Johnson Struck out 15 Expos to improve to 15-4 on the season with a 5-1 victory over Montreal. IP R H SO 9 8 1 15 Hero of the day Twins first baseman David Ortiz extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games with a 10th-inning single that allowed Minnesota to edge the White Sox 2-1. Goat of the day Yankees starter Mike Mussina was pounded for seven earned runs and 11 hits in three innings in New York's 17-6 loss to Texas. Seven of those 11 hits Mussina surrendered were extra-base hits in the Rangers' six-run second inning. Injury report Twins outfielder Torii Hunter missed his second consecutive game with a mild left hip flexor strain. He is day-to-day. Expos outfielder Wil Cordero left in the eighth inning with a cramp in his left calf muscle. Blue Jays shortstop Dave Berg was scratched with tightness in his shoulder. Marlins catcher Charles Johnson will likely be sidelined until this weekend with a swollen left thumb. Red Sox first baseman Tony Clark didn't play after fouling a ball off his foot two nights in a row. Stat of the day The Dodgers hit four home runs against the Reds in an 11-5 victory after not hitting one since July 23. Los Angeles has only won six of its past 19 games. Streak of the day Orioles starter Rodrigo Lopez won his sixth straight start in July to become the first Baltimore pitcher to go 6-0 in a month since Mike Boddicker in May 1979. The last word "We've kind of spiced it up through these eight games. We've dabbled in mediocrity in all areas." -- Rockies manager Clint Hurdle whose team has lost its first eight games of a 12-game road trip.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees at Rangers
New York: Injured closer Mariano Rivera threw off flat ground for the second straight day at the Yankees' minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. Rivera, who has a strained pitching shoulder, said he would "definitely'' be able to return next week. ... Also rehabbing is OF Juan Rivera, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first minor league appearance since fracturing his right kneecap. ... The Yankees certainly took notice of Boston's acquisition of OF Cliff Floyd from Montreal. "They've helped themselves, but it's still going to come down to who pitches best,'' manager Joe Torre said. "He's a good player that's been talked about for years.'' Added shortstop Derek Jeter: "He's a great player who can do it all. The thing is, people don't pay attention to his speed.''

Texas: Not that the Rangers have any need for a shortstop, but if they did, Derek Jeter wouldn't be in a hurry to call Arlington home. After Tuesday night's game, when it was a relatively balmy 82 degrees at first pitch, Jeter thought the heat was stifling. "I couldn't play here because I'd weigh about 100 pounds,'' he said. In his defense, it did feel worse than normal because there was hardly any breeze, a rarity.

Tigers at Mariners
Detroit: President and general manager Dave Dombrowski said he received trade offers from four teams Wednesday but "there wasn't a deal out there that makes us better.'' "You always hope it exists but you can't force it either,'' he said. ... Dombrowski wants to keep LHP Mark Redman around. In his last 13 starts, Redman is 6-4 with a 2.26 ERA and three complete games. That's after an 0-5 start. "He has turned into a quality big league pitcher for us,'' Dombrowski said. The Tigers still have plenty to do to improve, he said. "I still don't think we're a championship-caliber club, and until you're a championship-caliber club, you have to listen,'' Dombrowski said.

Seattle: The Mariners said they were close to making a trade Wednesday but did not go into details. "You're always disappointed when you work so many hours and nothing gets done, but we still like the club the way it is,'' said Lee Pelekoudas, vice president of baseball administration. "You can't react to what other clubs are doing and start making moves just to make moves. That's when you start to make bad moves.'' ... 3B Jeff Cirillo was not in the starting lineup. He was ejected by plate umpire Jerry Meals after being called out on strikes and arguing in the ninth inning Tuesday.

Orioles at Devil Rays
Baltimore: DH Chris Richard (left shoulder) was activated from the 60-day disabled list and homered on the first pitch he's seen in the majors this season leading off the second inning. To make room for Richard, 2B Brian Roberts was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. ... Manager Mike Hargrove said RHP Jason Johnson (shoulder) should be ready to come off the disabled list in the next week or so.

Tampa Bay: All-Star CF Randy Winn, the most mentioned Devil Rays player in trade talks, was back in the lineup after getting Tuesday off. "He's been our best player,'' manager Hal McRae said. "Naturally, you like to retain your best player.'' ... LF Greg Vaughn, sidelined since June 23 by a right shoulder injury, has resumed playing catch. ... LHP Wilson Alvarez (elbow) will throw batting practice Thursday.

Blue Jays at Royals
Toronto: SS Dave Berg was a late scratch from the lineup because of tightness in his right shoulder and was listed as day to day. He was replaced by Chris Woodward. ... The Blue Jays return home Friday for a 10-day homestand. They have won 11 of their past 14 games at SkyDome.

Kansas City: LHP Darrell May, who was to start Thursday, has been sent to the bullpen. While the Royals did not list a starter for the game, RHP Runelvys Hernandez is expected to be recalled Thursday from Double-A Wichita and take May's turn in the rotation. Hernandez was 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two July starts when the Royals needed an extra starter because of two doubleheaders. ... LHP Jeremy Affeldt, who threw two hitless innings Tuesday for Wichita on an injury rehabilitation assignment, has rejoined the club and will likely be activated in the next day or two. He has been out since June 8 with a finger blister and broken nail.

Indians at Athletics
Cleveland: LHP Carl Sadler's major league debut was an impressive one. Entering Wednesday's game with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Sadler got David Justice on a foul popup and Eric Chavez on a grounder to end it. Sadler, a veteran of seven minor league seasons, has never been to a major league camp. ... Sadler, recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to replace traded Ricardo Rincon in the Indians' bullpen, flew into San Francisco that morning and told a cab driver to take him to the ballpark. He nearly ended up at Pacific Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, until he realized what was happening. ... SS Omar Vizquel extended his hitting streak to a career-best 17 games. Vizquel had a run-scoring single in the second inning, but his error on an easy grounder in the sixth allowed two unearned runs to score. ... OF Ellis Burks missed all three games of Cleveland's series in Oakland with a left shoulder injury. "He was close. He said he would like one more day,'' Cleveland manager Joel Skinner said. "That's all you can ask.''

Oakland: INF Ray Durham was held out of the A's lineup Wednesday after he scraped his leg while sliding on Tuesday night. ... SS Miguel Tejada got two hits to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 20 games -- every game since the All-Star break, when Tejada played in his first All-Star game. It's the longest streak in the AL this season and the longest active streak in the majors.

Red Sox at Angels
Boston: Newly acquired OF Cliff Floyd, who wore No. 30 in Florida and Montreal, didn't join the club for the series finale in Anaheim, but the equipment manager put a No. 12 jersey in his locker anyway. It's not known whether Floyd will ask 1B Jose Offerman to give up his No. 30 when meets up with the Red Sox in Texas on Thursday. ... 1B Tony Clark, who fouled a ball off the same foot two nights in a row, didn't start Wednesday. X-rays were negative, but he was too sore to play. ... Boston leads the majors with 14 shutouts in their first 105 games, which is also the most by a major league team at that point since Atlanta had 19 shutouts and Pittsburgh had 15 in 1992.

Anaheim: C Bengie Molina will likely be activated from the 15-day DL on Thursday. He's been out since July 17 with a strained left hamstring, and made a successful rehabilitation start Tuesday night at Class A Rancho Cucamonga. ... 1B Scott Spiezio played catch before the game with his friend Brian Wheet, bassist for the rock band Tesla. "He likes rock 'n roll, and I like baseball,'' said Wheet, whose group played later Thursday at a club in the Edison Field parking lot. "Spiez has got a band and we talked about maybe him opening for us next year,'' the long-haired Wheet said. "He asked me how many songs he'd have to play and I said 10. He got nervous.''

White Sox at Twins
Chicago: Manager Jerry Manuel said RHP Todd Ritchie will make his next scheduled start on Saturday against Tampa Bay. Ritchie missed his last start with inflammation in his right shoulder. "He responded real well to throwing on the side yesterday,'' Manuel said.

Minnesota: CF Torii Hunter sat out for the second consecutive game with a mild left hip flexor strain. Hunter said he received the injury while taking batting practice about a week ago. Manager Ron Gardenhire said Hunter is day to day. "I don't want to have to use him if I don't have to,'' Gardenhire said. Hunter stressed the injury wasn't bad and that sitting out was more of a precaution. "I can play with it because during games it goes away because I'm loosening up,'' he said. "I just don't want to take more chances of getting hurt.''

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rockies at Pirates
Colorado: Manager Clint Hurdle tore up his original lineup after OF Todd Hollandsworth and Mark Little and pitchers John Thomson and Dennys Reyes were dealt at the trading deadline Wednesday. He had only 21 players available for the game -- about the same as he might have for a spring training split-squad game. ... Todd Zeile snapped an 0-for-26 streak with a single in the fourth inning Wednesday night against Pirates RHP Josh Fogg.

Pittsburgh: Manager Lloyd McClendon wasn't surprised the Pirates made only one trade at the deadline, sending OF Chad Hermansen to the Cubs for OF Darren Lewis. McClendon said, "I don't think we're that far off. I think we're headed in the right direction.'' But he also thinks the Pirates still are five players away -- including another starting pitcher and a reliever -- from being a legitimate contender in the NL Central. ... RHP Mike Williams' 31st save of the season Tuesday was his 100th with the Pirates. ... RHP Brian Meadows, who starts Thursday night against the Rockies, said is a different pitcher than he was a year ago, when he was 1-6 with Kansas City. Meadows said, "I had a bad game, then two, then three, and before I knew it, it just snowballed on me.'' He was one of the Twins' final spring training cuts this year, then watched as they opened a big lead in the AL Central. He said, "I thought I had a good enough spring to make the team. But I've got a lot of friends there and I'm happy to see them do well.''

Diamondbacks at Expos
Arizona: Johnson faced the Expos for the first time since May 3, 2001. He made his major league debut with Montreal in 1988 and was traded to Seattle during the 1989 season. ... Phoenix Coyotes forward Daniel Briere took batting practice with the Diamondbacks prior to the game.

Montreal: Manager Frank Robinson rested rookie CF Brad Wilkerson against Johnson and started Wilton Guerrero in his place. C Brian Schneider, who batted eighth, was the only left-handed batter in the lineup as C Michael Barrett missed his sixth straight start because of a bruised left forearm. ... With Cliff Floyd traded to Boston, Robinson said he plans to return to using Wil Cordero -- who started Wednesday night's game -- against left-handers and Troy O'Leary against right-handers in left field. ... RF Vladimir Guerrero is three homers short of 200th career home run. He is four stolen bases short of 100 for his career.

Cardinals at Marlins
St. Louis: LHP Chuck Finley's scheduled start Wednesday was pushed back to Thursday because he was in California attending to a personal matter, manager Tony La Russa said. ... La Russa's explanation for Edgar Renteria's home-run binge? "A corked bat. That's what I accuse him of,'' La Russa joked.

Florida: The Marlins, who made some of their players and fans unhappy by trading OF Cliff Floyd and RHP Ryan Dempster three weeks ago, let the trading deadline pass Wednesday without a last-minute deal. "We had some inquiries, and we made some inquiries. It just didn't match up,'' general manager Larry Beinfest said. ... C Charles Johnson will likely be sidelined until this weekend with a swollen left thumb.

Giants at Phillies
San Francisco: 3B David Bell hit in the No. 8 slot for just the second time this season. He has batted in every position except third, fourth and ninth. ... After missing five games with a strained right hamstring, RF Reggie Sanders was out of the lineup again on Wednesday.

Philadelphia: Bobby Abreu started for the 12th time in center field. ... RHP David Coggin has a team-leading 18-inning scoreless streak (14 games). ... Thursday's starter, Randy Wolf, is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts against the Giants at Veterans Stadium.

Astros at Mets
Houston: OF Richard Hidalgo returned to the lineup after missing six games with a sore left wrist. He misplayed his first chance in the field, turning a line drive by Timo Perez into a triple in the first inning. ... The Astros have won five straight games coming into Wednesday night to move a season-high three games over .500. Houston has outscored the opposition 35-6 in that span, including three shutouts in a four-game series against Pittsburgh. ... RHP Octavio Dotel leads all relievers with 82 strikeouts this season. Dotel has a 1.05 ERA since June 1.

New York: The Mets made a pair of deals before the trade deadline, acquiring starter John Thomson from Colorado and reliever Steve Reed from San Diego. "We've addressed our pitching needs,'' GM Steve Phillips said. ... The Mets did have to give up OF Jay Payton to get Thomson from Colorado. Payton had been with the Mets since being drafted out of Georgia Tech in 1994. "You can't beat New York,'' he said. "It's the greatest place in the world to play, especially when you're winning.'' ... The Mets renewed their player development contract with Triple-A Norfolk for four more years. ... John Franco received the Lou Gehrig Award before the game, given to a player for his outstanding commitment to his community and philanthropy.

Dodgers at Reds
Los Angeles: The Reds scored twice in the first inning Wednesday, the fourth time in the last five games that the Dodgers' opponent has scored in its first at-bat. ... Dave Roberts stole second base in the first inning, becoming the fourth major leaguer to steal 30 this season. ... 3B Adrian Beltre stood in place and didn't check on the runners after catching Aaron Boone's foul in front of the Dodger dugout, allowing Todd Walker to tag from first to second in the second inning. He was stranded there.

Cincinnati: The Reds optioned RHP Chris Reitsma to Triple-A Louisville and activated LHP Gabe White off the 15-day disabled list. White hasn't fully recovered from a broken small toe on his right foot, but it doesn't bother him when he throws. "If I sit and wait for it to be pain-free, the season will be over,'' White said. ... The Reds reached the 64 million mark for all-time attendance at Cinergy Field, which opened as Riverfront Stadium in 1970. The Reds picked a fan at random to throw out a ceremonial first pitch, and gave away 64 replicas of Cinergy Field.

Brewers at Braves
Milwaukee: Lenny Harris set a franchise record Tuesday night with his 15th pinch-hit of the season. His single off John Smoltz in the ninth inning pushed him past previous record-holder Bob Hansen, who had 14 pinch-hits in 1974. Harris also leads the majors this season with his 15 pinch-hits. ... The Brewers' offense had at least one extra base hit in each of their last 27 games entering Wednesday night's game.

Atlanta: The Braves, with a 13{-game lead in the NL East over the New York Mets, sat by idly as Wednesday's trade deadline passed. "I didn't feel the need to improve our pitching. Neither did Bobby (Cox),'' said general manager John Schuerholz. "We didn't feel a need to do anything. I sat on my hands all day long. It felt comfortable.''

Padres at Cubs
San Diego: Padres manager Bruce Bochy wants to watch his two young pitchers closely. "We are not going to over extend him or the guy going (Jake Peavy) tomorrow,'' said Padres manager Bruce Bochy. "Sometimes they are throwing well, they have the tendency to work hard and logged in some pitches.'' On Wednesday LHP Oliver Perez struck out 10 batters in just five innings, tying a career high. Perez had a rough first inning against the Cubs, allowing four runs, on four hits. Perez the youngest player in the majors rebounded well, only allowing one hit after the first inning. Perez did not get a decision. Peavy, 21, gets the start on Thursday against the Cubs, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s, as they go for the three-game sweep. "They will get better with experience, but they are young and they can handle the heat.''

Chicago: OF Sammy Sosa says there need to be more night games at Wrigley Field. He believes that the Cubs are unfairly penalized for playing too many games in the sun. "I think it is a better way for us to win more games here at Wrigley Field. I make that comment because I think it is appropriate, nobody told me to do it,'' said Sosa. "I think it is something that will be in our favor. It will give us more energy.'' ... Wednesday's loss against the Padres marked the third straight game that the Cubs blew a lead. ... Moises Alou missed the game because of tightness in his right calf. He is day to day. ... Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano left in the fourth inning due to soreness in his right upper-arm. He does not expect to miss a start.