SATURDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Kevin Millar Narrowly missed the cycle, falling a triple short in the Marlins' 11-7 victory over the Brewers. AB R H RBI 5 2 3 4 Hero of the day The Dodgers' Shawn Green broke out of his slump at the right time. He hit a two-run homer to send the game into extra innings and scored in the top of the 12th to help Los Angeles edge the Phillies 8-6. Goat of the day Former Indians phenom Jaret Wright was torched by the Mariners. He gave up six earned runs -- seven overall -- on seven hits in two innings in Seattle's 12-4 victory over Cleveland. He fell to 0-2 for the season. Injury report Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. was a last-minute scratch with a left quad spasm, but pinch-hit in the eighth inning. Braves CF Andruw Jones was scratched from the lineup just before the game because of a sore right shoulder. He's been bothered by the injury for more than a month since going over the wall at New York's Shea Stadium attempting to make a catch. Jones did get in for the final two innings, keeping alive his streak of playing in every game this season. Pirates CF Rob Mackowiak left in the second inning of a loss to the Giants with a strained muscle in his left side. Dodgers ace Kevin Brown allowed one run and one hit in 3 2/3 innings of a rehabilitation start for Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday. Brown has been on the disabled list since spraining his right elbow on May 27. Mets 2B Roberto Alomar left the second game with a strained groin and is day-to-day. Edgardo Alfonzo missed the second game with a pulled muscle in his left side. Diamondbacks 2B Junior Spivey didn't play the second game because of a bruised left triceps after being hit by a pitch. Athletics outfielder Jermaine Dye was a late scratch with a sprained right ankle. White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez, who has a bruised left elbow, didn't start and walked as a pinch-hitter. Marlins catcher Charles Johnson, who missed the previous five games because of a sore left wrist and lower back strain, didn't start again. Stat of the day Cleveland's Ellis Burks homered in the eighth inning at Seattle to set a major league record with homers at 41 major league ballparks. It was his 24th homer of the season. Streak of the day Rockies starter Denny Neagle retired 15 straight batters after Fred McGriff's homer in the second inning to end his five-game losing streak in Colorado's 2-1 win over the Cubs. The last word "It was a reflex action on my part. There's no hard feelings. I reacted to being hit by something." -- Devil Rays manager Hal McRae on why he pushed starter Tanyon Sturtze on Friday night.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Orioles at Blue Jays
Baltimore: The Orioles matched a season high with their fourth straight win. ... 3B Tony Batista went 2-for-2 with a single and double against Toronto starter Chris Carpenter. Batista entered 1-for-14 against Carpenter. ... 1B Jay Gibbons left in the seventh inning with a sore wrist. "It's been bothering him for a while,'' manager Mike Hargrove said. "When he starts a game it feels pretty good, but when he swings and misses it starts bothering him. It's probably worse today than it has been in a while. We'll see how it feels tomorrow. There's a good chance he'll have the day off.''

Toronto: Rookie DH Josh Phelps has hit safely in 20 of 28 games this season. ... Starter Chris Carpenter had his shortest outing (four innings) since returning from the disabled list June 22. He allowed a season-high seven earned runs. ... OF Jose Cruz Jr. has 28 RBI in his last 31 games. ... Rookie 3B Eric Hinske ended an 0-for-14 slump with a single in the ninth inning. Hinske has 100 hits.

White Sox at Devil Rays
Chicago: 3B Joe Crede was back in the starting lineup after missing one game with a sore left thumb. ... SS Jose Valentin, scratched from Friday's game with a stiff neck, was out of the lineup for the second straight game. ... The White Sox left 17 runners on base during Friday's 8-5, 12-inning victory over Tampa Bay. "That epitomizes what we've gone through the second half,'' manager Jerry Manuel said. "It's something that we'll spend a lot of time addressing this winter and then trying to come up with a better formula to get better results.'' ... INF Royce Clayton's time with the White Sox might soon be coming to an end, but he plans to finish the season strong. "I've been through a lot this past two months with speculation of being traded and a youth movement where my time may be limited,'' Clayton said. "But I've always been a guy that finishes strong, and I firmly believe that it's really not how you start, it's how you finish.''

Tampa Bay: Manager Hal McRae said struggling 2B Brent Abernathy and RF Ben Grieve will be out of the starting lineup for a few days. ... LHP Wilson Alvarez (left elbow) reported no problems after a 20-minute bullpen session and should be activated from the 15-day disabled in the next couple of days. The oft-injured Alvarez, in the final season of a $35 million, five-year contract, will work out of the bullpen and plans to pitch in winter ball. "I've got a couple years in my arm,'' Alvarez said. ... McRae said there is still no timetable for when LF Greg Vaughn, out since June 23 with a right shoulder injury, will return. "It's not a situation we have to rush,'' McRae said. The Devil Rays are looking at a number of young players, including rookie OF Carl Crawford.

Red Sox at Rangers
Boston: RHP Pedro Martinez, Sunday night's starter, is 5-1 with a 1.68 ERA career against Texas. ... Boston began the season 20-4 on the road, the best start in club history, but the Red Sox split their next 32 away games. ... If Friday night's game had been closer, Derek Lowe would have been given a shot at a complete game. But manager Grady Little opted to give Lowe the final two innings off. "He felt good and was ready to go out for the eighth, but after we scored seven (in the eighth), we decided it was best to get him out,'' Little said. Lowe allowed two hits over seven shutout innings to stretch his shutout streak to 24 innings.

Texas: Friday night's 13-0 loss to Boston came within a run of matching the most lopsided shutout loss in club history. The Rangers lost 14-0 to the Chicago White Sox in 1972 and '73. ... The Rangers scored 19 runs against the Red Sox on Thursday night, and being blanked in the following game marks the biggest swing in runs scored in team history. It was the greatest swing in the major leagues in 25 years. The Chicago Cubs beat San Diego 23-6 on May 17, 1977, at Wrigley Field, then the Cubs were blanked in their next game by Atlanta 6-0. ... RHP Joaquin Benoit moves into the rotation in place of RHP Rob Bell, who has been shifted to the bullpen. Benoit will start Wednesday night at Detroit.

Royals at Twins
Kansas City: RHP Paul Byrd had not allowed a walk in three straight starts coming in -- a streak of 32 1/3 innings. Doug Bird holds the club record with 46 2/3 consecutive innings without a walk in 1976. ... Byrd entered with 14 wins this season. The last time a Kansas City pitcher passed the 15-win mark was when David Cone won 16 in 1994. ... Despite a 3-9 record against Minnesota this season, the Royals had been outscored only 55-54.

Minnesota: The Twins, who entered with a 15-game lead in the AL Central, have been dominating teams with pitching and defense. The Twins have played 10 straight games without an error and their pitchers are 4-1 with an 0.98 ERA in the last five. The offense has chipped in, too, with the team batting .292 since the All-Star break. ... Since being moved into the third and fourth spots respectively in the batting order July 17, Corey Koskie and David Ortiz have combined to hit .384 with 10 doubles, seven homers, 25 RBI and 22 runs in 15 games.

Indians at Mariners
Cleveland: Jim Thome, who hit his 32nd homer Friday night, walked three times and ranks third in the league with 76 walks. ... Milton Bradley hit his fourth homer in 20 games and first since July 21. Bradley, 24, is in his first full season with the Indians. "Milton is doing the things that people said he could do,'' interim manager Joel Skinner said. Bradley, Cleveland's center fielder, made a leaping catch against the wall in the fourth to rob Bret Boone of an extra-base hit. "The play he made on the wall, he put a nice swing on a hanging breaking ball,'' Skinner said. "Those are positive things that players feed off of.'' Bradley's homer was a 439-foot shot off the second-deck facade in right field off Freddy Garcia. "That is probably the farthest I've hit a ball in a game,'' Bradley said. "I know I got a pretty good swing on it.''

Seattle: The Mariners lead the AL with 106 stolen bases. ... Mark McLemore scored three runs before coming out in the fifth. ... Carlos Guillen has a career-best nine-game hitting streak. ... Seattle's six-game winning streak is its second-longest of the season. The Mariners won 10 in a row April 8-17 on their first road trip. ... The Mariners' Nos. 2-5 hitters -- McLemore, John Olerud, Boone and Edgar Martinez -- were a combined 6-for-9 with two doubles, a home run, seven runs scored and 10 RBI. They also had four walks and three sacrifice flies. ... Olerud tied his career high with five RBI. ... The crowd of 46,219 was the largest regular-season crowd at Safeco Field and the 26th sellout of the season in 59 home games.

Tigers at Athletics
Detroit: The Tigers downplayed reports of a pregame shouting match between Bobby Higginson and Randall Simon on Friday night. Higginson reportedly was angry with Simon for two baserunning blunders a night earlier. "I already took care of it. It wasn't anything,'' manager Luis Pujols said. Higginson angrily declined comment. ... Detroit allowed three more triples -- two by Mark Ellis and another by John Mabry. George Lombard had a chance to make a play on two of the hits to center field, but couldn't track them down. The Tigers lead the AL in triples allowed (40) -- but they've also hit the most (32), helped by the unique dimensions of Comerica Park. ... RHP Jose Lima didn't do much to earn a prolonged stay in the rotation, allowing seven hits and six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Lima was bumped from the rotation in April, but he has made four starts since the All-Star break. "He didn't throw well out there,'' Pujols said. "All his pitches were up, and I thought the umpire was missing some calls. He was just coming up short.''

Oakland: OF John Mabry hit his first triple since July 22, 1996, when he played for St. Louis. ... SS Miguel Tejada can match the second-longest hitting streak in Oakland history on Sunday. Tejada has a 23-game streak, behind Carney Lansford's 24-game string in 1984 and Jason Giambi's 25-game run in 1997. Tejada has hit safely in 34 of 35 games. Only Luis Castillo's 35-game streak was longer this season. ... Mark Ellis didn't think he'd ever hit two triples in one game in his entire career -- not even Little League. ... Scott Hatteberg on Oakland's struggles against Cleveland and Detroit this week: "You don't want to say anybody's not good, but if you consider yourself a playoff team, there are certain teams you've got to beat, and these are those teams.'' ... OF Jermaine Dye was a late scratch, and trainer Larry Davis said Dye has a slightly sprained right ankle. The A's didn't know if Dye would play Sunday.

Yankees at Angels
New York: RF Raul Mondesi, who played the entire game Friday night despite fouling a ball hard off his right foot in the fourth inning, was back in the lineup. "He was pretty sore last night,'' manager Joe Torre said. "I talked to Rick Down, who had experience with him over with the Dodgers, and he told me, `If he comes in and says he can't play, you'd better take him to the hospital. That's what kind of a guy he is.' He's a bull.'' ... Cleanup hitter Bernie Williams has picked up the pace during the series in Anaheim, getting two hits in each of the first two games after an 0-for-9 slump. But he's four homers shy of last year's total at this stage. "He'll hit. I'll tell you, he's going to go and find a 10-day period where he'll hit six home runs, and he'll catch up in a hurry,'' Torre said. "He's done a good job protecting (Jason) Giambi. Bernie is a good guy to protect him because, even when he's not hitting, you don't take him for granted because he's so unpredictable. So you have to pitch to Jason.''

Anaheim: It was 3B Troy Glaus' 26th birthday, but CF Darin Erstad got the biggest present -- a $32 million, four-year contract extension. "Darin is a loyal guy, we knew he liked it here and that he wants to stay here and we like having him here,'' general manager Bill Stoneman said. "He's a special guy. Anybody who's got a son would like them to grow up like this guy. It's going to be good to have him around for years to come.'' ... The Angels entered having scored more than two runs only once in a span of seven games, including two shutouts.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rockies at Cubs
Colorado: Rockies manager Clint Hurdle will miss Tuesday's game against Cincinnati as his wife gives birth. ... Hurdle has decided to sit out CF Juan Pierre for two games. Pierre is batting .269 with 24 RBI. "I just want him to clear the chalkboard, I just want to watch the game,'' Hurdle said. On Friday he went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and a walk. ... Gabe Kapler will be in the starting lineup on Sunday for the time since he was traded from Texas. He will start in right field. "I think it was good for him to have a couple of days off initially,'' said Hurdle. "We basically told him try to forget everything he's been taught.'' ... OF Jay Payton is happy to be in Colorado. Making his second start for the Rockies, Payton had two-run double and a diving catch in the ninth. "The Rockies have shown interest in me in the past. It's nice to be here with a team that really wants you to be here,'' said Payton.

Chicago: The Cubs were turned down by the city of Chicago on adding more night games to their 2003 schedule and making renovation improvements to the stadium. "Our proposal was a modest proposal,'' said Cubs president Andy McPhail. "It's only human nature to compare ourselves with other teams. The city is committing another $20 million to Comiskey (Park).'' The Cubs were not able to work out deal with Mayor Richard Daley. McPhail met with Daley on Thursday. The Cubs were looking to add an additional 2,000 seats in the bleachers, but their plan was highly criticized by owners of rooftops, because it would blocked their view and possibly shutdown their operation.

Astros at Expos
Houston: LHP Carlos Hernandez allowed one hit over three scoreless innings Friday in his first rehab start for Triple-A New Orleans. Hernandez, who threw 39 pitches, has been on the 15-day DL since July 2 because of a sore left shoulder. ... The Astros have not allowed a stolen base in their last eight games.

Montreal: Scott Stewart's 14 saves are the second-highest season total by a left-hander in team history. Woodie Fryman had 17 saves in 1980. ... Vladimir Guerrero needs two home runs for No. 200 lifetime.

Brewers at Marlins
Milwaukee: RHP Nick Neugebauer made a rehabilitation start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday night. He pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing four runs, three hits four walks with two strikeouts. He has been on the disabled list since May 11 because of a rotator cuff tendinitis.

Florida: The Marlins were able to take some batting practice before rain caused the tarp to be put on the field. The Brewers' BP and both teams' fielding drills were canceled. ... C Charles Johnson, who had missed the previous five games because of a sore left wrist and lower back strain, again was not in the starting lineup.

Giants at Pirates
San Francisco: LHP Kirk Rueter, who starts Sunday, has won his last three starts against Pittsburgh and is 1-0 in PNC Park. He is 7-5 with a 3.47 ERA overall against the Pirates. ... Brian Giles' game-winning double Friday night against Robb Nen probably shouldn't be considered a surprise -- Giles is 4-for-5 with two homers and five RBI against the Giants closer. ... Livan Hernandez isn't worried that Nen will be adversely affected by the Pirates' 6-5 comeback victory. Nen was within a strike of closing out the game three times before Giles hit his two-run double. Hernandez said, "Everybody gets a bad game. He'll come out and save the next game. Whatever happened is in the past.''

Pittsburgh: OF Armando Rios, out most of the season with knee and calf injuries, was in the starting lineup Saturday night for the first time since early May. ... Two-time Gold Glove 2B Pokey Reese had only two errors -- one of which is being appealed by the Pirates -- in his first 75 games. He has been out several times for a week or more with nagging injuries. ... All but one of the Pirates' six farm clubs was at least seven games over .500 -- and three were 10 or more over -- through Friday's games. The exception was Triple-A Nashville (55-57). Lynchburg is 29 games over, Hickory is 19 games over and Bradenton is 17 games over. GM Dave Littlefield has put a greater emphasis on winning in the minors, and there has been less player movement than in past seasons.

Dodgers at Phillies
Los Angeles: LHP Omar Daal will make his rescheduled start on Sunday against his former team. Daal had been scheduled to pitch on Friday but was forced to pitch 1 1/3 innings of relief in the Dodgers 6-4 loss to Cincinnati. Daal, who pitched the second half of 2000 and all of 2001 in Philadelphia, surrendered a game-ending two-run homer to Ken Griffey Jr. in the 13th inning. ... RHP Kevin Beirne made his Dodgers debut on Saturday, going three innings and giving up one run and one hit while striking out three and walking one in relief.

Philadelphia: RHP Brett Myers will make his third start of the season on Sunday. His first two starts were vastly different. In his debut, he gave up one run on two hits in eight innings as the Phillies won at Chicago 4-2. In his home debut versus San Francisco, he was knocked out after three innings, giving up six runs on six hits. ... The Phillies extended their league leading doubles total to 222 with three on Saturday. ... Dodgers broadcaster Rick Monday will join Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas in the Phillies television booth for the third inning of Sunday's game. This is part of a season-long effort to honor Kalas' induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame last week. ... Ricky Ledee has now hit three pinch-hit homers, the team's most since Tony Longmire hit three in 1995. Only 14 Phillies have hit three or more in a season. ... Tomas Perez committed an error on Saturday, the first he has made in 58 games at second base for the Phils. ... RHP Francisco Butto pitched a seven-inning no-hitter for the Phillies' team in the Gulf Coast League. After a pair of errors gave the Royals' team a run in the first inning, Butto settled down to strike out seven and walk two. The Phillies won 2-1 when Esteban De Los Santo homered with two outs in the seventh.

Diamondbacks at Mets
Arizona: Erubiel Durazo homered twice in the first game, giving him 11 in 111 at-bats. Barry Bonds is the only NL player with at least 100 at-bats to homer at a better frequency. ... Brian Anderson allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings but got his fourth straight no-decision when the bullpen could not protect a 4-3 lead. "He certainly pitched well enough to win the ballgame,'' manager Bob Brenly said. ... 2B Junior Spivey did not start the second game because of a bruised left triceps sustained when he was hit by a pitch leading off the 10th inning of the opener. ... Arizona played its first doubleheader since last Aug. 31, against San Diego.

New York: 2B Roberto Alomar left the second game with a strained groin and is day to day. ... Closer Armando Benitez blew a save for just the third time in 29 chances in the opener. But that didn't stop the crowd from booing when he walked off the field after the ninth inning. "No one's perfect. But people want everyone to be perfect,'' manager Bobby Valentine said. ... Game 1 starter Steve Trachsel allowed three runs in six innings. The big hit was a two-run homer by Luis Gonzalez. "I threw the pitch I wanted, but it didn't go where I wanted,'' Trachsel said. "It cut back over the middle of the plate.''

Cardinals at Braves
St. Louis: CF Jim Edmonds came up three times with two runners on base. Each time, he failed to come through. Edmonds ended the first by hitting into a double play, struck out with runners at second and third in the third and grounded out in the fifth with two more runners aboard. "I have confidence in Jim,'' manager Tony La Russa said. "He had three RBI chances. Every time he went up, I thought he would do something good.'' Edmonds finished his miserable day by striking out in the eighth against Mike Remlinger, making him 0-for-8 in the series. ... 3B Scott Rolen had consecutive two-hit games after being acquired from Philadelphia, but he's now gone hitless in his last 12 at-bats with the Cardinals.

Atlanta: 3B Vinny Castilla took a cortisone shot in his sore right wrist, forcing him to sit out his second game in a row. Castilla, mired in a 3-of-44 hitting slump, initially hurt his wrist in April. The injury never had a chance to fully recover because Castilla is continually diving for balls in the field. "It would get better, then I would start diving for balls and hurt it some more,'' he said. "I like to play and hopefully it heals quickly so I can get back in there.'' Castilla will likely take Sunday off, as well, and the Braves have an off day Monday. He could return to the lineup Tuesday when Atlanta begins a series at Arizona. ... Wes Helms, filling in for Castilla at third, made a brilliant diving stop to end Saturday's 6-1 victory over the Cardinals. ... LF Chipper Jones had the 24th two-homer game of his career, the last coming on July 3, 2001, against Philadelphia. Jones was the fourth Braves player to hit two homers in a game this season. ... A couple of relievers extended their scoreless streaks. Chris Hammond hasn't given up a run in 16 innings, while Mike Remlinger has gone 15 2/3 innings since allowing his last run.

Reds at Padres
Cincinnati: CF Ken Griffey Jr. (left quad spasm) was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup, replaced by Reggie Taylor. Griffey, who was available to pinch-hit, has appeared in nine games, including eight starts, since coming off the 15-day disabled list July 22. Griffey has been on the disabled list twice this season. ... RHP Ryan Dempster will make his fifth start for the Reds on Sunday, hoping to improve on his first four appearances since being acquired in a July 11 trade with Florida. Dempster is 1/3 with a 9.75 ERA with Cincinnati. After lasting less than four innings in two of his first three starts, Dempster had his best outing in his last start, an 11-6 win over Los Angeles, on Tuesday. Dempster allowed four runs on nine hits in seven innings.

San Diego: RHP Brett Tomko faced the Reds for the first time since being dealt to Seattle in the Ken Griffey Jr. trade in February 2000. Tomko has bitter feelings about his time with Cincinnati, which drafted him in 1995, primarily because of an ongoing feud with then-Reds manager Jack McKeon. ... CF Mark Kotsay was back in the starting lineup after missing Friday's game with back spasms. ... LHP Eric Cyr (left rotator cuff tendinitis) was activated from the 15-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Portland. ... LHP Kevin Walker, who underwent "Tommy John'' surgery last August, pitched one inning Friday night in a rehab appearance at Portland. Walker, who allowed three hits in seven innings at Class-A Lake Elsinore, is on track to pitch for the Padres in September. ... RHP Adam Eaton, who also had "Tommy John'' surgery last August, made a simulated start Friday and is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Lake Elsinore as early as next week.