THURSDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Randy Johnson Won his fifth straight start with a dominating performance against the Reds, winning his 18th game of the year in a 7-2 win over the Reds. IP H R BB SO 8 2 2 1 11 Hero of the day With the Dodgers clinging to a 1-0 lead and the potential tying run rounding third base, Shawn Green let loose with a throw from right field that beat pinch-runner Henry Mateo for the third out in the ninth inning, preserving L.A.'s narrow victory. Goat of the day Pittsburgh third baseman Aramis Ramirez's error in the ninth inning opened up the floodgates for the Cardinals. With the score tied 5-5, Ramirez's mistake allowed St. Louis to score four unearned runs in the Cardinals' 11-5 victory over the Pirates. Injury report Indians second baseman Ricky Gutierrez was scratched after bruising his left thumb during batting practice. He is day-to-day after the X-rays were negative. Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez missed his second straight game with a strained ribcage. Stat of the day The Padres, who had struggled on the road all season, swept a series at Shea Stadium for the first time since Aug. 27-29, 1996 with a 5-3 win. The Mets have lost eight straight games at home for the first time since August 1980. Streak of the day Cubs phenom Mark Prior struck out seven straight batters in the Cubs' 6-4 win over the Astros. Prior finished with 12 strikeouts in six innings. The last word "When he swung 2-0 at the slider I wanted to strangle him. But I wanted to kiss him when he hit the ball out of the park.'' -- Orioles manager Mike Hargrove of Melvin Mora, who broke a 1-1 tie with his eighth-inning solo homer on a 2-2 pitch in a 3-1 win over the Twins.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Indians at Devil Rays
Cleveland: CF Milton Bradley, who underwent an appendectomy Wednesday, is scheduled to be discharged from St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday. He should return to Cleveland this weekend, and could resume light exercises in a week. ... Closer Bob Wickman (right elbow) was placed on the 15-day DL. He flew to Los Angeles to have the elbow examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum. ... CF Covelli "Coco'' Crisp made his major league debut and hit leadoff. His first name is also his father's nickname ... SS Omar Vizquel, who hit leadoff the past three games, returned to second in the lineup. ... 2B Ricky Gutierrez was a late scratch after hurting his left thumb in batting practice.

Tampa Bay: Ben Grieve started in right field after sitting out nine of the past 11 games. "It won't be one night, but it might not be a week,'' manager Hal McRae said. Grieve entered hitting just .240. ... McRae said no final decision has been reached on whether RHP Victor Zambrano, who will make his third start Friday, will remain in the rotation the rest of the season. ... 3B Jared Sandberg was rested. He will also likely get a day off during the upcoming weekend series against Kansas City. ... DH Aubrey Huff had more hits from July 19 through Wednesday -- 41 -- than any other player in the majors. "He really likes that lumber,'' McRae said. "He enjoys hitting probably as much as anybody on the team.''

Orioles at Twins
Baltimore: Starter Jason Johnson entered Thursday's game at Minnesota having lost four straight starts. But, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA in four career appearances against the Twins. ... The Orioles have won the season series against Minnesota in six of the last seven seasons, including this year. Last year they went 3-3 against the Twins, marking the only time since 1995 they failed to win the season series. ... Baltimore has been shut out 12 times this season and five times in 32 games since the All-Star break.

Minnesota: The Twins signed OF Denard Span, the 20th overall in June's draft. The contract is for the 2003 season, but other terms were not disclosed. Span batted .490 with 32 runs, 17 doubles, three triples, 22 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 28 games this past season for Tampa Catholic High School in Tampa, Fla. The 18-year old took some batting practice with the team before the game and spent the remainder of the pregame exchanging stories with All-Star CF Torii Hunter. ... Hunter is one stolen base away from becoming the fifth player in club history to have 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season. Corey Koskie accomplished the feat last year.

Yankees at Royals
New York: With Wednesday's victory, the Yankees are 4-1 against Kansas City this season, and have clinched the season series with the Royals for the seventh time in eight years. ... The Yankees have won 11 of the last 12 games and 32 of the last 40. They have won six straight in Kansas City. ... The Yankees entered play Thursday a season-high 30 game above .500.

Kansas City: Mike Sweeney became the fifth Royal, and first in 25 seasons, to steal home on a straight steal when he accomplished the feat with two outs in the sixth inning Wednesday. With a 1-2 count on left-handed Aaron Guiel, Sweeney stole home off Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, giving the Royals a 2-1 lead. The last Royals to steal home on a straight steal was Freddie Patek on June 18, 1977 vs. the Minnesota Twins. The others were Amos Otis (July 31, 1972, vs. California Angels), Dave Nelson (Aug. 8, 1976, vs. Chicago White Sox) and George Brett (Aug. 17, 1976, vs. Cleveland Indians). ... Kansas City entered play Thursday a season-worst 24 games under .500 (48-72).

Red Sox at Mariners
Boston: The Red Sox have signed their top two picks from the 2002 draft. LHP Jon Lester and 3B Scott White will start playing with the Red Sox's affiliate in the rookie Gulf Coast League. Lester, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound player from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Wash., was one of four pitchers selected by the Red Sox with their first six picks. He is a native of Puyallup, Wash. White, from Marietta, Ga., was the Red Sox's second overall pick, going 88th overall in the third round. White hit .533 with Walton High School. ... Manny Ramirez has three homers in his last seven games, including one in the Red Sox's 12-5 victory in Seattle on Wednesday night. "When Manny's locked in, he's hitting the ball where it's pitched,'' manager Grady Little said before Thursday night's game. "When you watch him take a pitch the right way, you know he's pretty much in form.'' ... Pedro Martinez will take a career-best 31 scoreless innings streak and a 16-2 record Friday night at Minnesota. "I sure hope you're not jinxing him writing about it,'' Little replied when asked by a reporter about his scoreless innings streak before Thursday night's game. "But whether you are or not, he'll still be tough.''

Seattle: LHP Jamie Moyer allowed 10 runs -- nine earned -- in 5 2-3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday night. His ERA went up from 2.72 to 3.08. The nine earned runs were the most he's allowed since he gave up 11 runs in 3 2-3 innings Aug. 9, 2000, in Chicago. Manager Lou Piniella didn't sound that concerned. "Jamie was due for a bad one,'' Piniella said. "He'll bounce back.'' ... The Mariners will open a three-game series Friday night against the New York Yankees. They're 4-2 against the Yankees this season. The Yankees beat Seattle in the AL championship series the past two seasons. "I'm not concerned about the postseason,'' Piniella said. "Our job basically is not to beat the Yankees. Our job is to win games.'' ... Seattle's lead in the AL West over Anaheim was cut to one game on Wednesday night. "We're still in August,'' Piniella said. "Let's not get crazy and panic. This thing here is going to be won in mid-September.'' ... SS Carlos Guillen was back in the lineup Thursday night after missing four games with a strained left adductor (thigh) muscle.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Astros at Cubs
Houston: Jose Vizcaino, who has been playing in place of Julio Lugo at shortstop, has made some great plays during the series against the Cubs. "You can have four Cy Young guys out there pitching, but if the defense can't catch the ball you are not going to win,'' manager Jimy Williams said. ... RHP Kirk Saarloos tied a career high with seven strikeouts, first accomplished July 20 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Saarloos lost for the first time in six decisions.

Chicago: After catching a player sleeping in the clubhouse during Tuesday's loss, Cubs interim manager Bruce Kimm held a meeting Wednesday. "That was only a small part of the meeting,'' Kimm said. "Basically, what happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse, that's all I'm going to stay about the meeting yesterday.'' Kimm said he is not afraid to confront a bad situation involving a player. "I consider myself a nice guy. I'm not a bully, but I think I'm fair. If I have a problem with someone I'm not afraid to bring them in my office and look at them straight in the eye and tell them exactly how I feel.'' ... Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has not made any decision yet on Kimm. "It's going to be a combination of things that I told Bruce about from Day 1. I wouldn't get involved in short term, if he won a lot of games right away and I wasn't going to worry about it if there was a few bumps in the road halfway through. I'm taking the exact same stance that I said from the first day in Atlanta, that I would evaluate the total package from start to finish.'' ... With the Cubs out of playoff contention, they will try to limit the innings of RHP Mark Prior. "This is not a sudden story. I talked to Mark Prior, his father, his agent way back when we signed him,'' Hendry said. "There was no way that Mark Prior was ever going to be overloaded and have over 200 innings as a rookie.''

Giants at Braves
San Francisco: CF Kenny Lofton, acquired from the Chicago White Sox three days before the trade deadline, hasn't been much help in the Giants' ailing outfield. He had missed four straight games and wasn't in the starting lineup Thursday night because of a sore right hamstring. Trainer Stan Conte said the Giants weren't caught off guard by Lofton's injury. "Nothing surprised us when he got here and nothing's surprised us since,'' Conte said. Lofton was acquired to bolster the outfield depth when all three starters -- Barry Bonds, Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Reggie Sanders -- were hurting. Shinjo came off the DL this week, while Bonds and Sanders have managed to keep playing despite sore hamstrings.

Atlanta: The Braves honored longtime trainer Dave Pursley in a ceremony before the game. He is retiring at the end of the season after 44 years with the team. The players chipped in to give Pursley a new Lexus automobile, and he also received a pair of international airline tickets, a three-day duck and goose hunt in Kentucky and autographed jerseys from the team's top players. Giants manager Dusty Baker, who played with the Braves, presented Pursley with autographed jerseys from Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. "Dave has been a big part of our success,'' Braves pitcher Tom Glavine said. "He deserves a lot of credit for the good health this ballclub has had over the years.'' ... C Henry Blanco is still sidelined with a sore muscle in his left ribcage. He will probably go on the disabled list Friday, when C Javy Lopez is eligible to come off. Lopez said his ailing right shoulder is feeling much better. As for Blanco, manager Bobby Cox said, "I'm afraid if he goes in and tries to swing, he could be out'' for an extended period. ... LHP Chris Hammond is bothered by a slight groin pull. As a precaution, the Braves held him out of Wednesday night's victory over the Giants. "I can barely feel it now,'' Hammond said before Thursday's game.

Dodgers at Expos
Los Angeles: RHP Kevin Brown was available to pitch out of the bullpen after he was activated from the 15-day DL earlier in the day. RHP Giovanni Carrara was placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 11, because of soreness in his right forearm. ... RF Shawn Green, whose 35 homers are second in the NL to Chicago's Sammy Sosa, came in with eight homers in his last 14 games. ... The Dodgers had 23 home runs in their last 14 games after hitting just two in their previous 12 games.

Montreal: RF Vladimir Guerrero brought a 14-game hitting streak into the game. Guerrero, who has seven multihit games in that span, is batting .418 (23-for-55) with six doubles, six homers and 10 RBI during the streak. ... The Expos came in 7-14 against NL West opponents this season.

Cardinals at Pirates
St. Louis: RHP Woody Williams threw to some hitters before Wednesday's game and reported no problems. Williams went on the disabled list with a strained left oblique muscle July 7. He hopes to be activated before the end of the month.

Pittsburgh: Manager Lloyd McClendon took LHP Jimmy Anderson out of the starting rotation. Anderson is 8-13 with a 5.07 ERA after 25 starts this season. He lasted three innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday, allowing five runs on eight hits. "The bottom line is we have to have results,'' McClendon said. "You have to get it done. If you can't we're going to go out and find someone else who can get it done. It's just that simple. This is not a country club. This is a professional baseball team. Guys have to perform.'' ... Asked if he was confused or angry, Anderson said, "Probably a combination of both. When I was throwing the ball bad, they sent me out there. When I was throwing it good, they take me out of there towards the end of the season. It really doesn't make a lot of sense. I don't make the decisions. I just have to live with it and I'll try to do the best I can out of the bullpen.''

Brewers at Phillies
Milwaukee: The Brewers will send six players to the Arizona Fall League, which begins Oct. 1. Prospects Bill Hall (INF), Corey Hart (INF), Dave Krynzel (OF), Mike Adams (RHP), Matt Childers (RHP) and Ben Diggins (RHP) will be on the Maryvale Saguaros roster. ... OF Alex Sanchez is homerless in 328 at-bats. ... The Brewers went 1-8 on artificial turf this season. ... RHP Luis Vizcaino came in with an 0.55 ERA and two saves in 15 games since the All-Star break.

Philadelphia: The Phillies will hold an Alumni Batting Challenge on Friday. The 1980 team will be comprised of Tug McGraw, Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt. They will face the 1993 team of Milt Thompson, Darren Daulton and John Kruk. ... Bobby Abreu started for the 14th time in center field. He has 99 starts in right. ... OF Doug Glanville has stolen 12 consecutive bases -- a team high. ... The Phillies are the only team in baseball with three active relievers with 100 or more career saves: Jose Mesa (211), Dan Plesac (155) and Mike Timlin (114). ... SS Jimmy Rollins entered with 10 hits in his last 13 at-bats.

Padres at Mets
San Diego: The Padres placed RHP Bobby J. Jones on the 15-day DL with a strained lower back and recalled LHP Mike Bynum from Triple-A Portland. Bynum, 24, is scheduled to make his major league debut when he starts Saturday at Montreal. ... The Padres got strong starting pitching as they swept a series at Shea Stadium for the first time since Aug. 27-29, 1996. Jake Peavy, Brian Lawrence and Brett Tomko combined to go 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in the three games. "When starting pitchers do good it's contagious. I think we feed off each other,'' said Tomko, who allowed one run in six innings Thursday. ... OF Mark Kotsay missed his third straight game because of a bruised left thumb. He is day to day.

New York: After the game, the Mets traded LHP Shawn Estes to Cincinnati for two minor leaguers and two players to be named. Estes, acquired last December in a trade with San Francisco, is 4-9 with a 4.55 ERA. ... LHP Mike Bacsik will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to start Friday night against Los Angeles in Estes' place. Bacsik is 2-0 with a 4.87 ERA in three starts for the Mets this season. "We'll see what he can do down the stretch,'' GM Steve Phillips said. "This gives us a chance to look at him.'' ... C Mike Piazza was out of the lineup for the third straight game because of tendinitis in his left wrist and will have an MRI exam Friday. He grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. "We're just trying to confirm the negative,'' Phillips said of the MRI. "I don't anticipate it's a DL thing.'' ... 3B Edgardo Alfonzo (strained left oblique) took soft toss and could take batting practice this weekend. "Hopefully, he'll be ready early next week,'' Phillips said. ... With Alfonzo and Piazza out of the lineup, SS Rey Ordonez batted second for the first time this season, going 1-for-5. "With this group, I'd like to see what it looks like with him up there,'' manager Bobby Valentine said.

Diamondbacks at Reds
Arizona: Randy Johnson started, one day after he went back to the team hotel with flulike symptoms. Johnson sat in his locker, ate a sandwich and drank a bottle of water before his start. ... Quinton McCracken's solo homer in the third was his second of the season. His other homer was April 14 in Colorado. Before that, the outfielder hadn't homered since April 21, 1999. ... OF Luis Gonzalez, who left the series opener with a strained ribcage, was out of the lineup for the second straight game. Gonzalez didn't play in Wednesday's game, ending his streak of 446 consecutive games played.

Cincinnati: The Reds got LHP Shawn Estes from the Mets for two minor leaguers and two players to be named. Estes will start Saturday instead of Jose Rijo, who will go back to the bullpen. ... Estes will arrive in Cincinnati on Friday evening. The club will make a roster move before the game to open a spot. Manager Bob Boone thinks reliever Scott Sullivan, who got a cortisone shot in his sore pitching shoulder this week, is a possible candidate for the disabled list. Reliever John Riedling also is hobbled by a strained groin. ... RHP Luis Pineda had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum. He's expected to be sidelined for 9-to-12 months.