SATURDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Odalis Perez Retired the first 19 Mets batters in a 10-4 win, flirting with perfection for the third time this season. IP H R BB SO 7 1 2 1 7 Hero of the day Alex Rodriguez went deep three times in the Rangers' 9-5 victory over the Blue Jays, giving him 42 home runs on the season and an MLB-best 107 RBI. What's more, A-Rod -- still just 27 years old -- went over 40 homers for the fifth straight season, making him just the sixth player in history to do so. Goat of the day Kyle Farnsworth of the Cubs saw his first pitch to Erubiel Durazo leave Wrigley Field for a ninth-inning grand slam in Chicago's 6-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. Half an inning later, the Cubs were booed off the field amid chants of "Go on strike!" from frustrated fans. Injury report Diamondbacks OF Luis Gonzalez was held out of the lineup for a fourth consecutive game with a strained right rib cage. Red Sox OF Cliff Floyd sat out because of a right hip flexor and injuries to his groin and right Achilles tendon. Angels RF Tim Salmon, who missed his sixth game since being hit in the hand by a pitch last Saturday at Toronto, is not expected to take any meaningful batting practice until next Tuesday at the earliest. Pirates LF Brian Giles was out of the lineup for the first time since April 17 with a strained right calf. He had made 107 consecutive starts. Stat of the day Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees homered in the seventh inning against the Mariners, giving him 30 for the season and making him the first second baseman in history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season. Soriano has 34 steals. Streak of the day Bernie Williams' streak of 11 straight hits ended in the Yankees' 8-3 win at Seattle. Williams finished one hit shy of tying the major league record set by Mike "Pinky'' Higgins of the 1938 Boston Red Sox and tied by Walt Dropo of the 1952 Detroit Tigers. The last word "This is the happiest time of my life right now. It's every good word that you can possibly think of, wrapped into one. That's what's going in right now. Baseball has its ups and downs, and this is my up time. Hopefully, I can keep this up as long as possible and shorten up those down times.'' -- Rookie Indians CF Coco Crisp, who is 6-for-14 in his three major league games, including three hits and his first two RBI in a 9-5 win at Anaheim on Saturday.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees at Mariners
New York: CF Bernie Williams was 2-for-5 and is batting .339, up 17 points before he started his streak of 11 straight hits that ended Saturday. He's second in the league in hitting behind Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. ... Rondell White stopped his 0-for-27 slump, the longest of his career, with a single in the second. ... RHP Mike Mussina now has a 5.65 ERA in the second half of the season. Seattle: Ichiro Suzuki was in CF and Mark McLemore in RF in a revamped Mariners' outfield, caused by the benching of CF Mike Cameron. Suzuki has been in RF for the Mariners during the regular season since coming to Seattle from Japan for the 2001 season.

White Sox at Athletics
Chicago: RHP Todd Ritchie could be done for the season. He's expected to undergo unspecified tests in the next few days that could reveal bigger problems than the inflamed right shoulder that put him on the disabled list on Aug. 6, manager Jerry Manuel said. Ritchie is 5-15 with a 6.15 ERA, and he hadn't won in a month before going on the DL. His replacement in the rotation, Jim Parque, might be bumped back to the minors if he doesn't pitch well on Tuesday against Minnesota. ... While the White Sox lost their third straight on Saturday, Magglio Ordonez and Paul Konerko both continued their hitting streaks. Ordonez, who doubled in the fourth, has hit in 12 games, while Konerko, who singled in the ninth, has an 11-game streak. Oakland: David Justice became the 226th player to reach 1,000 career RBI when he homered in the seventh inning Saturday. "It's a heck of a milestone,'' Justice said. ... Miguel Tejada is the eighth player in Athletics history to drive in 100 runs in three straight seasons. Most recently, Jason Giambi did it in four straight. Tejada is batting .320 with 12 homers and 41 RBI in 35 games since the All-Star break. ... OF Terrence Long grounded into yet another double play on Saturday. That's five in the last six games and 16 this season -- tied for the most in the AL.

Royals-Devil Rays
Kansas City: Manager Tony Pena watched the Royals' Gulf Coast League team play Saturday afternoon in Haines City, Fla. ... RHP Mike MacDougal, who suffered a fractured skull Oct. 4 when he was struck by a bat in the dugout, made his second appearance for the GCL Royals. He pitched 2 2-3 hitless innings, striking six of his eight batters.... RHP Brian Rose (right elbow surgery) gave up one run and two hits in two innings in the Gulf Coast League game against Philadelphia minor leaguers. Rose appeared in seven games, going 0-2, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last season. Tampa Bay: Manager Hal McRae said that after discussing the possibility with Greg Vaughn, the injured outfielder will not go out on a rehab assignment. Vaughn, out since June 23 with a right shoulder injury, will travel with the team during a two-week road trip that begins Monday at Baltimore. McRae said plans still call for Vaughn to remain on the 15-day disabled list until rosters are expanded Sept. 1. "It will be difficult to get him playing time unless something happens,'' McRae said. "We're giving some (young) guys good looks.'' ... RF Ben Grieve started for just the fifth time in 14 games. He started the day hitting just .238, but should be in the lineup for at least few more days. "We need some offense,'' McRae said. "We'll see if snaps out of it.''

Red Sox at Twins
Boston: Injury-plagued OF Cliff Floyd sat out Saturday night against Minnesota. Floyd, who went 0-3 in Friday night's loss, had already missed two games with a right hip flexor strain since coming to the Red Sox last month in a trade with Montreal. But he's also being nagged by injuries to his groin and right Achilles. "He's not quite right, he's not 100 percent,'' manager Grady Little said. "This will give him a chance to get to as close to 100 percent as he can. Running around this turf isn't good for him.'' ... As long as knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is on the mound for Boston, there's not rest for C Doug Mirabelli, who started Saturday instead of Jason Varitek. "Mirabelli has caught Wakefield every start he's had and he does a good job with him,'' Little said. Minnesota: RHP Matt Kinney threw four innings Friday night in his rehab assignment with Double-A New Britain. Kinney, who has missed 42 games on the DL this season with a right posterior cuff strain, faced 16 batters and allowed four runs -- three earned -- off four hits, including a home run, in New Britain's 9-4 loss. He had three strikeouts. ... Reliever Jack Cressend's wife, Katy, gave birth a son, Cole Gilbert, on Friday. Cressend, on the DL with strained right rotator cuff, is with his family in Mandeville, La. The right-hander is expected to return to his rehab assignment with Class A Fort Myers on Monday or Tuesday.

Tigers-Orioles
Detroit: DH Randall Simon is hitting .347 at home, but his success hasn't been limited to Comerica Park. He entered Saturday's game with a .350 average over his last nine games and had hit safely in 20 of 22 starts. ... Brian Powell, who is scheduled to start Sunday, received two extra days of rest after pitching out of the bullpen Tuesday. ... Damion Easley, who has not played since Aug. 10, missed another start Saturday because of inflammation in his right wrist. ... A 2-for-19 slump dropped 3b Chris Truby's batting average below .200 for the first time since June 16. ... Detroit played two straight errorless games after committing at least one error in seven consecutive games. The Tigers had 103 errors through Friday, second-most in the majors. Baltimore: The Orioles activated SS Mike Bordick from the 15-day disabled list and optioned INF Jose Leon to Triple-A Rochester. Bordick, who was sidelined for a month with a hairline fracture of the right kneecap, started Saturday night. ... RHP Sidney Ponson has been throwing without pain on the sidelines this weekend, giving the Orioles hope that he can avoid surgery on his ailing right shoulder. Ponson, on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, has not pitched since Aug. 6. ... OF Melvin Mora has already reached his career high in home runs this year, clubbing 16 in 436 at-bats before Saturday. That's more than double the 15 homers he had in his 881 career at-bats before this season.

Blue Jays at Rangers
Toronto: RHP Justin Miller will start Tuesday in place of Chris Carpenter when the Blue Jays play Kansas City. Carpenter (4-5, 5.28 ERA) is on the disabled list for the third time this season with right shoulder problems. Carpenter allowed six hits and four walks over six innings Wednesday in a loss to Oakland and went back on the DL the next day. Miller (4-4, 6.67 ERA) will be making his 11th start. ... RF Dewayne Wise, who was already filling in for the injured Jose Cruz, was out of the starting lineup for the second game in a row Saturday. Wise got jammed on a pitch last week against Oakland. He played through some pain, but wound up altering his swing a bit and aggravating his left wrist. Texas: LHP John Rocker could be finished for the season. Rocker (2-3, 6.66 ERA) has been on the disabled list since July 4 because of a left shoulder problem. He began a rehab assignment last week, but was scratched from an appearance Thursday after feeling pain while warming up. An MRI on Friday was inconclusive and a nerve test is scheduled Monday.

Indians-Angels
Cleveland: CF Coco Crisp, who got his first three major league hits Friday night in his second game with the Indians, is the fourth big leaguer who has played for major league baseball's "Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities program.'' The others are Vic Darensbourg (Marlins), Luis Matos (Orioles) and James Lofton (Red Sox). RBI is a grassroots outreach program designed to promote baseball to teen-agers, increase self esteem among disadvantaged children and encourage kids to stay in school. Anaheim: RF Tim Salmon, who has missed six games since taking a fastball on the hand from Steve Parris last Saturday at Toronto, is not expected to take any meaningful batting practice until next Tuesday at the earliest. "I didn't feel any worse today, so that's a good sign,'' said Salmon, the Angels' career leader in home runs. "I'm just doing grip-strength stuff, which is more of a controlled way of doing it than grabbing a bat, taking swings and aggravating it. It's a bone bruise. It's inflamed and you've just got to let it calm down and get the hot spot out of there first. But I'll eventually have to hit live pitching in BP to really see where we're at.'' ... The Angels' 40 home victories entering Saturday were one more than they had all last season. ... Jarrod Washburn, who took a 15-3 record into Saturday night's start, is scheduled to make his next outing Friday at Boston. A victory in that game would make him the first pitcher in the franchise's 42-year history with 12 road victories in a season. Seven players have won 11, last accomplished by Kirk McCaskill in 1986 -- the last time the team won a division title.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cardinals at Phillies
St. Louis: The Cardinals signed reliever Rick White and assigned him to Triple-A Memphis. White was released by Colorado. ... The team has had 11 different starting pitchers this season after using nine and six in the previous two seasons. ... CF Jim Edmonds is hitting .343 (86-for-251) against right-handers. ... Kerry Robinson had a three-game pinch-hitting streak snapped when he lined out in the eighth. Philadelphia: RHP David Coggin hasn't allowed a homer in 52 2-3 consecutive innings. ... C Mike Lieberthal was not in the starting lineup with a day game after a night game. Lieberthal has hit in five of his last seven games at a .519 clip (14-for-27) with five homers, nine runs and seven RBI. ... 2B Marlon Anderson committed two errors on Saturday and has a team-high 14 for the season. ... The Phillies are expecting their largest crowd of the season on Sunday thanks to a giveaway dual bobbing head doll of Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn. Ticket sales have already surpassed 50,000.

Diamondbacks at Cubs
Arizona: OF Luis Gonzalez was held out of the lineup for a fourth consecutive game with a strained right rib cage. Manager Bob Brenly is not going to rush Gonzalez back, especially with their big lead in the NL west. "We had a long chat with him yesterday and we convinced him of taking it real easy until Tuesday,'' said Brenly. "I don't want him swinging the bat, I don't want him throwing, just getting treatments and be a cheerleader and let that thing heal up as best it possibly can and then we will have the doctors take a look at it when we get home and if they clear him to start activities, I imagine Tuesday will be the day that he starts some small toss, start getting back into baseball activities, but it really depends on what the doctors say.'' Chicago: With Todd Hundley struggling with a .187 batting average, interim manager Bruce Kimm is not ready to sit him for a period of time. Hundley was in the starting lineup on Saturday and received boos from the fans when was announced to bat. "I am going to play the guy who gives us the best chance of winning on that day,'' said Kimm before Saturday's game. Hundley's backup, Joe Girardi is batting .230 on the season. ... RHP Kerry Wood was removed from Saturday's game because of a blister on his throwing finger. "It's something I had about three starts ago,'' said Wood. "By the time I got into the sixth inning I didn't have a breaking ball, I wasn't using it. I was throwing fastball, changeup.'' Wood does not expect to miss his next start. ... Sammy Sosa and Alex Gonzalez both extended their hitting streaks to 12 games, which are club season high.

Rockies-Braves
Colorado: The Rockies lead the majors in first inning scoring this season with 99 runs... OF Jay Payton, who had been hitting second in the batting order since his trade from the New York Mets, was moved into the No. 5 spot for Saturday night's game. "He gives us more flexibility there,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. Atlanta: RH reliever Kevin Gryboski, on the 15-day DL since July 24 with a sore right elbow, pitched one inning of scoreless relief in his first rehab assignment at Class A Macon on Friday night. He'll pitch another inning at Macon on Sunday and if all goes well, is expected to activated by the Braves early next week. "It was good to get back on the mound and get started,'' said Gryboski, who said he threw fastballs and sliders without pain. ... Gary Sheffield and Vinny Castilla, both hit by pitches in Friday night's win, were in the lineup Saturday. Sheffield was hit in the right shin and was upset initially at Rockies pitcher Kent Mercker, but said after cooling off, he knew the left-hander wasn't throwing at him. ... Castilla was hit on the right forearm, just above his sore wrist, which caused him to miss six games at the end of July. "It didn't hurt. I'm made of steel,'' he joked before Saturday night's game. Castilla, however, since hurting his wrist was only (7-for-59) .119 and 0-for-11, entering Saturday's game.

Padres at Expos
San Diego: LHP Mike Bynum made his major league debut Saturday, becoming the 13th different starter used by the Padres this season. Bynum was 7-2 with a 2.31 ERA overall in the minors this season, including a 3-2 record with a 3.51 ERA in seven starts with Triple-A Portland. ... LHPs Bobby M. Jones and Kevin Walker were placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. Jones, who was acquired from the New York Mets on July 31, suffered a bruised left forearm when he was hit by Wil Cordero's liner in Friday's 11-6 loss. He was 0-0 with a 5.74 ERA overall in 16 games this season, including a 6.52 ERA in four games -- including two starts -- with San Diego. Walker, whose move was retroactive to Monday, has left elbow tendinitis. RHP Dennis Tankersley was recalled from Triple-A Portland for his second stint of the season with the Padres. RHP Jonathan Johnson's contract was purchased from Portland. Montreal: RF Vladimir Guerrero missed a start for just the second time this season Saturday night and will likely miss Sunday's game too. He is day-to-day because of a strained left shoulder suffered the night before. Guerrero, who had started 120 of Montreal's 121 games through Friday, injured himself while diving back to first base after singling in the seventh inning of the Expos' 11-6 win. He is expected back in the lineup for Monday's series finale. ... RHP Tony Armas Jr., who was eligible to be activated from the disabled list on Saturday, threw 75 pitches while pitching a simulated game earlier in the day.

Brewers at Pirates
Milwaukee: RHP Ben Sheets has won consecutive starts for the first time since early May, when he beat Florida and the Chicago Cubs. "He's getting on a little bit of a roll,'' manager Jerry Royster said. "We are watching him start to pitch a little bit better. He is starting to make the pitches that he is supposed to make instead of trying to overpower every single hitter that comes up.'' .... Pirates Manager Lloyd McClendon says Royster has a tough task because he took over the team during the season. Royster got the job on April 18 when Davey Lopes was fired. "So much of your philosophy is really established in spring training and Jerry didn't have a chance to do that,'' McClendon said. Pittsburgh: Manager Lloyd McClendon shuffled his batting order because he didn't have LF Brian Giles available for the familiar No. 3 spot. Giles strained his right calf trying to steal a base on Friday. McClendon put No. 8 hitter 2B Pokey Reese in the leadoff spot and dropped usual leadoff hitter C Jason Kendall to third. Adam Hyzdu took Giles' place in LF and batted seventh. Giles had made 108 consecutive starts. He hadn't missed starting a game since April 17. He strained a muscle while taking batting practice on opening day in New York. ... C Jason Kendall collected his 1,000th hit Friday night, a sixth-inning single off Ben Sheets. Kendall is the first player to get his first 1,000 hits with the Pirates since 2B Johnny Ray. Ray had 1,009 hits from 1981-87, before he was traded to the California Angels.

Astros-Reds
Houstion: Jose Vizcaino homered for only the second time this season, and Lance Berkman tripled for only the second time, both in the first inning off newly acquired Reds LHP Shawn Estes. Vizcaino hit a leadoff homer over the left-field wall. In the second, he hit a comebacker through the box, and Estes lost a shoe scrambling out of the way. ... LHP Carlos Hernandez is scheduled to return to the rotation on Sunday, after a rehab assignment with Double-A Round Rock, Texas. Hernandez is 5-4 with a 5.01 ERA in 15 starts and two relief appearances with Houston. Cincinnati: RHP Elmer Dessens, on the disabled list since Aug. 6 with a strained right groin, threw off the mound Saturday, did a fielding drill and said he was ready to return to the rotation. Manager Bob Boone said Dessens probably would start against the Diamondbacks on Thursday in Arizona. ... Ken Griffey Jr. remained out of the starting lineup, missing his second game since aggravating a sore left thigh Thursday night. An MRI on Friday showed nothing more severe than a strain, and he is available to pinch hit. ... Ground was broken Saturday in the village of Cleves, west of Cincinnati, for Danny Graves Field, a youth ballfield named for the Reds closer.

Giants at Marlins
San Francisco: OF Barry Bonds homered for the first time since reaching the 600-home run milestone Aug. 9, lining a 2-0 pitch from RHP Josh Beckett over the right-field fence in the first inning against Florida on Saturday. Bonds shattered his bat on the swing and was left holding just the handle. He shook his head in disbelief as No. 601 barely cleared the fence. It was his 34th homer of the season. ... The Giants snapped a seven-game errorless streak with a pair of miscues in the first inning Saturday. 1B J.T. Snow dropped a throw during a rundown, and 3B David Bell was wild to second on a relay throw. The errors led to three unearned runs. Florida: 3B Mike Lowell batted in the No. 7 spot for the second consecutive game, the lowest he has hit in his career. Lowell hit .311 before the All-Star break and earned his first trip to the All-Star Game. But he entered Saturday's game hitting just .163 since the break. But the drop in the order may have paid off. He snapped an 0-for-28 streak with a first-inning single. ... C Charles Johnson made his first start since July 27. He was on the disabled list with a lower back strain.

Dodgers at Mets
Los Angeles: RHP Kevin Brown, who threw 51 pitches in relief Friday night a day after coming off the disabled list, won't even warm up again in this series. Manager Jim Tracy said he has a plan to work Brown back into the starting rotation but doesn't want to reveal it yet. "I think it's very important that we don't heap unrealistic expectations on Kevin,'' Tracy said. "A gradual building process is one that's advantageous. I don't know what that timetable is. I don't know if it's a week or 10 days or the middle of September.'' ... OF Brian Jordan was given the night off to rest his sore back. ... LF Marquis Grissom extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning single. He came in batting .291 with 14 homers and 49 RBI in just 227 at-bats, and the team was 33-16 when he starts. "He is a much better offensive player this year than he was last year,'' Tracy said. "Even at his age (35), I guarantee he came to the ballpark today with something he wanted to learn. He has relentlessly worked with (hitting coach) Jack Clark since Vero Beach, and there's been no letdown. He's just done a spectacular job.'' Tracy also said Grissom has been a positive influence in the clubhouse. "I've never seen so many young players flock to a guy -- and not just position players. There's something that draws them to him.'' ... Closer Eric Gagne was unavailable after getting three saves in three days. New York: In celebration of their 40th anniversary, the Mets introduced their All Amazin' team -- selected by fans -- in a pregame ceremony on the field. OF Darryl Strawberry, serving a prison sentence in Florida, had a taped message on the video scoreboard. He was represented by his children. ... The Mets named the Shea Stadium radio booth after longtime play-by-play voice Bob Murphy, and the TV booth after Hall of Fame slugger and broadcaster Ralph Kiner. ... C Mike Piazza returned to the starting lineup for the first time in five games. He was out with tendinitis in his left wrist. ... 2B Roberto Alomar missed his second consecutive game with a strained left groin. ... The starting outfield of Roger Cedeno, Timo Perez and Joe McEwing had combined for 14 home runs and 17 errors this season. ... SS Rey Ordonez, with a paltry .282 on-base percentage, batted second for the second time this season. The other was Thursday against San Diego. ... The Mets activated RHP Jason Middlebrook, acquired from the Padres at the trade deadline, from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.