MONDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Eric Chavez The A's third baseman homered twice and drove in five in Oakland's sixth straight win. AB H R HR RBI 5 2 2 2 5 Hero of the day Two Atlanta Braves outfielders share this award Monday night. Gary Sheffield and Chipper Jones hit back-to-back homers leading off the bottom of the ninth, rallying the Braves to a stunning 7-6 victory over the Rockies. Goat of the day White Sox starter Gary Glover gave up three homers in the first inning, including back-to-back longballs to open the game. In total, he gave up four homers in four innings, giving up six of the Twins' seven runs in Chicago's 7-3 loss. Injury report Mariners RF Ruben Sierra left Monday night's game against the Tigers in the fourth inning with a strained left quadriceps. Cardinals 3B Scott Rolen was out of the lineup for the second straight game with a sore throwing shoulder. Blue Jays OF Jose Cruz Jr., on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle, has a torn ligament in the ankle and will miss at least two more weeks. Tigers 1B Randall Simon did not start Monday night after injuring his knee Sunday in Baltimore. X-rays were negative and his status is day-to-day. Indians 2B Ricky Gutierrez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a stiff neck he said has been bothering him since the first weeks of the season. Gutierrez said he's scheduled to have more tests later this week. Rockies RF Larry Walker left the game in the bottom of the fifth after getting muscle spasms in the middle of his back. He blamed a lumpy bed at the Rockies' hotel. ''I'm fine. I'll be back tomorrow,'' he said. ''The same thing happened to me here last year.'' Stat of the day Tampa Bay's 41 wins were the fewest after 123 games since the 1991 Indians, who were also 41-82. Streak of the day Astros starter Wade Miller gave up one unearned run in seven innings to earn his eighth straight victory Monday night. The last word " It's late and they haven't got an agreement yet so some of the guys, especially the rookies, were taking pictures and getting bats signed. I haven't done that. My hope is that we're going to keep playing and they make an agreement before that." -- Expos SS Orlando Cabrera, after what could potentially be the final game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. With the strike looming and the Expos still facing contraction, the Big O may have seen its last game.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Royals-Blue Jays
KANSAS CITY: Manager Tony Pena met with his players in right field before the game. Pena said nothing was unusual about the gathering. ''It was nothing big,'' said Pena, who likes to keep his players loose by having such meetings. He also said he prefers to do them outside. ... The Royals are in the midst of their only trip to Toronto this season. ... OF Carlos Beltran entered Monday's game hitting .400 (6-for-15) with three home runs and seven RBI against the Blue Jays.

TORONTO: The Blue Jays experienced some scary moments on their plane trip from Texas to Toronto early Monday morning. The team's charter had to dump fuel and land because the cabin pressure was off. The plane later attempted to take off, but the pilot aborted the takeoff because of the same problem. They later took off successfully, but the Blue Jays arrived in Toronto just before 6 a.m., approximately 2½ hours later than planned. ''It was a little scary,'' 1B Carlos Delgado said. ''I guess that's why we get the big bucks.'' ... Delgado, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained back muscle, suffered a setback on Sunday, but said he felt better on Monday. He didn't know when he might return to the lineup. ... OF Jose Cruz Jr., on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle, has a torn ligament in the ankle and will miss at least two more weeks.

Mariners-Tigers
SEATTLE: Ichiro Suzuki started in center field for the third game in a row -- his only three career starts there. He is replacing Mike Cameron, who is in a 0-for-21 slump. Cameron is expected to start Tuesday against lefty Mike Maroth ... Comerica Park is the only AL park that Ruben Sierra has played in without homering.

DETROIT: 1B Randall Simon did not start Monday night after injuring his knee Sunday in Baltimore. X-rays were negative and his status is day-to-day. ... 1B Dmitri Young, who has been out since July 6 with a hernia, is expected to start taking groundballs at 3B this week. With Simon and Carlos Pena both hitting well, the Tigers want to try Young at 3B, where he has played occasionally in the past. ''I was drafted at third, but I wouldn't say I was very comfortable there,'' Young said. ''It will be a challenge, but there's no room for me at first base.''

Devil Rays-Orioles
TAMPA BAY: The Devil Rays on Monday opened a 13-game, 14-day road trip that is the team's longest venture away from home this season. The run begins after a 2-4 homestand, which started a stretch of 27 straight games against sub-.500 teams. ... INF Russ Johnson, sidelined since July 7 because of depression, began his rehabilitation assignment Monday with Double-A Orlando. ... Tampa Bay's 41 wins were the fewest after 123 games since the 1991 Indians, who were also 41-82. ... Joe Kennedy, who starts Tuesday, owns five of the Devil Rays' 10 complete games.

BALTIMORE: RHP Sidney Ponson, on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis and a torn labrum in his right shoulder, says he will pitch again this season. ''I'm pitching within two weeks -- September, probably,'' said Ponson. The right-hander says he's throwing pain-free during long-toss drills and needs only a few bullpen sessions, a simulated game and an opportunity to throw at live hitters before returning to the rotation. ... RHP Pat Hentgen will make a rehabilitation start for Class A Aberdeen on Tuesday, not Class A Frederick as originally planned. ''He just needs to pitch,'' said manager Mike Hargrove, who has been pleased with Hentgen's progress following recovery from ligament replacement surgery. ... SS Mike Bordick and OF Gary Matthews Jr. got days off Monday as the Orioles began a four-game series with Tampa Bay. ... Hargrove said the club would eventually like to give RHP Rick Bauer a chance to start, but that he's hesitant to make that move since Bauer has been pitching so well in long relief, an area where the Orioles have had problems.

Twins-White Sox
MINNESOTA: The Twins have been at or above .500 for 287 straight games over the last two seasons. They are the only team in the majors to be or above break-even every day this season. ... Torii Hunter is just the 20th different American League CF to hit at least 20 homers and steal at least 20 bases and the first Twin since Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett in 1986. Puckett hit 31 homers and stole 20 that season. ... No wonder the Twins are running away with the AL Central,. They lead the AL with a fielding percentage of .987 entering play Monday night. The club record was .986 in 1988. Earlier this season, Minnesota went 12 straight games without an error. ... Joe Mays, who will start for the Twins in the finale of the three-game series Wednesday, has never lost to the White Sox, going 6-0 in 11 career starts.

CHICAGO: Frank Thomas entered Monday night's game batting a career-worst .235 after going 4-for-19 in his previous five games. Manager Jerry Manuel said Monday he's still convinced Thomas, a two-time MVP, can regain the form that once made him one of baseball's best hitters. Manuel said earlier he would have to consider whether to bench Thomas, but had him back in the lineup Monday night. ... Mark Buehrle is the first White Sox pitcher since Jack McDowell in 1992-93 to record back-to-back 15-win seasons. McDowell, now playing in a rock band, is the last Sox pitcher to win 210 (1993).

Athletics-Indians
OAKLAND: Manager Art Howe is not surprised the Athletics' pitching staff leads the AL in ERA (3.77). ''We've had the makings of one of the better staffs in baseball for a couple of years,'' Howe said. ''Good pitching gets you to the postseason and you advance in the postseason with good pitching.'' ... A's players were eager to get the lowdown on Indians rookie OF Covelli (Coco) Crisp. ''Who's that Crisp guy leading off?'' they asked A's broadcaster Ray Fosse, the former Indians catcher. ''That's Coco Crisp,'' Fosse replied. RHP Chad Bradford said: ''Get outta here, really, what's his name? Is he a lefty? Right-handed?'' Nobody seemed to know until pitching coach Ken Macha came by and said, ''All of you are right.'' Crisp, hitting .353 after four games in the majors, is a switch-hitter. ... 2B Ray Durham said he has adjusted to the shock of being traded by the White Sox last month. ''I'm very happy here,'' Durham said. ''I'm going to try and do everything I can to help this team get to the playoffs. I want to win a World Series before my career is over.'' ... Oakland began August with a 12-4 record despite batting just .197 (27-for-130) in those games. The Athletics had an AL-low .248 average with runners in scoring position overall entering Monday's game.

CLEVELAND: 2B Ricky Gutierrez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a stiff neck he said has been bothering him since the first weeks of the season. Gutierrez, who signed a three-year, $11 million deal as a free agent in December, said he's scheduled to have more tests later this week. ''I'm concerned,'' he said. ''You start worrying when you're talking about your neck.'' Gutierrez said he hurt his neck while diving for a ball in April. It hasn't bothered his hitting, but Gutierrez said his fielding has been affected. ... RHP Bob Wickman is still waiting to have ''Tommy John'' surgery scheduled on his right elbow. Wickman said swelling has to go down his elbow before he can have the operation. ... INF Brandon Phillips, one of the players acquired from Montreal in the Bartolo Colon trade, has been switched to second base at Triple-A Buffalo. ''It's to make him more well-rounded,'' Indians interim manager Joel Skinner said of Phillips, whose skills have been compared to Derek Jeter's. ''He's taken to it.''

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Padres-Expos
SAN DIEGO: RHP Brian Lawrence lost for just the second time in his last seven starts Monday, allowing four runs and six hits -- including Vladimir Guerrero's three-run homer -- in five innings in a 4-0 loss. ... RHP Tom Davey struck out the side in the seventh. ... The Padres finished a 4-6 road trip. San Diego begins a six-game homestand on Tuesday with the first of three games against Atlanta.

MONTREAL: The game took just 1 hour, 55 minutes -- the Expos' fastest of the season -- and may wind up being major league baseball's final game in Montreal. Commissioner Bud Selig wants to eliminate two clubs before next season and the Expos, owned by the other 29 franchises, are one of the targeted teams. The Expos, who joined the National League in 1969, start a nine-game trip at Colorado on Tuesday and are not scheduled to play at home until Aug. 30, the date players have set for their strike. ''It's late and they haven't got an agreement yet so some of the guys, especially the rookies, were taking pictures and getting bats signed,'' Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera said. ''I haven't done that. My hope is that we're going to keep playing and they make an agreement before that.'' C Brian Schneider, Montreal's player representative, acknowledged that the team might have played its final home game. ''That's always a possibility but we're not thinking that way,'' Schneider said. ''We're thinking positive about the talks and we want to get things worked out. The last thing we want is a strike so hopefully we'll return back here. We want to play here. We play great here and we're hoping to come back.'' ... Since joining the NL as an expansion team along with San Diego in 1969, the Expos are 1,369-1,282 overall in Montreal, including 1,084-926 at Olympic Stadium, the team's home since 1977. ... RHP Tony Armas Jr. was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game.

Astros-Reds
HOUSTON: As Lance Berkman reached the dugout following his two-run homer in the fourth, he passed starter Wade Miller and mentioned his first-inning error, which led to an unearned run. ''He said, 'I made up for the error,''' Miller said. ''I said, 'You made up for it just fine.''' Berkman's error while handling Todd Walker's double helped the Reds go up 1-0. ''That let in one run and I drove in two, so I was plus-1 on the day,'' Berkman said. ... Miller had an RBI single in the third off knuckleballer Jared Fernandez, lining a 2-0 pitch over the glove of shortstop Barry Larkin. ''It was 2-0 and I figured the (fastball) was coming, so I just sat on it,'' Miller said. The right-hander is 9-for-43 (.209) with two RBI this season, a .160 career hitter with six RBI. ''He's pretty complete,'' Berkman said. ''He fields his position well. He's easily the best-hitting pitcher we have. For pitchers, I'd put him up against just about anybody.'' ... C Brad Ausmus batted leadoff for the second time this season and went 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and two RBI. ... Since July 7, Miller has gone 8-0 in nine starts with a 1.86 ERA, the best winning streak of his career. ... Jeff Bagwell hit is 24th homer and the 373rd of his career, one shy of tying Rocky Colavito for 50th on the career list. ... Seven of Berkman's 32 homers this season have come against the Reds, including a three-homer game in Cincinnati on April 16. Berkman is a .397 career hitter against the Reds.

CINCINNATI: RHP Jared Fernandez fell to 1-3 in eight starts, and was optioned to Triple-A Louisville after the game. In his last two starts, his knuckleball has moved so much that his catchers couldn't stop it. In his last two starts, the Reds have had four passed balls and three wild pitches. The Reds lead the majors with 24 passed balls. ... Ken Griffey Jr. hit his fourth career pinch homer in the ninth inning, a three-run shot that was his sixth overall this season. Griffey aggravated a sore left thigh while chasing a fly ball last Thursday, and has been out of the starting lineup each of the last four games. He'll test the leg by running Tuesday before a game in Arizona, and manager Bob Boone will decide whether to put him in the lineup. ''I'm in a situation where whatever I can do, whatever they want me to do, I'll do it, whether it's pinch-hitting or playing defense in the late innings until my leg is good enough to go out there for nine innings,'' Griffey said. ''If Bob says for me to go out there, I won't say no.'' Boone doesn't want to put Griffey on the field if there's a chance he'll reinjure the leg. ''I want to get that calmed down,'' Boone said. Griffey has started only 37 games because of injuries to his knee, hamstring and thigh. ... The Reds plan to call up RHP Luke Hudson and RHP Chris Reitsma from Louisville before Tuesday's game.

Giants-Marlins
SAN FRANCISCO: The Giants hit .209 on their trip and scored 18 runs in seven games. ... Livan Hernandez, who pitched for Florida in 1996-99, improved to 16-16 at Pro Player Stadium with his win Monday. ... Florida's Luis Castillo went 0-for-4 against Hernandez, dropping his average against the right-hander to .105 (2-for-19). Andy Fox went 0-for-3 and is hitless in 13 at-bats against Hernandez. ... The Giants had lost five in a row at Miami.

FLORIDA: Two rookie pitchers on the Marlins' flight Monday to Los Angeles were easy to pick out. Josh Beckett wore a grass skirt and a coconut bra, and Michael Tejera wore a Superman outfit. ... The Marlins have been working with right-hander Beckett on his delivery. The latest adjustment: To keep his shoulders tucked during the windup, Beckett will bend over more when taking signs, a la Nolan Ryan. ''Nolan's not a bad example,'' said manager Jeff Torborg, a former teammate of Ryan's.

Rockies-Braves
COLORADO: LHP Mike Hampton wasn't about to criticize Jose Jimenez after the Rockies closer surrendered back-to-back homers in the ninth inning for a 7-6 loss. ''I've been scraping the bottom of the barrel for a long time now, so don't ask me about him,'' said Hampton, who is 7-13 with a 6.25 ERA. ''Today he didn't do it, but he's been our best pitcher all year.'' Jimenez declined comment after squandering just his fourth save in 37 chances. ... RF Larry Walker left the game in the bottom of the fifth after getting muscle spasms in the middle of his back. He blamed a lumpy bed at the Rockies' hotel. ''I'm fine. I'll be back tomorrow,'' he said. ''The same thing happened to me here last year.'' ... Greg Norton had a chance to be the hero when he doubled off Braves closer John Smoltz, giving the Rockies a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth. ''I sat on the slider,'' Norton said. ''The ball just hit my bat.'' He is batting just. 205 but ranks second in the NL with 15 pinch-hits.

ATLANTA: LHP John Foster was placed on the 15-day disabled list, supposedly for symptoms resembling vertigo. ''I've just been dizzy lately,'' Foster said. ''I'm going in for some new tests.'' He'll undergo the tests in Richmond, where the team's Triple-A team is located and he'll get a chance to keep throwing. Foster didn't seem too concerned about his condition, which came at a time when the Braves needed to make a roster move anyway. RHP Kevin Gryboski was activated from the DL after two scoreless innings in a minor-league rehab assignment. ''It's been happening for a little while,'' Foster said vaguely. ''It's nothing serious.'' ... The Braves played their final game at Turner Field before the threatened strike date of Aug. 30. The team starts its longest road trip of the season on Tuesday, a 12-game, 13-day journey that begins in San Diego and would end in Montreal on Sept. 1 -- unless the players walk out two days earlier. ''That would be very disappointing,'' LF Chipper Jones said. ''This is the best team I've ever played for, and I'm sure most of the guys in here feel the same way. We want to keep it going.'' ... LHP Tom Glavine and RHP Greg Maddux said they weren't thinking about a strike -- or the possibility they had pitched their final games in Atlanta. Both are in the final year of their contracts. ''I'm just thinking about my next start,'' Maddux said.

Pirates-Cardinals
PITTSBURGH: Closer Mike Williams set a team record with his 35th save on Sunday, breaking the mark set by Jim Gott in 1988, and has 16 straight saves since June 14. He has 104 career saves for the Pirates, third on the franchise list behind Kent Tekulve (158) and Dave Giusti (133). ... Scott Sauerbeck has made 60 appearances, leading NL left-handers. ... Pokey Reese has 15 straight stolen bases dating to July 25, 2001, and is 8-for-8 this year. ... RHP Kris Benson, who pitches Tuesday against the Cardinals, has won four of his last six decisions after losing his first four. ... Pokey Reese was in the leadoff slot for the third straight game. Before that he hadn't batted first since Sept. 8, 2001.

ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals are honoring Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter, who died last week, with a wreath of red and white flowers and a black banner hanging below his name and around his number in the right field upper deck. ... 3B Scott Rolen was out of the lineup for the second straight game with a sore throwing shoulder. Albert Pujols moved from LF to 3B and Kerry Robinson got a start in the outfield. ... RHP Woody Williams, on the DL for the second time this season with a pulled muscle in his right side, threw 57 pitches in a simulated game Monday and is on track to return to the rotation on Aug. 29. Monday was Williams' 35th birthday. ... RHP Garrett Stephenson, recovering from a sore shoulder, threw two innings for Triple-A Memphis on Sunday and also is on track to make a start for the Cardinals at the end of the month. He's scheduled to throw four innings on Friday, then five next week, then start on Aug. 31.