TUESDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Corey Patterson His career-high four hits helped fuel the Cubs' season-high 24-hit effort in a 14-12 win at Houston. AB H R HR RBI 6 2 4 0 3 Hero of the day Kris Benson and the Pirates had had enough of losing to the Cardinals. Benson pitched the first seven innings of a combined one-hitter, and the Bucs belted five home runs to beat St. Louis 8-0, ending a six-game slide vs. the Cards. Goat of the day Red Sox reliever Willie Banks surrendered a solo home run to Todd Hollandsworth in the 10th inning of the Rangers' 3-2 win at Boston. Said Banks: "I'm going to go home and probably cry, but there's always tomorrow.'' The Red Sox led 2-1 heading into the ninth inning. Injury report The Diamondbacks' Luis Gonzalez sat out his fifth game in a row with strained rib cartilage. Giants OF Reggie Sanders sat out a 1-0 victory over the Mets with an undisclosed illness. Tigers 1B Randall Simon left a game against the Mariners in the fourth inning. He was hit in the right elbow by a pitch by Freddy Garcia in the third. X-rays revealed no breaks and his status is day to day. Kansas City OF Chuck Knoblauch didn't start because of tightness in his left forearm. Rockies slugger Larry Walker did not start against the Expos because of back spasms that he blamed on his hotel bed. Marlins 2B Luis Castillo, whose .306 average is the highest among the 10 Marlins who have played in at least 70 games, was a late scratch against the Dodgers because of a sore right hand. Stat of the day The A's are an AL-best 55-25 since May 24, and have a share of first place for the first time since April 10. Oakland is in a dead heat with Seattle (75-51) and trails Anaheim (74-50) by percentage points. Streak of the day Yankees OF Bernie Williams has 10 straight multi-hit games, the longest since Chuck Knoblauch's 10-game string in 1996 for Minnesota (according to the Elias Sports Bureau). Williams went 3-for-5 in New York's 7-5 win over the Angels, raising his average to .343. The last word "I feel like I'm in an Expo uniform again. I saw every single person in the stadium on the big screen at least twice tonight. They've got the same promotion here they had in Montreal: dress up like an empty seat and get in free.'' -- Rockies slugger Larry Walker, after playing before an average of 4,852 fans per game when Colorado visited Florida last week.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rangers at Red Sox
Texas: Dennys Reyes will start Thursday against Boston instead of scheduled starter Rob Bell, who has been moved to the bullpen. Reyes will oppose Pedro Martinez. ... OF Todd Hollandsworth was activated before the game and batted leadoff. He has been on the DL since Aug. 4 with a pulled left quadriceps muscle. ... LHP C.J. Nitkowski was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. He is the 26th pitcher on the Texas roster this season, which breaks the club record. ... RF Carl Everett made his first appearance at Fenway Park since being traded from Boston last offseason for Darren Oliver. He was booed loudly when he caught Johnny Damon's flyball to lead off the first inning and then tipped his cap to the crowd. ... Roving hitting instructor Butch Wynegar was with the club in place of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who was home with his wife. She was recovering from surgery. ... Texas is the only AL team that does not have a player with 10 stolen bases. Frank Catalanotto leads the team with nine. The only other team in the majors that doesn't have a player with 10 steals is San Diego. Boston: CF Johnny Damon entered with a 240-game errorless streak, the longest in the majors among outfielders. His last error came May 3, 2001, with Oakland against Toronto. ... The Red Sox had a moment of silence before the game for former GM Dick O'Connell, who died Sunday at age 87. O'Connell was the GM of World Series teams in 1967 and 1975. ... RHP Dustin Hermanson was eligible to come off the disabled list, but he isn't expected to be activated until Thursday. ... The Red Sox have only come back to win two games in the ninth inning all season. Both came against Tampa Bay. ... Boston scored 37 runs and hit 12 home runs in a four-game series at Texas earlier this month.

Mariners at Tigers
Detroit: C Brandon Inge was not in the starting lineup in order to have more time to work with hitting coach Merv Rettenmund. Inge is hitting .229 with 80 strikeouts in 258 at-bats. "They are going to do some severe hitting today -- watch video, work in the cage and hopefully get him straightened out,'' manager Luis Pujols said. ... Tigers player rep Damion Easley said Tuesday's union conference call was uneventful. "There's nothing to report,'' Easley said. "We're going to have another call Friday.'' Seattle: Charles Gipson started in left field against LHP Mike Maroth, and will continue to see action against left-handed pitching. Manager Lou Piniella said that he wants to get his best defensive unit on the field, so the speedy Gipson will play alongside RF Ichiro Suzuki and CF Mike Cameron. "What other team can play three center fielders?'' Gipson said. ... RHP Ismael Valdes, acquired from Texas on Sunday, will make his first start Wednesday after seven days of rest. "I've had two days of throwing on the side, so I'll be fine,'' Valdes said.

Angels at Yankees
Anaheim: OF Tim Salmon was out of the starting lineup for the seventh straight game because of a bruised left hand. "There's pain and there's weakness,'' he said. "The big thing now is swinging.'' ... 1B Scott Spiezio rang the opening bell Tuesday morning at the American Stock Exchange. "I always watch the markets and it was really cool. I thought it was a push-button thing. But there's a real hammer and bell. They told me to hit it three times or people would boo. I thought I hit it pretty good,'' Spiezio said. He also got to take home a souvenir golden hammer. The tone of the day turned more somber, however, when Spiezio, pitching coach Bud Black and a group of Angels broadcasters and staff visited the World Trade Center site. This was Anaheim's first trip to New York since Sept. 11, and Spiezio felt a need to pay his respects. "I wanted to say a little prayer for the victims,'' he said. "You've seen everything on TV, but I wanted to see the scale of what happened. Words can't describe it. It was important for me to go.'' New York: OF Bernie Williams began the day with a string of nine straight multihit games. ... 1B-DH Nick Johnson, on the DL because of a sprained left wrist, swung a bat at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla. A bone scan was negative, and manager Joe Torre hopes Johnson can start taking batting practice by the end of the week. Johnson is hitting .247 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI. ... The Angels have done exceedingly well at Yankee Stadium since the start of the 1996 season. In that span, Anaheim has never lost a season series in New York, going 16-14 during that time.

Royals at Blue Jays
Kansas City: LF Chuck Knoblauch didn't start because of tightness in his left forearm. ... OF Carlos Beltran took a rare day off. Beltran had started the previous 184 games. ... 1B Mike Sweeney entered with an AL-leading .353 average. The last Royals player to lead the league in batting was George Brett in 1990 (.329). ... RHP Jeff Suppan is tied with Oakland's Barry Zito for the AL lead in games started with 27. ... OF Michael Tucker slammed his helmet against the dugout roof after popping up in the first inning. Toronto: Manager Carlos Tosca said LHP Felix Heredia has recovered from a twisted ankle and is available to pitch. ... RHP Pete Walker will pitch the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Baltimore. Esteban Loaiza will start the second game. ... Chris Woodward inexplicably returned to first base after Josh Phelps singled with one out in the first inning. As Phelps' single dropped just in front of CF Michael Tucker, Woodward stepped on second, but then turned around and jogged almost all the way back to first. He was tagged out by SS Neifi Perez.

Athletics at Indians
Oakland: Manager Art Howe says the addition of LHP Ricardo Rincon has solidified his bullpen. Rincon was acquired July 29 from Cleveland for minor league INF Marshall McDougall. "Having a very effective left-hander makes a huge difference,'' Howe said of Rincon, who has not allowed a run in eight of nine outings with the A's. "We don't have to push (RHP) Jimmy (Mecir) to come in and get lefties. The bullpen is so important. You don't get them out at the end of the game, it doesn't make a difference what you did at the beginning.'' ... Howe attributes the A's record in one-run games to the bullpen's effectiveness. Oakland came in 25-9 (.735) in one-run decisions. ... OF-DH David Justice said his future beyond this season remains in doubt. "Right now, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to play,'' he said. "It would have to be the right situation. I love it in Oakland. This is a great organization, great guys, but I will be a free agent and who knows what the market will be like.'' ... Justice has spent the past two days playing pingpong in the visitor's clubhouse at Jacobs Field. "We've got some guys here, but it is nothing like when I was with the Indians (1997-2000). Me, Paul Shuey and Steve Reed played a lot,'' Justice said. Cleveland: 2B Ricky Gutierrez's season is over, and now he is concerned about saving his career. Gutierrez said doctors have recommended surgery on his injured neck, which he hurt while diving for a ball in the first few weeks of the season. An MRI revealed that discs in Gutierrez's neck are rubbing and pinching his spinal cord. "I'm going to get some more opinions, and then probably have the surgery,'' Gutierrez said. Gutierrez, who visited a neck specialist, said he would need 3-to-6 months to recover. ... The Indians sent rookie RHP Ryan Drese to Triple-A Buffalo to work on his mechanics. Drese was 9-9 with a 6.73 ERA -- worst in the majors among pitchers who qualify. "He needed to make some adjustments and I felt the best place for him to do that was in Buffalo,'' interim manager Joel Skinner said. ... RHP Ricardo Rodriguez, acquired from Los Angeles in the July trade for Paul Shuey, was called up and will make his major league debut Wednesday night against the A's. Rodriguez said the Indians have always been one of his favorite teams. "I can't explain how excited I am,'' the 24-year-old pitcher said. "I can't sleep, I promise you.''

Devil Rays at Orioles
Tampa Bay: Manager Hal McRae remains hopeful there won't be a strike this year. "I think there will be an 11th-hour kind of thing. I don't see how they cannot come to an agreement,'' McRae said. ... RHP Paul Wilson's win over the Orioles on Monday gave him four in one season against Baltimore, the first Tampa Bay pitcher to do that against one team. ... The Devil Rays came in 9-7 against Baltimore, one of just three teams they have a winning record against this year. Florida (4-2) and Detroit (4-2) are the others. ... LHP Joe Kennedy has five of the team's 10 complete games this year. The 10 CGs were tied for first in the AL with Detroit. ... CF Randy Winn was the lone AL player ranked in the top 10 in singles (7th, 98), doubles (8th, 33) and triples (tie 4th, 7). Baltimore: Orioles rookies entered with 32 wins and 26 saves, most in the majors. This is the first Baltimore team since 1989 to have at least 25 wins and 25 saves from its rookies, and only the seventh in the majors to pull off the feat since 1969, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... Leadoff hitter Melvin Mora drew his team-high 53rd walk in the first inning and scored his 72nd run, two behind club leader Tony Batista. ... The Orioles will likely go over 2 million in attendance Thursday. ... Baltimore's two-run first inning was its most productive opening inning since Aug. 3. The Orioles have been outscored 59-56 in the first inning this season.

Twins at White Sox
Minnesota: Minnesota state Sen. Dean Johnson, one of the architects of legislation for a new stadium, sent Twins player representative Denny Hocking a letter Tuesday saying he was "gravely disheartened'' by the union's decision to set an Aug. 30 strike date. "If there is a baseball strike this year, you and your colleagues must understand that we in the Legislature would find it difficult to reopen discussions concerning the stadium legislation,'' Johnson wrote. "I appreciate Sen. Johnson for sending me this and I'll respond,'' Hocking said. "But it sounds like I'm getting blamed for this. I'm just part of the union.'' ... Except for a brief, two-week stretch in April, the Twins have had to make due without their full starting rotation. Yet the Twins lead the Central Division n the AL with a 4.14 ERA. ... LHP Eric Milton, on the disabled list since Aug. 7 with a knee injury, should be able to start throwing off the mound in early September. With the minor league schedule complete by then, Milton will have a makeshift rehab. "He'll throw to some hitters live batting practice,'' manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's been pitching all season, so sitting out a month should be fine.'' ... While all teams are now fielding questions about the labor negotiations, the Twins have been dealing with it since spring training. "You knew the questions were going to be there, and we've handled it pretty well,'' Gardenhire said. "From the first meeting on, I said, `We're going to have to deal with it, let's not make it a focus. Let's make getting back in the pennant race the focus.''' Chicago: Manager Jerry Manuel shuffled his lineup, dropping leadoff hitter Willie Harris to the No. 9 spot. The rookie has been struggling, batting .105 since Aug. 5. "Eventually, he's going to be the guy,'' Manuel said. "But this is to take a little pressure off of him, try to get him going down there.'' ... CF Aaron Rowand is the new leadoff hitter. Rowand has had his own offensive struggles, ending an 0-for-18 slump on Sunday. In the last two games, though, he's 5-for-10. "I'm not going to try to set a bar I have to try to reach,'' said Rowand, batting .238 for the season. "When you're going like I was early in the season, you can't go out and try to reach .300 in one game because it's not going to happen.'' ... The White Sox will have some decisions to make about their pitching staff in the offseason. Aside from All-Star Mark Buehrle, the young pitchers have struggled. "We as a staff and an organization have to sit down and say, `Can they take us to the next level or not?''' Manuel said. "To be honest, right now that's still in question. I don't think we can say Jon Garland is still young, Danny Wright is still young. Either they can do it or not.''

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs at Astros
Chicago: Cubs pitchers have struck out 986 batters entering Tuesday's game, second only to Arizona's 993 in the major leagues. Individually, the Cubs have had 17 outings in which a pitcher fanned 10 or more batters in a game ... The Cubs have won 11 games in their last at-bat, but they've lost 13 in the last inning. Houston: Brian Hunter was activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing 35 games due to an appendectomy Aug. 20. Hunter, who plays in late-inning defensive situations, is hitting .287 and has five stolen bases. The Astros optioned Jason Lane to Triple-A New Orleans to make room for Hunter. Lane was hitting .294 ... The Astros announced they had agreed to terms with second-round draft choice Mitch Talbot, a right-handed pitcher from Canyon View High School in Cedar City, Utah.

Phillies at Brewers
Phillies: RHP Brandon Duckworth (5-8, 5.22 ERA) will start Friday's game at St. Louis. He was pulled from the starting rotation, but missed just one start. ... The Phillies have been shut out only twice, lowest in the NL. Atlanta is next with three. ... Joe Roa (1-1, 3.38) starts Wednesday against Milwaukee. In his last start Thursday, he shut out the Brewers for seven innings in notching his first major league victory since 1997. He retired 16 of 17 batters from the second to seventh innings and allowed only one runner to reach third base. ... Doug Glanville has been successful in 13 straight steals, the longest active streak in the majors. Brewers: The 1982 AL championship team was honored prior to Tuesday's game against the Phillies. Twenty-two players attended, including Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper, Ted Simmons and Gorman Thomas. ... 1982 GM Harry Dalton and Audrey Kuenn, widow of manager Harvey Kuenn, also attended the 20-year reunion. ... After signing RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, 18, of Tucson High School, the Brewers have signed 24 of their 42 picks in thts year's draft. Wilhelmsen was picked in the seventh round. ... Milwaukee started the week with only three players batting above .280 and none over .294. ... The Brewers started the week knowing, barring a strike, they would have to go 20-19 to avoid losing 100 games for the first time in franchise history.

Pirates at Cardinals
Pittsburgh: LF Brian Giles was back in the lineup Tuesday after sitting out the three previous games with a strained right calf. Before the injury, Giles had played in 117 consecutive games, all but one of them starts. The Pirates are 7-2 in the nine games he has not started. ... The Pirates have been shut out 12 times this year. They avoided a 13th on Monday, scoring two runs in the ninth inning of a 7-2 loss to the Cardinals. ... RHP Josh Fogg, who has won his last four decisions on the road, pitches Wednesday. ... Pokey Reese was in the leadoff slot for the fourth straight game after not hitting there previously this season. He was 2-for-11 with an RBI and two runs the first three games. St. Louis: The first lineup card posted by manager Tony La Russa on Tuesday had only five slots filled. He waited until after 3B Scott Rolen took batting practice and fielded some ground balls, testing his sore right shoulder, before filling out the rest. "The last three days I couldn't turn my head or lift my shoulder,'' Rolen said. "Today I feel a little better. I still have a little bite back there but we're going to see how it goes.'' ... RF J.D. Drew, who has a sore knee after playing the last three days -- two of them on artificial turf -- was out of the lineup but was likely to play on Wednesday. ... Albert Pujols needed one home run to become only the fifth Cardinals player to hit 30 in consecutive seasons, joining Stan Musial, Ray Lankford, Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds.

Expos at Rockies
Montreal: The Expos were given a 10-minute pregame lecture on the art of hitting at Coors Field. "I don't want any of our hitters overswinging here or trying to see how far they can hit the ball,'' manager Frank Robinson said. "The home runs take care of themselves here. I remember seeing players go into Fenway Park, where you feel like that left field wall is rubbing up against your left elbow and have a rough visit.'' ... Robinson continued to suffer from the chest cold that plagued him over the final three days of the homestand. "I don't know if I am recovering,'' said Robinson, who let pitching coach Dick Pole make all of the pitching changes. "I'm so downhill.'' ... RHP Tony Armas Jr. could start on Thursday in the series finale. Pole wants to see Armas throw on the side one more time before making his first start since coming off the DL on Monday. Armas went on the DL July 27 with a lower back strain. ... Bartolo Colon's two-hit 4-0 win over San Diego on Monday was the Expos' first shutout of the season. They were the last major league team to record a shutout this year. ... Robinson remembered the late John Roseboro more than as a rival on the Los Angeles Dodgers. "He was very smart, a very tough competitor. He had the ability to hit an occasional home run, but his strength was when he was behind the plate where you couldn't get through him on a play at the plate.'' Colorado: OF Larry Walker wasn't in the Rockies' starting lineup Tuesday night. Walker was forced to leave Monday's game in Atlanta with back spasms, which he blamed on the bed in his hotel room. ... Despite a red mark on his face and a swollen forearm, RHP Jason Jennings said he will have no problem making his next start Friday against the New York Mets. While at the plate, Jennings was hit in the head Sunday with a Greg Maddux pitch that ricocheted and hit his arm. Manager Clint Hurdle said Jennings, a leading candidate for rookie of the year at 14-5, "is the guy at the company picnic who you'd predict would drink all the beer and win all the prizes before the day is over because he can do about anything. Anything except get into a pair of size-32 pants.'' ... Denny Neagle's scheduled start on Tuesday was threatened last Thursday when the flexor tendon in his pitching elbow tightened. After a successful bullpen session on Sunday, however, he was cleared. "I had the same thing two years ago,'' Neagle said. "It doesn't affect me at all when I pitch.'' ... In his last three starts since returning to the rotation, Neagle is 2-0 with an 0.45 ERA. He entered Tuesday's game with a streak of 18 scoreless innings. "He's been so good I asked him who was the other guy running around in his uniform earlier in the year,'' Hurdle said. "He's pitching as well as I've ever seen him pitch.'' ... Pitching coach Jim Wright had oral surgery and missed Tuesday's game. ... INF Jose Ortiz began a minor league rehab assignment Monday night with Triple-A Colorado Springs. Ortiz (hamstring) went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. ... Colorado is coming off a 4-3 road trip, only its second winning road trip of the season.

Reds at Diamondbacks
Cincinnati: The Reds decided RHP Elmer Dessens' strained right groin needed more rest and he was scratched as Thursday's starter. RHP Chris Reitsma was recalled from Triple-A Louisville and will start instead. Dessens now is scheduled to come off the DL in time to start next Tuesday against St. Louis ... Cincinnati also recalled RHP Luke Hudson from Louisville, optioned RHP Jared Fernandez to the Triple-A club, and placed RHP John Riedling on the 15-day DL, also with a strained right groin. ... The Reds sent Louisville OF Raul Gonzalez to the New York Mets as the final player in the trade for LHP Shawn Estes. ... After being swept at home by the Diamondbacks, Cincinnati split a four-game series against Houston. Arizona: INF Craig Counsell underwent a second epidural injection for a pinched nerve in his neck on Saturday. However, Counsell still is experiencing numbness and tingling in his right arm and there is no indication when he might be able to come off the 15-day DL. ... OF Luis Gonzalez's strained rib cartilage kept him out of the lineup for the fifth game in a row on Tuesday. His injury leaves Arizona with only three outfielders, and one of them, David Dellucci, is bothered by a sore lower back. ... Since the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks are 27-10 and have swept three-game series against Colorado, Florida and Cincinnati and four-game series against San Diego and the New York Mets. They have won 13 of 16 entering Tuesday's game.

Marlins at Dodgers
Florida: Marlins manager Jeff Torborg, who was Johnny Roseboro's backup catcher for four years with the Dodgers in the 1960s, choked back tears in the dugout Tuesday at Dodger Stadium a day after hearing about his death at age 69. "Johnny Roseboro had a way of making you feel important. He was so special to me, I just find it hard to believe that he's gone,'' said Torborg, who offered Roseboro a job as one of his coaches when he replaced Frank Robinson during the 1977 season. "He was one of the toughest guys I've ever seen. One time he got his finger split open with a foul tip, and he came into the dugout and opened his finger to show to the trainer. I mean, there were guys passing out in the dugout. I told him, `Man, you're a tough act to follow. When you get hit with a foul tip, you've got to be able to share it with people and let them know you're hurting.' And he said, `No, no. You don't let anybody know that you are hurt.' I can remember dislocating a finger on a foul tip by Henry Aaron sometime after that, and I just quietly walked over to (trainer) Bill Buhler in the dugout without letting anyone else know what was going on. The finger was pointing straight up in the air, and he just pulled it back out. I finished the game, and I felt pretty proud of myself -- because I did what John did.'' Los Angeles: Flags at Dodger Stadium were at half-staff and a moment of silence was held before Tuesday night's game in memory of Johnny Roseboro, whose death last Friday wasn't announced until Monday -- the 37th anniversary of the day Juan Marichal struck him on the head with a bat. Roseboro played errorless ball in all 21 World Series games in which he appeared, caught two of Sandy Koufax's four no-hitters, led the Dodgers in home runs during their final season at the L.A. Coliseum and held the franchise record for games caught with 1,218 until Mike Scioscia broke it in 1991. "All they remember about John is the Marichal incident, but they don't remember the wonderful years he had,'' Dodgers vice president Tommy Lasorda said Tuesday. "He had an illustrious career. He was so underrated. He never received the credit and the notoriety that he should have.'' ... RF Shawn Green and wife Lindsay visited the World Trade Center site during the Dodgers' weekend in New York and came away with some haunting memories of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. "It was pretty overwhelming,'' Green said. "I mean, you see it on TV, but then you're right there at ground zero with thousands of people walking around, you get a totally different perspective. It felt similar to the feeling that I got when I went to Dallas and saw where Kennedy was shot. The only difference was that I lived through this event, and the other was before my time.''

Mets at Giants
New York: The Reds sent outfielder Raul Gonzalez to the Mets on Tuesday as part of the deal last week in which Cincinnati got left-hander Shawn Estes. The Reds also received cash, and sent left-hander Pedro Feliciano, outfielder Elvin Andujar and two players to be named for Estes in the trade Thursday. ... The Mets also acquired minor league reliever P.J. Bevis from Arizona to complete the deal that sent outfielder Mark Little to the Diamondbacks last week. The 22-year-old Bevis was 4-5 with a 2.83 ERA and 11 saves in 49 games for Double-A El Paso this season. He allowed 50 hits and struck out 62 in 63 2/3 innings. The Australian right-hander will report to Double-A Binghamton. ... C Mike Piazza, who missed most of four games last week with tendinitis in his left wrist, was hitting cleanup Tuesday night as the Mets opened an eight-game road trip to San Francisco, Colorado and Florida. San Francisco: OF Reggie Sanders didn't play Tuesday night because of an illness that prevented him from getting to Pacific Bell Park on time. Manager Dusty Baker said the Giants aren't sure of the nature of Sanders' problem -- it could be the flu, or it could be food poisoning. "We'll just see how he's feeling later,'' Baker said. ... To replace Sanders, the Giants started Tsuyoshi Shinjo in right field. Shinjo was San Francisco's usual center fielder before the Giants acquired Kenny Lofton from the White Sox while Shinjo, who was acquired from the Mets last winter, was on the disabled list. ... Baker didn't blame the 3-3 rain-induced tie that San Francisco played in Atlanta last week for the Giants' subsequent poor showing in Florida. The Giants lost three of four to the mediocre Marlins. "I don't know what it is (in Miami),'' Baker said. ``We've tried wearing shorts. ... I don't think it was the tie. I don't think it demoralized us. It caused a late get-in (arrival) that hurt physically. When you don't get much sleep and you're in the heat, and they've got one of the finest young pitching staffs around, that makes it tough.''

Braves at Padres
Atlanta: The Braves are 12-0-4 in their last 16 road series, the best in the NL since the Arizona Diamondbacks won or tied 17 straight road series in 1999-2000. ... Damian Moss, who started Tuesday night at San Diego, has gone a career-high eight innings in two of his last three starts. San Diego: The Padres haven't won a season series against the Braves since going 10-8 in 1990, the year before Atlanta began its string of 10 consecutive division titles. The Padres trailed the season series 1-2 going into Tuesday night's game. ... Through 124 games, the Padres have used 54 players, most in the big leagues. In 2000, the Padres set the NL record and tied the big league record for players used in a season with 56. ... Padres president Bob Vizas broke his left foot while running on Saturday and is in a walking cast.