SATURDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Matt Clement Left his father's bedside to pitch a complete-game shutout against the NL West-leading Diamondbacks. IP H R K 9 3 0 5 Hero of the day Timo Perez hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning as the New York Mets snapped a 12-game losing streak by beating the Colorado Rockies 5-2 Saturday night. Goat of the day Atlanta OF Gary Sheffield lost track of a fly ball in a daytime game at Chavez Ravine and it fell for a double, keying a seventh-inning rally that helped the Dodgers beat the Braves 4-3 and pad their lead in the NL wild-card race to 4 1/2 games over San Francisco. Injury report Seattle 1B John Olerud sat out for the third straight game with a strained left groin. Orioles OF Melvin Mora missed the game with a sore hamstring, but was in the starting lineup for the nightcap. White Sox RF Magglio Ordonez was a late scratch with a sore toe on his left foot. Giants LF Barry Bonds (sore knees) and 2B Jeff Kent (strained left quadriceps) were out of the lineup. Cubs RB Sammy Sosa left the game in the eighth inning with spasms on the right side of his neck. The Rockies sat out Larry Walker for the third straight game with a dislocated rib. Walker will be available for pinch-hitting only on Sunday. Stat of the day The Oakland A's starting rotation has posted 11 straight victories, the first time it's been done since 1956 when the Milwaukee Braves' Bob Buhl, Lew Burdette, Gene Conley, Ray Crone and Warren Spahn did it June 17-25, 1956. The Pirates and Brewers, the two most anemic offensive teams in the NL, combined for 36 hits and 27 runs in Pittsburgh's 17-10 victory. Streak of the day Cristian Guzman extended his hitting streak to 23 games, the Twins' longest since Marty Cordova's 23-game streak in 1996. The last word "I didn't care if I was in Saudi Arabia. I didn't care where I was. I just had to get out of that slump.'' -- Reds left fielder Adam Dunn, who broke out of a 3-for-41 slump with an 11th-inning homer in a 5-3 victory over the Astros.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Mariners at Indians
Seattle: Manager Lou Piniella took the unusual step of coaching first base in the sixth inning of Saturday's 5-3 loss to Cleveland. It was the same inning that Seattle broke RHP Danys Baez's string of five hitless innings. "I did that to relax the guys a little. Nothing more, nothing less,'' Piniella said. ... The Mariners have lost six of nine and are 10-13 on the road since the All-Star break. ... The Indians are the only team to beat the Mariners bullpen in 25 games since July 28. The bullpen is 5-3 in those games with all three losses coming against Cleveland. ... 1B John Olerud sat out his third straight game with a groin pull. ... OF Mike Cameron has bounced between streaks and slumps recently. After going 0-for-22, he was 8-for-9, then struck out five straight times before hitting his 21st home run Saturday.

Cleveland: The Indians have called up 20 players from Triple-A Buffalo this season and have used 51 players, four short of the club record. ... The Indians won back-to-back games Friday and Saturday on game-ending home runs for the first time at Jacobs Field since Albert Belle did it in 1995. ... The Indians have five game-ending homers this season and 10 last at-bat wins at Jacobs Field. OF Karim Garcia has two of those game-ending hits, including a two-run homer Saturday for a 5-3 win against Seattle. ... Garcia has hit in 11 of his last 14 games and has 13 RBI over his last 12 games. ... C Josh Bard is 3-for-6 with two homers and four RBI in his first two major league games.

Angels at Red Sox
Anaheim: Manager Mike Scoiscia said his team showed why they will be in the race the entire way: coming back from Friday's loss in the series opener. "If you were wondering where this club was going after last night, I think they answered it today. We're confident we have a playoff-caliber team.'' ... Anaheim improved to 129-1 the past two seasons when leading after eight innings, best in the majors. "That stat's not uncommon on a championship-caliber club,'' Scoiscia said. ... Appier pitched six innings or more for the 10th consecutive start, and increased his record to 7-2 on the road. He's only 5-7 at home. ... In the first inning, Appier felt uncomfortable with Fenway Park's mound. "I was a little erratic,'' he said. "I think I threw 400 pitches in the first inning. I just felt different. In the bullpen, I was in a groove. I felt different on the mound.'' ... Two years ago, Appier thought the balls felt "greasy'' when he allowed seven first-inning runs in one of his worst starts of his career, while pitching for Oakland in a September game.

Boston: Manny Ramirez had reached safely in 14 consecutive plate appearances before flying out in the sixth inning, two short of the major league record set by Ted Williams in 1957. ... Reliever Alan Embree gave up an eighth inning single to Adam Kennedy, snapping a stretch in which he retired 18 straight batters. ... Ramirez is hitting .382 in August (29-for-76), and has a seven-game hitting streak, going 12-for-24 in that span.

Blue Jays at Orioles
Toronto: Blue Jays starter Pete Walker, who pitched seven innings of four-hit ball in the opener Saturday, is 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA in August. He's 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA on the road this year. ... The victory ended Toronto's six-game road losing streak. ... Jays reliever Cliff Politte pitched a scoreless inning in the opener, extending his run of scoreless appearances to eight. ... Eric Hinske got his 66th RBI in the opener, a club record for a rookie. He also holds the rookie record for homers (20).

Baltimore: Rick Bauer got his first start of the season in the nightcap. He had six starts last year with Baltimore but has flourished in the bullpen this season. ... First-game starter Travis Driskill is 3-7 with a 5.78 after starting the season 5-0. ... Reliever Yorkis Perez pitched 3 2-3 innings of the opener, allowing one run and two hits. He's given up only two runs in his last seven appearances, spanning 10 2-3 innings. ... Melvin Mora, who missed the opener with a slight hamstring strain, returned to play the nightcap. He began the game by getting hit by a pitch for the 17th time, second-highest total in the AL. ... In the opener, Orioles SS Mike Bordick tied Cal Ripken's major league record for consecutive errorless chances by a shortstop (428). Bordick did not start the nightcap.

Twins at Royals
Minnesota: Cristian Guzman singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 22 games, which is the longest active streak in the majors. It is the longest streak by a Twins player since Marty Cordova hit in 23 straight games in June, 1996. ...The Twins have scored in the first inning in six of their past eight games. ...The Twins are the only team in the majors to have kept their record at or above .500 every day since the beginning of the 2001 season. ...Twins reliever J.C. Romero is averaging 8.19 strikeouts per nine innings.

Kansas City: Two of the Royals top pitching prospects are on the shelf with injuries. Kyle Snyder, a 1999 first-round pick, left a start Friday with Double-A Wichita in the first inning with a finger blister. Chad Durbin, who started the season on the big league roster, is coming to Kansas City to be examined after leaving his last start in Wichita after retiring only one hitter with tightness in his forearm. General manager Allard Baird said Saturday Durbin will probably not pitch again this season. ...Shortstop Neifi Perez, who was in an 0-for-10 skid, did not start for only the fifth time this season. Luis Ordaz replaced him at shortstop. ...The Royals have played six extra-inning games in August, their most in a month since going 3-3 in extra-innings games in June, 1991.

Rangers at Yankees
Texas: Manager Jerry Narron rejoined the Rangers after missing the last two games to attend the funeral of his father, John Narron, in North Carolina. ... RHP Rudy Seanez began a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma on Saturday night, where he will pitch one inning against Calgary. He has been on the disabled list since May 30 and had surgery on a herniated disk on June 25. ... Aaron Myette entered Saturday's start with an unsightly ERA of 9.09, though he has a 2.70 ERA in his previous two starts, which he won, improving his record to 2-4. ... After Alex Rodriguez, hit his first-inning homer into the right-field bleachers off Roger Clemens, the fans there began chanting "Throw it back! Throw it back!'' As a ball sailed back onto the field, one fan raised both his arms triumphantly.

New York: OF Raul Mondesi said he can still feel the effects of his collision with a wall in Cleveland six weeks after it happened. He demonstrated by pinching the skin around his right kneecap, and moving it around in his fingers. "Look,'' he said. "I can feel it. There's something here. Something moving inside.'' Mondesi collided with a wall at Jacobs Field in Cleveland on July 12. He was diagnosed at the time with a bruised sternum, chest and knees, and a stiff neck. Less than a week later, he checked himself into a New York hospital, feeling short of breath. Asked Saturday what parts of his body still bother him, he said: "Chest, knees, neck, you know. ... If I feel good to play, I'm going to play. Sometimes it feels good, sometimes, it feels sore.'' ... GM Brian Cashman said 1B-DH Nick Johnson's return from a bone bruise on his left wrist could be sooner than expected, though he didn't specify a day for his return. Johnson took 25 swings off a tee and took fielding practice Saturday. After Thursday's workout, Johnson felt sore and rested Friday, but he felt fine after Saturday's work. "We plan on accelerating his workload now,'' Cashman said. Johnson is hitting .247 with 14 homers and 50 RBI. ... Bernie Williams, New York's usual CF, made his second straight start at DH, a move manager Joe Torre indicated was because of the wet weather. Williams, who missed Thursday night's game because of a mild left hamstring strain, made his first start of the season at DH Friday night. "He ran to first pretty good on a double-play ball,'' Torre said. "He had no discomfort.'' Williams also beat out an infield hit in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 15 games.

Athletics at Tigers
Oakland: Manager Art Howe refused to get involved with the speculation of who might be the American League's MVP this season. Athletics' shortstop Miguel Tejada is a leading candidate with 27 home runs, 108 RBI and a .309 average. "I don't have an opinion. That's still premature right now,'' Howe said. "There's a lot of baseball ahead of us.'' ... The past two August's have been good for Oakland. The team is 17-4 this month and had 22-7 record in August last season. The all-time team record for August wins is 23 in 1971.

Detroit: Third baseman Dean Palmer, out all season because of offseason right shoulder surgery, will begin traveling with the Tigers in September. He's been swinging a bat for three weeks and has been throwing for about a week. He says he's swinging the bat at 100 percent of his capability but the throwing is a different matter. "I'm still a pretty good ways away as far as throwing,'' Palmer said. ... Dmitri Young, out since early July because of hernia surgery, will begin taking grounders at third base on Monday, according to Tigers' manager Luis Pujols. Young is a natural 1B-OF, but the Tigers are looking at moving him to third because of the acquisition of Carlos Pena and Palmer's injuries. Young signed as a free agent during the winter.

Devil Rays at White Sox
Tampa Bay: RHP Tanyon Sturtze might have been an unlikely candidate to pitch a complete game, having now won only three games this season. But White Sox manager Jerry Manuel, who had Sturtze for parts of two years before he was traded to the Devil Rays, wasn't surprised. "Tanyon has always had a good arm. He has good stuff,'' Manuel said. "He's just never really been able to put it together for an extended number of pitches.'' ... Sturtze's complete game Friday night gave Tampa Bay 11 for the season, highest in the American League. It's also the most the Devil Rays have had in a season. ... Despite all those complete games, the Devil Rays still have the second-highest ERA in the majors (5.10 ERA). ... Coming into Chicago, the Devil Rays have gone 15 straight series without winning one, the longest drought by an AL club since Detroit in 1996. The Tigers went 16 series without winning one.

Chicago: Maybe a change of scenery can snap Frank Thomas out of his funk. Thomas, who has struggled all season and is currently mired in a 4-27 slump, switched lockers after Friday night's game. His locker had always been on the north side of the clubhouse, most recently between Magglio Ordonez and Ray Durham, who was traded to the Oakland Athletics last month. Thomas is now on the south side of the clubhouse. ... CF Aaron Rowand had some defensive miscues Friday night, and manager Jerry Manuel said they've already been addressed with the young player. "The overthrows are kind of mechanical things where he's been rushing himself, trying to do too much,'' Manuel said. "I think Aaron Rowand is going to be a fine center fielder. I also think he's going to be very productive for us.'' ... Despite the struggles of his starting pitchers, Manuel said he has no plans to alter his rotation. That is, providing there's not a strike. "We might do some different things, but for the most part, we'll stay the same.''

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Reds at Astros
Cincinnati: When they face St. Louis on Tuesday, the Reds will play their first doubleheader of the season and their first against the Cardinals since Sept. 22, 1996. ... The Reds hit only .122 with runners in scoring position during the first four games of this road trip.

Houston: Brad Ausmus is batting .368 since borrowing some heavier bats from Chicago's Moises Alou. "It might just be mental thing,'' Ausmus said. "But I'm not going to change.'' ... Lance Berkman hit his 34th home run Saturday and leads the National League with 104 RBI. He is only the third Astros player to have multiple 30-100 seasons. The others are Jeff Bagwell and Moises Alou.

Expos at Giants
Montreal: The Expos' first-round draft pick, RHP Clint Everts, was with the team on Saturday. The fifth pick overall, Everts turned 18 on Aug. 10. He signed his 2003 contract on Wednesday. "I'm excited to finally get going,'' Everts said. "It was a nice way to celebrate my birthday by getting everything done.'' ... RHP Tomo Ohka allowed a home run to Giants outfielder Barry Bonds on Friday night. It was Bonds' 58th career homer against the Expos, surpassing Mike Schmidt as the opponent with the most lifetime home runs against them. ... LHP Joey Eischen recorded his first career save on Friday. Eischen, 32, has appeared in 140 major league games since 1995.

San Francisco: 2B Jeff Kent doesn't usually beg out of the lineup, but after a tough evening in which he doubled, and had to change directions on a defensive play, he asked to rest his sore left quad muscle on Saturday. "Playing first base, going from side to side, keeps it awake,'' said Kent. "I felt it on the double, and when I had to change directions on a play. That aggravated it. Going to my left is a problem.'' ... OF Barry Bonds was also out of the starting lineup with sore knees. "I knew they were doubtful last night,'' said Giants manager Dusty Baker. "I didn't sleep too good. I was thinking, trying to figure things out.'' ... OF Marvin Benard, on the DL since July 3 with torn cartilage in his left knee, wore a brace for the first time Saturday. "It's a test to see if it helps,'' said Benard. "It feels weird because it keeps moving around.'' ... Darren Baker, the three-year-old son of the Giants manager, served as bat boy and was given a nice round of applause when he appeared in the first inning. In addition to a full uniform, he wore armbands given to him by OF Tsuyoshi Shinjo.

Braves at Dodgers
Atlanta: LHP Mike Remlinger, sidelined since Aug. 8 because of a strained left groin, was activated before Saturday's game and pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts. "I was planning on doing it tomorrow, but he insisted he was ready,'' manager Bobby Cox said of the first-time All-Star, who has a 1.46 ERA in 59 appearances. "He's hugely important to our team. He's been the workhorse.'' ... To make room for Remlinger, rookie RHP Kevin Gryboski was optioned to Triple-A Richmond. Gryboski, making his second appearance off the DL on Friday night, hit Paul Lo Duca with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to force in the winning run in a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers. ... LHP Tom Glavine has not committed an error in 167 total chances since the start of the 2000 season, but teammate Greg Maddux has won the last 12 Gold Gloves awarded to NL pitchers. ... Several years ago, when he was the Braves' player rep, Glavine stood in front of his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium and said he no longer wanted the responsibility. Now, he's representing the entire NL in the labor talks. "I guess I did too good a job, or I'm stupid -- one of the two,'' he said with a grin. "I don't enjoy this part of it (the daily negotiations), but I enjoy being a part of the learning process -- how things operate, and having a say in what the new collective bargaining agreement might look like. That part is fun, and it's a good education. But the labor side of it, the "He-said, she-said'' game that goes on in the newspapers, I don't like being a part of that.'' ... Maddux, who will get at least six more starts -- barring an injury or a strike -- needs four more victories to tie Cy Young's major league record of 15 consecutive seasons with at least 15 wins.

Los Angeles: Sandy Koufax and Maury Wills were among the more than 15 former Dodgers players who attended Saturday's memorial services for All-Star catcher Johnny Roseboro, who died of a stroke on Aug. 16 at age 69. So was Juan Marichal, who in 1965 struck Roseboro on the head with a bat after Roseboro's return throw to Koufax came close to Marichal's ear. "When I became a Dodger player, John told all the Dodger fans to forget what happened that day,'' Marichal said. "Forgiving me was one of the best things that happened in my life.'' ... CF Dave Roberts sat out Saturday's game with a stiff neck. "On the way to the ballpark, it was really stiff and I couldn't even look over my right shoulder. But I don't think it's anything serious, and I'll be ready to go tomorrow.'' ... RHP Eric Gagne earned his 44th save Saturday, tying Atlanta's John Smoltz for the major league lead -- and also tied the Dodgers franchise record for saves, set in 1996 by Todd Worrell. "I've said it about 25,000 times already -- without all these guys in here, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have a chance to do it,'' said the Canadian-born right-hander, who never had a save before this season. "My stamina's great. It's even better right now. It went up and down during the season, but now, I'm up. I feel good, I'm confident, and every time I step in the mound I'm thinking positive. So I guess I'm not tired, mentally, either.''

Cubs at Diamondbacks
Chicago: The Cubs, 19 games under .500, are 20-23 since Bruce Kimm was named interim manager on July 5. ... The win was the Cubs' second in their last 15 games in Phoenix. ... RF Sammy Sosa left the game in the eighth inning with spasms on the right side of his neck. Kimm said the NL home run leader complained of a stiff neck and would be evaluated before the decision was made about him playing in Sunday's game. ... C Joe Girardi saved a hit when he came from behind the plate to field a bunt and throw out Tony Womack leading off the fourth. ... 2B Mark Bellhorn has three more homers in a season (21) than any Cubs switch-hitter. Seven have come as a right-handed batter. ... SS Alex Gonzalez played in his 1,000th game.

Arizona: Rookie 2B Alex Cintron got Arizona's first hit off RHP Matt Clement with one out in the fifth inning. He was in the lineup because manager Bob Brenly promised to rotate his infielders in the series, and Junior Spivey got the day off. ... LHP Brian Anderson picked off Joe Girardi in the seventh inning -- his team-high sixth of the season. ... Chicago's 4-0 win ends Arizona's chance of sweeping a third straight home series. ... The loss by Anderson was the first defeat for an Arizona starter in 12 games (7-1). ... The Diamondbacks recorded their 15th home sellout of the season, with paid attendance of 47,703. ... SS Tony Womack went 0-for-4, snapping his 12-game hitting streak.

Pirates at Brewers
Pittsburgh: CF Adam Hyzdu will have some memorable moments from the 2002 season. He's hit the first two grand slams of his career, joining San Francisco's Tsuyoshi Shinjo, St. Louis' Albert Pujols, Cincinnati's Todd Walker and Colorado's Greg Norton as the only NL with two this season. In back-to-back games against St. Louis, Hyzdu hit his first slam on July 19, then drove in seven runs the next day. "Socking home runs is a lot of fun,'' he said after hitting his second slam Friday to lift the Pirates over the Brewers, 6-3. ... RHP Kris Benson (5-6, 5.36 ERA) has won five of his last seven decisions after losing his first four. He starts Sunday in Milwaukee after pitching seven innings and combining on a one-hit 8-0 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday. ... OF Brian Giles hit one home run against Milwaukee last year. This year he has seven.

Milwaukee: OF Jeffrey Hammonds was scratched from the lineup Saturday with a sore shoulder. ... C Raul Casanova refused an assignment to the minors and will become a free agent in 10 days unless the Brewers trade him. Somebody had to go because the Brewers had four catchers on their roster this weekend, Casanova joining Paul Bako, Robert Machado and newly acquired Jorge Fabregas. ... LHP Glendon Rusch is 6-13 and has a 4.88 ERA in his first season with the Brewers, but he believes he can be a better pitcher in the future and is hopeful of turning his career record of 37-61 around. "Definitely,'' Rusch said, "I'm only 27 and still learning.'' GM Dean Taylor still has hopes of Rusch making him look good regarding the trade that brought Rusch from the Mets. "We signed him for two years and we think he'll be a part of our rotation next year,'' Taylor said. "Good left-handers, as you know, are hard to find. He's had his ups and downs, but we believe he can be a very good starting pitcher for us.''

Mets at Rockies
New York: RHP Pedro Astacio has struggled in his most recent starts. The team's top winner has been hit hard of late, giving up 19 earned runs and 28 hits in 13 1-3 innings in his last three starts. "I don't what the problem is,'' manager Bobby Valentine said. "On Friday he hung some breaking pitches and you can't get away with that at Coors Field.'' ... Astacio bristled when asked if there was a problem with his right shoulder or if he was suffering from a dead arm. "Dead arm? I don't have a dead arm and there's nothing wrong with my shoulder,'' Astacio said. "I've made some mistakes in my starts and I'm going to correct them.'' ... RHP Steve Reed has allowed only two hits to left-handed batters in 15 at-bats since being acquired by the Mets. ... 3B Edgardo Alfonzo was activated from the 15-day DL prior to Saturday's game. Alfonzo had been on the DL since Aug. 4 with a left oblique strain. "Alfonzo is ready and will be in the lineup today,'' Valentine said. "He batted indoors, he stretched, and he feels fine.'' To make room for Alfonzo, the Mets optioned Ty Wigginton to Triple-A Norfolk. Wigginton was hitting .254 with two homers and seven RBI in 23 games.

Colorado: OF Larry Walker wasn't in the starting lineup on Saturday and will be out Sunday with the dislocated rib that has kept him out since last Wednesday. "I eliminated the middle man, him, and made the decision myself,'' said manager Clint Hurdle of Walker, who blamed a hotel bed in Atlanta for the injury. "He felt today like he did last Wednesday when he did play and reinjured it.'' ... Hurdle took his daughter on a college tour of the University of Colorado.

Phillies at Cardinals
Philadelphia: The Phillies had homered in 10 straight games going into Saturday night's game. ... The Phillies are batting .174 (20-115) with the bases loaded. ... Bobby Abreu, who leads the league with 39 doubles, needs one more to become the first Phillies player with three straight 40-double seasons since Ed Delahanty in 1895-97. career.

St. Louis: The Cardinals are expecting pitchers Garrett Stephenson and Woody Williams to come off the disabled list this week, just in time for two doubleheaders. Stephenson has been out since April 30 with a hamstring strain and a sore shoulder. Williams has been sidelined since July 7 with a left oblique strain. ... The Cardinals are scheduled for one doubleheader in Cincinnati on Tuesday and another in Chicago on Saturday.