MONDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Manny Ramirez Continued his tear with another huge night, raising his average to .344. It was his second five-hit game of the season. AB H HR RBI 5 5 2 4 Hero of the day Red Sox OF Johnny Damon hit a 320-foot homer to lead off the 10th inning and cap a stunning rally as Boston came back from a four-run, ninth-inning deficit to beat Anaheim 10-9. Goat of the day Rockies reliever Todd Jones gave up a tiebreaking homer to Giants 3B David Bell with two outs in the ninth inning. Colorado lost 4-3. Injury report In the ninth inning of Monday's game against the Diamondbacks, Dodgers SS Alex Cora suffered a concussion. He collided with Diamondbacks' 2B Tony Womack's knee during a steal attempt. The team says that Cora is able to move his arms and legs. He has been taken to a local Los Angeles-area hospital for observation. Cubs OF Sammy Sosa was held out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game Monday night because of a strained muscle in his neck. The Cubs star is not sure how he hurt himself, but it may have happened in his last at-bat Saturday night at Arizona. He said he is receiving electronic stimulation and muscle relaxants and hopes to be starting again by Wednesday or Thursday. White Sox 1b Paul Konerko left Monday night's game against Toronto with a sore left foot. Konerko will undergo X-rays and will be evaluated by team trainers. Rangers OF Juan Gonzalez, on the DL, had his right thumb re-examined in Fort Worth, Texas. It was determined that the ligament in the thumb is fine, but there was some inflammation in the tendon that required an injection. Stat of the day Even with Barry Bonds in town, Monday's game between the Rockies and Giants drew a franchise-low 26,877 fans to Coors Field. Streak of the day The A's won their 13th straight game Monday night, but within that streak is an even more unlikely one: In each of their last five games, the A's have had exactly 14 hits. The last word "You can expect a lot of different arm angles and a lot of different pitches from him, but I never thought I'd get a 48 mph curveball. It looked like a slow pitch, softball really. I think he threw one too many.'' -- Rangers SS Alex Rodriguez, on the eephus pitch from Orlando Hernandez that he slugged for his 46th homer.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rangers-Yankees
TEXAS: OF Juan Gonzalez had his right thumb re-examined in Fort Worth, Texas. It was determined that the ligament in the thumb is fine, but there was some inflammation in the tendon that required an injection. The team said Gonzalez will be re-evaluated at the end of week. The Rangers hope he will be swinging a bat by this weekend. ... The Rangers homered in their 13th straight game. They've connected 27 times in that span. ... LHP Justin Thompson, who last pitched in the majors in 1999 with Detroit, had a 3.00 ERA in seven games for the Gulf Coast Rangers. Still trying to recover from recurring shoulder trouble, he'll next report to the Arizona Instructional League. ... Rookie Travis Hafner was hitless in four at-bats, leaving him in a 2-for-28 slump.

NEW YORK: Bernie Williams' 17-game hitting streak is the longest by a Yankees player since he had a 17-gamer in 2000. He also owns the last string of more than 17 games -- he hit in 21 straight in 1993. ... Jorge Posada singled and doubled his first two times up, and that made him 8-for-12 lifetime against Kenny Rogers. ... Jason Giambi drew seven walks in the four-game series.

Angels-Red Sox
ANAHEIM: Five of Brad Fullmer's last 14 hits have been home runs. ... Angels hitters have struck out the fewest times in the majors (633, entering Monday night). ... The Angels are hitting 25 points higher on the road (.293) than at home (.268).

BOSTON: Manny Ramirez hit his 300th career homer in the first inning, a 405-foot shot over the Green Monster. He also extended his streak to 23 games that he has reached base. ... Cliff Floyd made a lunging catch to start a double play in the first inning. ... The Red Sox claimed Benny Agbayani off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.

Tigers-Indians
DETROIT: Manager Luis Pujols said RHP Fernando Rodney, optioned Monday to Triple-A Toledo, needs to have more confidence in his off-speed pitches. ''You throw two breaking balls and the batter misses them, why do you throw a fastball?'' Pujols said. ''You don't adjust to hitters until they adjust to you.'' Pujols said when he was a major league catcher, the only batter who disproved that theory was George Hendrick: ''He fell down swinging at a slider, so I figured let's throw it again. He crushed it.'' ... RHP Jose Paniagua replaced Rodney on the Tigers' roster. Paniagua went 2-0 with a 1.15 ERA in 12 games after being outrighted to Toledo on July 19. ... 1B Randall Simon's .343 average at Comerica Park is the fifth-best home mark in the AL. ... Entering Monday night, LF Bobby Higginson had four assists in his last 12 games. He and teammate Robert Fick came in tied for the league lead with 13 assists each.

CLEVELAND: CF Milton Bradley may be only days away from returning to the Indians. Bradley, who has been out since undergoing an appendectomy on Aug. 14, took batting practice and shagged flies in the outfield on Monday. As long as he doesn't have any setbacks, Bradley will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday at Double-A Akron. Bradley is eligible to come off the disabled list on Friday. ''We'll see how he feels after the first three games and make a call,'' Skinner said. ... Skinner said C Victor Martinez, now at Double-A Akron, will be considered for a September call-up. The switch-hitting Martinez leads the Eastern League with a .343 average. He's tied for second with homers (21) and is fifth in RBI (84). ... Jim Thome entered Tuesday's game with 92 walks this season. With eight more walks, Thome will have walked 100 times in four straight seasons and six times in seven years. He needs 36 walks in the Indians' final 33 games to break his single-season club record (127) set in 1999.

Athletics-Royals
OAKLAND: Cory Lidle's 32-inning scoreless streak ended in the second inning Monday when the Royals scored an unearned run. ...The Athletics optioned rookie starter Aaron Harang to Triple-A Sacramento before the game Monday. ...A's 3B Eric Chavez was picked as the AL player of the week. He led the league in four offensive categories: 25 total bases, 13 RBI, four home runs and 10 runs scored. He hit .367 with an .833 slugging percentage. He beat out teammates Miguel Tejada, who hit .469 for the week, and pitchers Tim Hudson, 2-0, 2.08 ERA, and Cory Lidle, 1-0 with a one-hit shutout at Cleveland. ... Former Royal Jermaine Dye made his first trip as a visitor to Kauffman Stadium. He played for the Royals from 1997-2001.

KANSAS CITY: The Royals have decided to skip Jeff Suppan, who has lost his last seven starts, a turn in the rotation. Rookie Shawn Sedlacek will take Suppan's spot Wednesday against Oakland. Suppan has been pushed back to a Sunday start at Seattle. ... The Royals' hit .303 in the four-games against the Twins, raising their season average to .254, the team's highest mark since .303 on Opening Day. They've hit .288 in the past 21 games. ... Raul Ibanez's 22 home runs are the most by a Royals left-handed hitter since Bob Hamelin hit 24 in 1994. ...The Royals' bullpen has a 2.31 ERA in August and has not allowed a run in 10 innings.

Blue Jays-White Sox
TORONTO: RHP Mike Smith is in his third stint for Toronto this season. Smith is making his fifth career start on Monday against the White Sox. He was with the Blue Jays from April 25 to May 14 and for one start on July 2. Manager Carlos Tosca will keep a very close eye on him. Tosca will keep the pitch count between 60 and 65. Tosca will be looking closely at Smith's control. ''Strike one and staying away from three-ball counts and that his velocity stays consistent,'' said Tosca. ... After coming off the 15-day disabled list on Sunday, Carlos Delgado was the DH for Toronto. Delgado went 1-for-4 with a double and a walk. On Monday, Delgado will start at first base. He was on the DL with lower back tightness.

CHICAGO: The White Sox recalled INF D'Angelo Jimenez from Triple-A Charlotte on Monday after Tony Graffanino went down with a knee injury. Royce Clayton and Jose Valentin have split the role as the starting shortstop for most of the season. Clayton will be a free agent after the season and Valentin has one year remaining on his contract. ''We explained to them what exactly what we are trying to find out,'' manager Jerry Manuel said. ''It is just one of those situations that you give them all of the information that is at hand and you hold nothing back and be honest with them and hopefully they can deal with it.'' Jimenez has played all 42 games at shortstop for Charlotte and was in the starting lineup for Chicago on Monday night. ... Frank Thomas is back in the third spot in the lineup. Manuel moved Thomas down in the order during the season because of his low batting average. Thomas is batting .234 on the season and Manuel hopes that moving Thomas up in the order will get him going offensively again. Manuel does not believe that Thomas needs a solid hitter to hit behind him in order to be successful. ''Everybody would love to have (Magglio) Ordonez behind him, but no I don't think that is a necessary criteria to be successful.''

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs-Brewers
CHICAGO: Sammy Sosa was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game with a strained muscle in his neck. Sosa was receiving muscle relaxants and electronic stimulation, and said he hoped to be back in the starting lineup Wednesday or Thursday. ... 2B Bobby Hill was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take the spot of LHP Jeff Fassero, who was traded Sunday to St. Louis for two players to be named. ... RHP Alan Benes will start for the Cubs on Tuesday. It will be only his second major league start since undergoing two surgeries on his right shoulder. Last year, he received a victory in the Cardinals 6-5 victory against Los Angeles on Sept. 8. Benes has spent the entire season at Iowa, where he was 10-9 with a 5.65 ERA.

MILWAUKEE: OF Jeffrey Hammonds returned to the starting lineup Monday night after missing two games to rest his sore right shoulder. Hammonds only played in 49 games last year before having surgery on the shoulder. This year, he has played in 107 games. ... A players' strike or injury likely is the only thing that will keep Jose Hernandez from setting the all-time strikeout record this year. Through 129 games, he had 161 strikeouts, putting him on pace for 202. The record is 189 by Bobby Bonds in 1970. ... Going into Monday night's game, the Brewers have been outscored 351-193 in the first four innings.

Giants-Rockies
SAN FRANCISCO: OF Barry Bonds came to Coors Field on a tear, hitting .423 with six home runs and 14 RBI over his last 19 games. He's also drew 27 walks and scored 15 runs over that span. ... The fact Bonds leads the major leagues with 148 walks doesn't bother manager Dusty Baker. ''The walks put a pitcher in the stretch for whoever is behind him,'' Baker said. ''You see most shutouts and well-pitched games when the pitcher isn't in the stretch very often. Most of the guys that pitch best out of the stretch are relievers.'' And Bonds has more walks than hits (112). ''That's almost as rare as Curt Schilling having more wins than walks.'' ... Kenny Lofton has not enjoyed much success since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox on July 28. Lofton is hitting .219 in 20 games with the Giants. ''They're not falling. Sometimes they don't fall,'' Baker said. ''I anticipate that this guy could get hot any day and just go crazy.'' ... The Giants are 5-6 over their past 11 games, but have gained some ground in the wild-card race, moving within 3½ games of Los Angeles.

COLORADO: The Rockies wanted to keep it simple in Aaron Cook's first major league start. ''We want him to throw strikes and get people out without a defined pitch count,'' manager Clint Hurdle said of the team's second-round draft choice in 1997. ''He won't be in for 100 pitches and won't be pitching in the seventh inning.'' ... Colorado drew it's smallest crowd ever (27,386) for a weekend game in Sunday's series finale with the Mets. The total draw of 91,674 for the series was also a franchise low. ... Hurdle's 18-day old daughter, Madison, was finally able to come home from the hospital where she had remained since birth for testing. ... Larry Walker took batting practice in the indoor batting cage, threw briefly, but will be held out one more day. Walker, a .308 career hitter against Kirk Rueter will sit out one more game to rest his dislocated rib. ''I want to give him one more day,'' Hurdle said. ''He should be ready on Tuesday.'' ... Hurdle has no feelings how the league will react to the ejections of LHP Kent Mercker and himself for throwing at New York's Timo Perez on Sunday. ''It is not my call,'' Hurdle said. ''I won't lose any sleep over that one.'' ... Gabe Kapler's first home run as a Rockie on Sunday and first in 251 at-bats drew some reaction from Hurdle and his teammates. ''This is a guy that had his face on the cover of a muscle man magazine and didn't have a home run here,'' Hurdle said.

Diamondbacks-Dodgers
ARIZONA: The defending World Series champions entered their three-game series at Los Angeles with an eight-game bulge over the second-place Dodgers in the NL West. ''As far as I'm concerned, it's still a close race,'' manager Bob Brenly said. ''With so many head-to-head games, anything can happen, so our players aren't taking anything for granted. We just go out and try to beat everybody every day.'' ... Brenly is trying to keep a positive attitude about the labor dispute threatening to wash out a first-place season. ''I'd hate to see what we've accomplished come to an end and not have a chance to defend our title,'' Brenly said. ''I'm a baseball fan. I'm not a football fan and I'm not crazy about the NBA. I hate it when baseball season ends after the World Series, and I can't wait until spring training.'' ... Brenly, who managed the NL All-Stars last month, was impressed with Dodgers closer Eric Gagne after meeting him for the first time in Milwaukee. When informed about Gagne's remark that hoisting the Stanley Cup before Sunday's game was a greater thrill than pitching in the All-Star game, Brenly quipped, ''Hopefully, that will be the biggest thrill he has this year,''. ... Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling entered Monday with a combined 40-8 record and 538 strikeouts. Since the start of last season, they are 83-20 with 1,203 strikeouts. ''The best of each guy has rubbed off on the other one,'' Brenly said. ''Randy has allowed himself to enjoy his success a little bit more, and Curt has become more series about his craft.''

LOS ANGELES: Player rep Paul Lo Duca recalled Monday how he turned down a chance to become a replacement player during spring training in 1995. But he still maintains a close friendship for former Dodger and current Montreal pitcher Matt Herges, who crossed the picket line. ''I don't blame Matt for that,'' Lo Duca said. ''I didn't cross the line because I wanted to make it on my own. But I've never bashed him about it. I mean, I never will agree with what they did. But if you have a wife and children to feed and there's no money coming in, it's a difficult situation.'' ... Lo Duca, who made $210,000 last season -- slightly over the major league minimum, signed a three-year, $7.25 million contract last February that is not guaranteed if there is a strike. ''I don't know what's going to happen. I could be working for U.P.S. (United Parcel Service) next year, like a couple of my buddies did the last time,'' Lo Duca said. ''I don't know if they think we're bluffing. We never have before.'' ... Manager Jim Tracy said LHP Kazuhisa Ishii will skip a turn in the rotation. He leads the Dodgers with 13 victories despite a major league-leading 100 walks. ''He knows and we know he can be a little bit better,'' Tracy said. ''We need to give him a little time to work on things.'' ... RHP Giovanni Carrara, who has been on the DL with a strained forearm, will be activated on Sept. 1 when the rosters are expanded to 40 players. ... Kevin Brown, who struck out nine batters in four innings of relief Sunday, said he has received no indication from Tracy as to when he will start again -- nor would he say whether he was ready to. ''I'm not getting into that,'' Brown said. ''Anything they want me to do, I'll do. That's my job.''