TUESDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Barry Bonds Among his three homers at Coors Field on Tuesday was a 492-foot blast -- the third-longest in stadium history. AB H HR RBI 4 4 3 3 Hero of the day White Sox 3B Joe Crede hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and a grand slam in the 10th to lift Chicago to an 8-4 win over Toronto. Goat of the day Orioles starter Rodrigo Lopez gave up five runs in five innings as the Rangers beat Baltimore 9-4. Injury report Braves OF Gary Sheffield was scratched after jamming his left thumb during batting practice. Manager Bobby Cox said Sheffield's thumb is swollen, and he also won't start Wednesday against the Pirates. The Cubs played without Sammy Sosa (strained muscle in neck) for the third straight game. White Sox 1B Paul Konerko missed Tuesday's game with a sore foot. He is day-to-day. Manager Jerry Manuel may use Konerko in the DH role and move Frank Thomas to first base for some games. Red Sox OF Cliff Floyd was a late scratch from Tuesday's starting lineup against the Yankees because of a bruised left knee. Royals LF Chuck Knoblauch left after five innings with tightness in left rib cage area. Stat of the day The Phillies have won 10 of 13 to reach .500 for the first time since they were 5-5 on April 11. Philadelphia (65-65) also moved ahead of the Expos into second place in the NL East, but are 18 still games behind Atlanta. Streak of the day The A's won their 14th straight game Tuesday, matching the 1988 squad for their longest streak since moving to Oakland. The last word ''I plan on striking Friday. I think it's going to be long. I'm just going by my experience in '94.'' -- Red Sox starter John Burkett.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees at Red Sox
New York: Jason Giambi has 100 RBI for the fifth consecutive year. ... Derek Jeter is the third player since 1900 to score at least 100 runs in his first seven seasons. ... Nick Johnson, out since Aug. 10 with a bone bruise on his left wrist, might be able to take batting practice on Thursday and get in a minor league game over the weekend. Boston: Cliff Floyd was a late scratch from the lineup because of a bruised left knee. Carlos Baerga was added to the lineup. Trot Nixon was also out of the lineup because the lefty, David Wells, was pitching. ... Benny Agbayani, claimed on waivers from Colorado on Monday, is in transit and not expected to be activated in time for the series finale on Wednesday night. ... Rolando Arrojo, on the DL since Aug. 7 with a bulging disc in his back, threw on the side Tuesday without discomfort. He is expected to throw again on Thursday.

Tigers at Indians
Detroit: Indians 3B Travis Fryman said he hasn't collected a lot of mementos during his baseball career, but Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell's call of his first major league hit -- a home run on July 8, 1990 -- is something he will always cherish. Fryman said Harwell gave him a tape of the call when he was a rookie. Harwell will throw out the first pitch and receive a special presentation from Fryman before Wednesday's game. ... 2B Damion Easley reached 500 career RBI Tuesday night with a two-run single. ... LHP Mark Redman has made a career high 27 starts this season. ... The Tigers entered Tuesday with their third losing streak of six or more games this season. Cleveland: The Indians sent RHP Danys Baez back to the bullpen after less than a year in the starting rotation. Baez, who will be 25 next month, will take over the closer role with Bob Wickman undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. "As an organization, we feel he's going to be a top-notch closer,'' manager Joel Skinner said. Baez went 9-10 with a 4.44 ERA as a starter this season after spending his rookie year in the bullpen. ... 1B Jim Thome needed one home run entering Tuesday night's game for his third 40-home run season. ... With OF Milton Bradley expected to return Friday, the Indians could send OF Coco Crisp down to Double-A Akron to finish the season and help the Aeros with their postseason run.

Mariners at Twins
Seattle: John Olerud, who missed the last four games with a strained groin, returned to the Mariners' lineup Tuesday night at first base, batting third. ... The Mariners are 68-34 against the Twins since manager Lou Piniella took over in 1993. ... ... Reliever Jeff Nelson has retired his last 16 batters -- six by strikeout. ... A speaker malfunctioned at the Metrodome on Tuesday night as the Mariners went through infield practice, creating a booming cacophony of explosionlike sounds for about five minutes. Piniella scowled as he walked off the field. ... Because of the large contingent of Asian media following the Mariners and their Japanese stars Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki, the Twins' press box at the Metrodome was as full as it has been all season. Minnesota: LHP Eric Milton, who had surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, threw live batting practice before Tuesday's game. "He was locked in,'' manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He threw very, very well. He was all business. He went after it very hard.'' Milton might be able to return the first week in September. ... INF Denny Hocking, the Twins' union rep, spent two hours on a labor issues conference call earlier in the day and was a little tired afterward. "I'm using a speaker phone from now on,'' he joked. ... SS Cristian Guzman entered Tuesday's game with a 23-game hitting streak, the Twins' longest since Marty Cordova hit in 23 straight games from June 5-29, 1996. The franchise record is 31 games by Ken Landreaux in 1980. ... 3B Corey Koskie's wife, Shannon, gave birth to a baby boy on Monday. The couple's second child was named Joshua, and Koskie said the family was in good health Tuesday.

Orioles at Rangers
Baltimore:The team has a 13-man pitching staff, leaving the O's with only three reserves. Baltimore's bench probably will remain thin until rosters are expanded on Sept. 1. ...Tuesday night's starters -- Baltimore's Rodrigo Lopez and Texas' Dennys Reyes -- are natives of Mexico. The last time two Mexican-born starters opposed each other in the majors was on Sept. 23, 2000, when San Francisco's Miguel Del Toro faced Arizona's Armando Reynoso. Texas: C Ivan Rodriguez was back in the lineup after getting a day off Monday against the Yankees. Rodriguez was bothered by a toothache in New York and had an emergency visit to a dentist in Manhattan. Rodriguez had a tooth extracted when he returned to Texas on Monday night and was on medication Tuesday. ...On Thursday the Rangers will honor the Fort Worth Westside All-Stars, the 2002 Southwest Little League champs who reached the semifinals of the Little League World Series last week. The team will be recognized before the game and will participate in the first-pitch ceremony, then will watch the Orioles-Rangers game from a luxury suite. ...The Rangers don't expect any Triple-A callups until their top minor league affiliate, the Oklahoma RedHawks, is eliminated from the Pacific Coast League playoffs.

Athletics at Royals
Oakland: In their 13-game winning streak,the A's have outscored their opponents 92-33, while hitting 19 home runs, including four each by Jermaine Dye, Eric Chavez and Terrence Long. The starting pitchers have a 2.04 ERA in the streak. ... The A's recalled outfielder Adam Piatt from Triple-A Sacramento, where he was hitting .295 with eight home runs and 44 RBI in 62 games. This is his second stint with Oakland this season. ... The A's have won seven consecutive series in August, including three sweeps. ... The A's are 22-6 when Barry Zito starts. Zito makes his league-leading 29th start Wednesday against Kansas City. Kansas City: C Brent Mayne, who was 0-for-14 on this homestand, was held out of the starting lineup Tuesday. He was replaced by A.J. Hinch. ... Mike Sweeney, who leads the league with a .352 average, took a six-game hitting streak into the Tuesday night game. The only other Royals to win batting titles were George Brett, three times, and Willie Wilson. ... Reliever Jason Grimsley gave up a run Monday for the first time in eight outings. He has a 0.94 ERA in his past 26 games. ... Rookie outfielder Aaron Guiel has one walk and 19 strikeouts in his past nine games.

Blue Jays at White Sox
Toronto: The Blue Jays bullpen pitched six hitless innings in Monday's night victory over the White Sox. RHP Corey Thurman pitched three innings. LHP Mark Hendrickson, RHP Cliff Politte and RHP Kelvim Escobar all pitched one inning. RHP Mike Smith, who started for Toronto, was on a strict pitch count so manager Carlos Tosca warned the bullpen ahead of the time that they were going to be used. "They knew they were going to be an integral part of that game,'' Tosca said. "They came through in flying colors.'' Chicago: Player rep Jeff Liefer took part in a conference call before the game. "There wasn't much said, their talking and trying to work it out. I am trying to remain optimistic and hope the season is not over, but that remains to be seen.'' Liefer didn't hear about the specifics of the talks. "It was just a lot of questions and answers and a lot of what ifs, when we can actually walk out and that kind of stuff,'' said Liefer. Liefer is unsure when the exact deadline is on Friday. "The different deadline times that I have been hearing is real close to gametime on Friday, the first game. Obviously you don't want to fill up a stadium and then walk out,'' said Liefer. Liefer doesn't see a side conceding a lot as the deadline approaches. "Both sides have already conceded a little bit, but I can't predict which sides are going to give more.'' ... Paul Konerko sat out Tuesday's night game with a sore left foot. Konerko took himself out of Monday's game in third inning. He will likely miss Wednesday's game also. Konerko has been battling through the injury for several weeks. Konerko thinks it might be a stress fracture, but X-rays were negative. "Even if it is a stress fracture, I'm sure there are different degrees to that and I just couldn't see myself a week from now, two weeks from now not playing cause I know tomorrow when I wake up it feels good,'' said Konerko. manager Jerry Manuel may use Konerko in the DH role and move Frank Thomas to first base for some games. Thomas has been used very rarely at first base this season. Konerko is day to day.

Devil Rays at Angels
Tampa Bay: The Devil Rays entered Tuesday with the second-worst team batting average (.250) and ERA (5.13) in the AL. ... Some former players just don't know when to quit. During early batting practice Tuesday, manager Hal McRae was shagging flies in the outfield and jammed his left elbow diving for a ball. ... Barring a strike, INF Russ Johnson will be activated from the DL when the Devil Rays return home from their 13-game road trip. Johnson, 29, left the team for personal reasons on July 6 at Anaheim, and later received two weeks of treatment for depression at a Baton Rouge, La., hospital before going public with his problem on Aug. 13. ... All-Star Randy Winn, whose .347 batting average on the road was just one point behind league leader Alex Rodriguez prior to Tuesday, was hitting only .252 on the road as the Devil Rays began the third leg of a four-city, 13-game road trip in Anaheim on Tuesday night. ... Nine pitchers have no-hit the Devil Rays through the first five innings of games this season. ... Rookie RHP Travis Harper will get a spot start Saturday while Joe Kennedy misses a turn because of a tired arm. Harper was primarily a starter before this season, when he made 26 of his 30 appearances in relief. Anaheim: A strike would jeopardize Garret Anderson's club-record streak of six straight seasons with at least 600 at-bats. He entered Tuesday with 523. ... ... No Angels player has ever led the AL in doubles over a full season, but Anderson's career-high and club-record 47 doubles give him the edge by two over Alfonso Soriano and Nomar Garciaparra. ... LHP Dennis Cook, sidelined since July 5 because of a torn labrum in his shoulder, began a rehab assignment Tuesday night with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Cook, 39, opted to rehabilitate the shoulder rather than undergo surgery. ... RF Tim Salmon, who hasn't played since Aug. 10 after getting hit on the left hand with a pitch, is still about 3-5 days away from swinging a bat. He is scheduled for a rehab assignment with Rancho Cucamonga, but the Quakes' season ends on Sunday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cardinals at Reds
St. Louis: Albert Pujols hit his 30th homer and moved into exclusive territory in Cardinals history. He became the second Cardinal to drive in 100 runs in each of his first two seasons -- Ray Jablonski also did it in 1953-54. Pujols also became the fifth Cardinal to hit 30 homers in consecutive seasons, joining Stan Musial, Ray Lankford, Mark McGwire and Edmonds. "I'm just letting it happen instead of trying to make it happen,'' Pujols said. He hit 37 homers and drove in 130 runs last season, when he was unanimously chosen NL rookie of the year. ... RHP Jason Simontacchi threw 39 pitches in the second inning of the opener, when the Reds scored five times. He settled in and wound up throwing only 100 pitches in 6 1-3 innings. ... Pujols and Scott Rolen hit consecutive homers in the third inning of the opener, the fifth time the Cardinals have homered back-to-back this season. ... St. Louis had not homered in 41 innings after the first game of the doubleheader. ... Reliever Jeff Fassero made his first appearance for the Cardinals in the first game, getting two outs in the seventh while giving up two hits. St. Louis got the left-hander from the Cubs on Sunday for two players to be named. Cincinnati: Rookie OF Austin Kearns pulled his left hamstring while running out a grounder, prompting the Reds to put him on the 15-day DL. Kearns, batting a team-high .314, is trying to become the first rookie to lead the Reds in hitting since Grady Hatton batted .271 in 1946. The Reds sent him for an MRI after the game. "I don't know if he's done for the year or not,'' Dr. Timothy Kremchek said. "The MRI will tell us a lot. He was devastated. He's really depressed. It's a tough thing emotionally.'' ... RHP Chris Reitsma (5-9) won the first game in relief, then was optioned to Double-A Chattanooga to open a roster spot for RHP Elmer Dessens, who started the second game. ... The Reds called up OF Jose Guillen from Louisville to take Kearns' spot. Guillen was signed as a free agent on Aug. 20.

Mets at Marlins
New York: With his team riding a two-game winning streak following 12 consecutive losses, manager Bobby Valentine was in a jovial mood before Tuesday's game at Florida. "A couple of wins always put you in good spirits,'' Valentine said. "After 12 losses, absolutely. It took the burden off a lot of guys.'' ... Mike Bacsik, who starts against the Marlins on Wednesday, has already beaten them twice this season. Florida: Manager Jeff Torborg says his goal now is to finish second in the NL East. "It would be a pretty good finish to a lousy second half,'' he said. The Marlins began the day in fourth place, two games behind second-place Montreal. ... Florida began the series against the Mets 20 for 21 stealing off catcher Mike Piazza this season. Piazza was credited with throwing out Preston Wilson when he overslid third.

Braves at Pirates
Atlanta: RF Gary Sheffield was a last-minute scratch for Tuesday night's game in Pittsburgh because of an injured left thumb. Sheffield hurt the thumb during pregame batting practice, but the severity of the injury was not immediately known. Sheffield was replaced in the lineup by Darren Bragg. Sheffield is batting .353 with nine homers and 31 RBI in 42 games since the All-Star break. ... The Braves and Pirates -- who had one of the NL's top rivalries a decade ago -- met Tuesday night for the first time since June 3, 2001, when they played the first doubleheader at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. The teams are scheduled to meet again next week in Atlanta. ... Greg Maddux can become a 20-game winner Wednesday -- against Pittsburgh. Maddux, the Braves' scheduled starter Wednesday night, is 19-13 in his career against the Pirates. He shut them out 1-0 on May 25, 2001, in his only start against them last season. Pittsburgh: C Jason Kendall will have surgery for the third time in four years, this time to remove a golf ball-sized cyst from his foot. Kendall had surgery last year to repair a badly damaged ligament in his left thumb and during the 1999 season when he severely dislocated an ankle during an on-field injury on July 4, 1999. Kendall has made more appearances (120) and starts (118) this season than any other catcher. ... Pirates OF Brian Giles is playing against his younger brother, Braves INF Marcus Giles, for the first time in the majors. Marcus Giles was optioned to Triple-A Richmond last season just before the teams played. Marcus Giles was not in the Braves' lineup Tuesday. ... The Pirates, who play 20 of their 29 scheduled games this month against teams with winning records, won only four of their first 17 games to start the stretch. ... The Pirates went 9-1 in Milwaukee, the first time they've won nine times in an opposing ballpark in one season since 1961, when they won nine in Philadelphia.

Expos at Phillies
Montreal: OF Vladimir Guerrero extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a bloop single in the first inning Tuesday night. ... The Expos are 5-0 in games right-hander Tomo Ohka has started this month. He faces the Phillies on Wednesday night. ... After 130 games last season, the Expos were 55-75. At that point this season, they were 65-65 -- the first time they were at .500 or better this late in the year since Sept. 14, 1997, when they were 74-74. Philadelphia: After starting 5-22 on the road, the Phillies are 26-12 away from home, and are 9-2-1 in their last 12 road series. ... The Phillies are guaranteed a non-losing record for the third straight month after going 21-32 in April and May. ... Left-hander Randy Wolf (9-7) tries to extend his scoreless innings streak of 18 innings on Wednesday night. ... Doug Glanville hit his ninth career leadoff homer Tuesday night.

Padres at Astros
San Diego: Ron Gant's next RBI will be the 1,000th of his career. ... Since the All-Star break, the Padres have played well in series against teams in contention for postseason play. They are 4-4 in those series, including 2-0 against the Dodgers, 1-0 against the Braves, 1-1 against the Diamondbacks, 0-1 against the Cardinals and 0-2 against the Reds. Houston: Reliever Pedro Borbon got the third save of his career Sunday. He and father Pedro Sr., who had 80 career saves, are one of only two father-son combinations in major league history to record saves. The other father-son combo to accomplish it are Julio Navarro (one save) and Jamie (two). ... The Astros have pitched eight shutouts, all at Minute Maid Park this season. Only the Marlins (with 10) and A's (9) have more home shutouts this season. "That shows you it's not the park,'' manager Jimy Williams said.

Cubs at Brewers
Milwaukee: RHP Nick Neugebauer was slated to pitch in his final rehab outing Tuesday night for Triple-A Indianapolis, and likely will rejoin the Brewers this weekend if there is no strike. The Brewers have a doubleheader scheduled for Labor Day at Wrigley Field and could use an extra starter. Manager Jerry Royster said Neugebauer, bothered by right shoulder tendinitis, would not pitch out of the bullpen. He is 1-4 with a 5.09 ERA in seven starts. ... RHP Ben Sheets is 5-0 against the Cubs in his career and 14-25 against the rest of the majors. ... OF Izzy Alcantara, designated for assignment last week, has accepted his assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis. Chicago: Sammy Sosa was out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game because of a strained muscle in his neck. Manager Bruce Kimm said he hoped Sosa would not land on the DL. "When a guy is as important to your team as he is, you try to stay away from the DL,'' he said. Angel Echevarria took his spot in right field Tuesday night. ... LHP Alan Benes became the ninth pitcher to start a game for the Cubs this year when he faced the Brewers on Tuesday night. ... The Cubs have scored three runs or fewer in 56 games, compiling a 9-47 record in those games.

Giants at Rockies
San Francisco: 3B David Bell has no bitterness toward the Rockies for firing his father, Buddy, earlier in the season. "I don't care about that now,'' Bell said. "I cared about it when it happened and only care about playing the game.'' Bell hit the game-winning home run in the ninth inning Monday night after getting some advice from manager Dusty Baker. "Dusty reminded me I'd hit the ball on the ground twice,'' Bell said. "He wanted me to concentrate on that and hitting the ball.'' ... Tsuyoshi Shinjo got the start in right field over Reggie Sanders. "Shinjo hits Denny Stark better,'' Baker said. "Reggie is good out there, but it was just Shinjo's time to play and he hits the guys as well as anybody on the team.'' Shinjo is 2-for-3 while Sanders is hitless in three at-bats against Stark. ... Yorvit Torrealba gave Benito Santiago a day off behind the plate. Bonds began the game with a .0018 lead over Larry Walker in the NL batting race. The Giants began the day with 160 home runs, five fewer than league-leading Chicago. Colorado: RHP Aaron Cook earned a second start after his six-inning outing, his first major league start, on Monday. "He will get the ball again if there is a game five days from now,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. "He was a two-pitch pitcher and he'll have to throw his changeup more, but for his first start in the big leagues he did fine.'' ... Larry Walker was back in the lineup after missing five games with a dislocated rib and back spasms. ... With the return of Walker, Hurdle moved Jay Payton from cleanup to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. "I did it to try to find something that will click to give a little consistency to the offense,'' Hurdle said. "I don't think you can hit Payton in a bad spot in the lineup right now.'' Payton is 21-for-45 with six home runs and 18 RBI over his last 10 games. ... Over his last 11 games Todd Helton is hitting .386 with four homers and nine RBI. ... LHP Kent Mercker hasn't allowed a home run to Barry Bonds in 31 plate appearances and 30 at-bats. ... Hurdle has enjoyed the development of 2B Brent Butler. "He has proven himself to be a credible major league player,'' Hurdle said. "He sat back and watched Jose Ortiz have his way with it and through Jose's lack of production and an injury, he got an opportunity to play and he's done nothing to get in the way of that.'' ... RHP Shawn Chacon allowed five runs and threw 101 pitches and got the win in a six-inning outing for Triple A Colorado Springs on Monday.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers
Arizona: SS Tony Womack was in the lineup Tuesday night after a scary collision with Dodgers SS Alex Cora the night before. Womack's knee briefly went numb, but he stayed in the game. Womack said he was sore and had minor swelling Tuesday. "I don't want to see the replay,'' he said. "It was frightening because I had no feeling. He got me pretty good.'' ... Arizona is 10-1 in its last 11 road games and its 40 wins away from home are tops in the NL. ... RHP Miguel Batista has written a poetry book called "Feeling in Black and White'' that is available in the United States after first being published two years ago in his native Dominican Republic. Los Angeles: LF Brian Jordan, on the disabled list because of a protrusion in his lower back, took some swings of soft toss for the second straight day Tuesday and hit in the batting cage. Manager Jim Tracy said Jordan could be available by Friday. ... LHP Kazuhisa Ishii, who will skip his turn in the rotation Thursday to rest and clear his head, was available to pitch out of the bullpen Tuesday. But Tracy said the erratic Ishii will reclaim his starting spot next week. ... C Paul Lo Duca, the team's union player representative, said Friday's impending strike date would not interfere with the Dodgers' travel plans. He said the team will fly to Houston on Thursday in preparation for the start of a three-game series Friday. ... Lo Duca said he can understand the fans' frustration about an impending strike. "Coming off the field every inning, I can hear the fans yelling at me, `Don't strike, don't strike,''' he said. "If I was in their shoes, I'd feel the same way.'' ... Terry Johnson, a former Dodgers beat writer and official scorer, was posthumously honored with the Bob Hunter Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America. His wife, Vicky, accepted the award, which honors a local writer for meritorious service and chapter activity. Johnson died in a car accident on his way to Dodger Stadium a year ago.