FRIDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Alfonso Soriano Remained on pace for the first 40-40 season by a second baseman with two homers and a steal in the Yankees' 9-7 win over the Blue Jays. AB H HR RBI 5 3 2 3 Hero of the day Brewers outfielder Alex Sanchez hit a two-run, bases-loaded double in the top of the ninth inning to spark a five-run rally in Milwaukee's 9-4 win over the Reds. Goat of the day Indians starter Jaret Wright had the shortest start of his career, surrendering five runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning in Cleveland's 15-5 loss to the Red Sox. Injury report Cubs OF Sammy Sosa missed his sixth straight game with a sore neck. Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen didn't pitch after feeling something in his right shoulder while warming up in the ninth inning. It's not yet clear exactly what's wrong. Angels OF Tim Salmon didn't play with a bone bruise in his left hand but might be able to play by the middle of next week. Stat of the day Rangers slugger Rafael Palmeiro became the first player ever to hit 38 or more homers for eight straight seasons with his 38th homer of this season in a 9-7 loss to the Devil Rays. Streak of the day Expos star Vladimir Guerrero stole his 30th base to give him his second straight 30-30 season. The last word "It's always nice to come to the ballpark and not have to worry about what's going to happen [with a possible strike]… I'm sure the fans were pretty excited we were out there playing.'' -- Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox at Indians
Boston: Manager Grady Little said Friday the Red Sox will call up six or seven players when major league rosters are expanded Sept. 1. "It depends on the health of our club as to who we call,'' Little. ... OF Benny Agbayani, acquired on waivers Monday from Colorado, was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket and will likely be recalled Sunday. ... OF Cliff Floyd was in the lineup at DH after missing two games with a bruised left knee. He had an RBI single his first time up. ... Only three of the Red Sox's final 30 games are against an opponent with a winning record. Those games are Sept. 2-4 in New York against the Yankees.

Cleveland: RHP Charles Nagy will start Sunday in place of RHP Jake Westbrook. "Jake has a little tenderness in his elbow and this is a precaution,'' manager Joel Skinner said. "It is not something where he needs to get checked by a doctor, but he felt a little tender working out in the bullpen and we don't want it to get worse.'' Westbrook had elbow surgery in February. He was 1-3 with a 5.83 ERA in 12 appearances for the Indians after a rehab assignment in the minors. ... Skinner said the Indians will call up "one pitcher for sure, maybe one or two position players,'' Sunday. "The pitcher will be a reliever. There are a few more players we want to see, but we will let them finish out the playoffs there first.'' ... 3B Travis Fryman has not played his last game after all. Fryman announced Wednesday he was retiring at the end of this season and admitted he did not know if his career was over that night. "Coming back today (Friday) is what I had hoped for,'' Fryman said. "But it is a little awkward, in all honesty. You almost feel like you already rode off into the sunset and leave it at that.'' ... OF Milton Bradley was in the starting lineup, 16 days after having an emergency appendectomy. OF Coco Crisp was sent to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for Bradley.

Yankees at Blue Jays
New York: Manager Joe Torre said C Alberto Castillo will be one of five September call ups when the rosters are expanded in September. Torre didn't say who the others would be. ... Torre said Mariano Rivera will start throwing off the mound in the middle of next week. Rivera is on the 15-day DL with a muscle strain in his right shoulder. ... Torre said Andy Pettitte will start Wednesday instead of Tuesday. The Yankees scratched Pettitte from his scheduled start on Friday with stiffness in his lower back and replaced him with Jeff Weaver. Torre originally said he would pitch Pettitte on Tuesday. He said Pettitte's back hasn't worsened.

Toronto: Club President Paul Godfrey said the new collective bargaining agreement will help the Blue Jays. "I understand it will help restore competitive balance and I think that's the key area,'' Godfrey said. He said he hasn't seen the details of the agreement. ... Godfrey said he would prefer to have the Montreal Expos be privately owned than be owned by basebal to help pay the club's losses. "Everybody owner shares the losses,'' Godfrey said. ... General manager J.P. Ricciardi said a decision on whether manager Carlos Tosca will be back next season will be made in the next couple of weeks. Riccardi praised Tosca for producing a hard working team. ... Ricciardi said RHP Corey Thurman will replace RHP Steve Parris in the rotation. "Steve would be the first one to tell you he's going through a dead arm period,'' Ricciardi said. "We see Corey as being a starter down the road and this is an opportunity to run him out there.''

White Sox at Tigers
Chicago: Manager Jerry Manuel had predicted that there wouldn't be a strike. "I didn't think the industry could handle it, personally,'' he said. "That's what I felt. And I'm excited they came to an agreement'' . ... Starting pitcher Todd Ritchie, on the 15-day disabled list because of a shoulder injury, will throw 75 pitches at some point over the weekend. ...And if that goes well, Manuel said the goal would be for Ritchie to pitch in a game before the season ends.

Detroit: Manager Luis Pujols said things were different approaching the strike deadline this season than in 1994, when he was a coach for the Montreal Expos. "The mood was different in '94,'' he said. ''(This time) At least they were talking and didn't break up the conversation'' ... Detroit acquired OF Gary Varner from Cincinnati as the first of two players to be named in the deal which sent Brian Moehler to the Reds on July 23. ... Varner was hitting .310 with 10 home runs and 69 RBI in 128 games with Class-A Dayton of the Midwest League. He will be assigned to Class-A West Michigan.

Devil Rays at Rangers
Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay is in the midst of a 12-game stretch against Texas and Anaheim. The Devil Rays began Friday night 6-21 vs. the AL West. ... The Devil Rays have four minor leaguers who top their respective leagues in home runs: Pete LaForest (Orlando, Southern League), Jonny Gomes (Bakersfield, California League), Joey Gomes (Hudson Valley, NY-P League) and Wes Bankston (Princeton, Appalachian League). ... Saturday night's starter, RHP Travis Harper, will be making his first start against the Rangers.

Texas: It's unlikely that RF Juan Gonzalez will play again this season because of torn muscle fibers in his right thumb. Gonzalez, out since July 31, was examined by Dr. Bobby Wroten on Thursday and is still experiencing pain. He'll wear a splint on the thumb for the next 10 days to two weeks. ... Owner Tom Hicks said Friday that the team will not raise ticket prices next season. ...The Rangers will give away 10,000 tickets and offer free parking for Monday's game with the Houston Astros. The rare day game is a makeup of a June 30 rainout and is the last regular season interleague game in 2002. Fans already holding tickets to Monday's game will receive a voucher for any of the remaining Rangers home games.

Orioles at Angels
Baltimore: Manager Mike Hargrove was up late watching TV for news in the labor negotiations. "We got here about 1:30 this morning, and I turned on the TV to see if there was anything going on, and I watched that till 4,'' Hargrove said Friday. "But I knew that when I woke up, there was going to be an answer and that was comforting.'' ... OF-1B Jay Gibbons feels the players owe the fans, saying, "Just talking about the strike wasn't good (for baseball). It was aggravating the fans. But hopefully, they'll see that we worked very hard to get this done, and they'll forgive us and come back. Now we can just go out there and show them a good time.'' ... Stuck in a six-game losing streak coming into Anaheim for the series against the Angels, the Orioles had led all of those games. But they scored a total of only four runs after the sixth innings in each of those defeats.

Anaheim: Player rep Scott Schoeneweis said some of his teammates were still half-asleep when he phoned them early Friday morning to tell them about the labor settlement. "I said, `Hey, we've got to go to work.' A couple of them said, `Right now?' I said, `No, No,''' Schoeneweis said, laughing. ... Schoeneweis, who criticized the Angels fans for throwing debris onto the field the previous night, apologized. "I regret that I said that when I meant a select few. Our fans have been tremendous to us,'' he said. ... Manager Mike Scioscia, who thinks the game was damaged even though a settlement was reached, also believes baseball "needs to extend an olive branch to fans to let them know that it's not all about money, but about the passion for the game that the players have.'' ... RF Tim Salmon, sidelined with a bone bruise in his left hand, could, "in a best-case scenario,'' be ready to play again by the middle of next week, Scioscia said.

Royals at Mariners
Kansas City: 3B Joe Randa was a last-minute scratch from the lineup Friday night because of tightness in his lower back. ... Before the game, the Royals recalled RHP Kris Wilson from Triple-A Omaha. They did not have to make a second move since they had 24 players on their roster before calling up Wilson. Wilson is 2-0 with a 4.73 ERA in eight games, all in relief, with the Royals this season. ... The Royals have clinched their 13th straight losing month, matching a franchise record of April 1969-April 1971. That's the second longest active monthly losing streak in the majors behind Tampa Bay. The major league record is 43 by the Philadelphia Athletics (April 1915-April 1922), a streak of seven years.

Seattle: The Mariners were hitless in their last 14 at bats with runners in scoring position. Their last hit with men in scoring position came in the fourth inning Tuesday night in Minnesota, an RBI double by Desi Relaford. ... After winning 2-0 Thursday in Minnesota, the Mariners are 14-38 when scoring three runs or less. ... Bret Boone has hit safely in 41 of 48 games since the All-Star break.

Twins at Athletics
Minnesota: The Twins recalled OF Michael Cuddyer from Triple-A Edmonton late Thursday night. Cuddyer flew from Edmonton to Seattle to the Bay Area unsure whether the pending strike would prevent him from play. He didn't find out until he got off the plane Friday. ... Jacque Jones led off Friday night's game with a homer against Tim Hudson. It was the 10th time this season Jones led off with a homer -- and the 15th time with the Twins, breaking Chuck Knoblauch's franchise record. ... Closer Eddie Guardado signed autographs for a few die-hard fans at the team hotel on Friday. Unlike some teams, the Twins flew on to their next destination on Thursday without knowing whether there would be a game.

Oakland: Manager Art Howe wants to improve his bullpen and perhaps add another catcher to the roster for the stretch drive. Cody McKay, a catcher who's hitting who's hitting .294 for Triple-A Sacramento, could get some playing time in September. ... The hazards of playing in a multiple-use stadium once again hit home for the A's as they took the field at the Coliseum, where the grass still bore the white yard lines of the Raiders' football field. The outfield grass was alternately yellow and brown where seating had been placed over it last week. ... GM Billy Beane was getting impatient wondering whether a strike would occur. He got the good news in a phone call to his car on Friday from Sandy Alderson, his former boss in Oakland who's one of Bud Selig's lieutenants now. "I've always felt that anything that was going to happen was going to help us,'' Beane said. "How much it helps us is to be determined.''

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves at Expos
Atlanta: The Braves arrived at Olympic Stadium at 5:30 p.m., less than two hours before game time, because of to travel problems. The team remained in Pittsburgh following Thursday night's 4-1 loss to the Pirates while awaiting word on labor negotiations. After getting word that a possible strike had been averted, the team's charter flight's departure was delayed for two hours because of a tire problem and then a tail strike of the runway by the plane that took off ahead of them. The team was further delayed when the bus from the airport also encountered heavy traffic on its way to the stadium. ... RHP Kevin Millwood was greeted by a smattering of applause from fans near the Braves dugout when he went to the bullpen for an off-day pitching session. ... The Braves didn't take batting practice or stretch on the field before the game. ... LHP Tom Glavine, who took part in Friday's labor negotiations press conference in New York, soft tossed in front of the Braves dugout before the game.

Montreal: Expos players were relieved to hear that the team's core of young talent wasn't going to have to be broken up and dispersed throughout the majors following the season. "I don't know if we're going to stay here,'' RHP Javier Vazquez said. "All I know is that there isn't going to be contraction.'' ... Expos president Tony Tavares warned Montreal baseball fans about reading too many positives into baseball's decision not to proceed with contraction as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. "I would be cautious about rejoicing until we have more information -- that's my message today,'' Tavares said. "Until we know more, I would refrain from rejoicing at the moment.'' Tavares expects that the 2003 payroll if the team's current roster remained intact would rise by $20 million as a result of salary increases for RF Vladimir Guerrero, 2B Jose Vidro and 3B Fernando Tatis, as well as increases for arbitration eligible players.

Cardinals at Cubs
St. Louis: Closer Jason Isringhausen was warming up to pitch in the ninth when he felt something in his right shoulder. Isringhausen, who has 28 saves, didn't pitch and was examined after the game by the Cardinals team doctor. It wasn't immediately clear what was wrong. "He was ready to come in and we had to shut him down,'' manager Tony La Russa said. "He's being checked now.'' The injury was not believed to be serious. ... Player rep Steve Kline go not sleep Thursday night, staying up to monitor labor negotiations. "I'm a worrier,'' he said. Kline couldn't rest once the game started Friday. He was called upon to face one batter, Fred McGriff, and got him to ground out, dousing a Cubs' rally in the seventh. ... La Russa is within one victory from tying Gene Mauch (1,902) for ninth place on the all-time managerial wins list. ... It's been a hectic 24 hours for Jamey Wright. He found out in the eighth inning of Thursday's game in Milwaukee that the Brewers had traded him to the Cardinals. He drove to Chicago last night, arriving at 11:30. After learning there would not be a strike, he got to start Friday's game, pitching six innings. Neiro Rodriguez was designated for assignment to make room for Wright on the roster.

Chicago: Sammy Sosa missed his sixth straight game Friday with a sore back, the result of a collision 12 days ago with teammate Mark Bellhorn as they were chasing a pop down the right-field line. Sosa has been an ironman in the previous five years, missing just 11 games. "I was feeling great yesterday, I woke up and told the manager to put me in lineup. In my mind, I was OK but my body was not,'' Sosa said. "I went to the doctor and he told me not to go out there until I am 100 percent. I don't want to go out and play until I am.'' ... Mark Bellhorn, who on Thursday became the first NL player to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning, donated his bat to the Hall of Fame. ... The Cardinals and Cubs play a rare day-night doubleheader Saturday as makeup of the game postponed from June 22 when St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead hours before the game. It is the first separate admission doubleheader at Wrigley Field since 1931. ... The Cubs are now 22-27 since Bruce Kimm took over as interim manager July 6 after Don Baylor was fired.

Pirates at Marlins
Pittsburgh: SS Jack Wilson, who has missed six starts with a strained neck, is nearly ready to return to the lineup and won't be placed on the disabled list, GM Dave Littlefield said. ... Friday's game against Florida was the first between the teams since June 7, 2001. ... Pittsburgh began the weekend last in the NL in hitting, slugging, on-base percentage, triples and total bases.

Florida: LHP Vic Darensbourg was outrighted to Triple-A Calgary, and LHP Oswaldo Mairena was recalled from Calgary. Darensbourg has been in the majors since 1999. ... The Marlins will recall a minor-leaguer to start Tuesday at New York, manager Jeff Torborg said.

Phillies at Mets
Philadelphia: The first four batters reached base safely against RHP Pedro Astacio, including a leadoff homer by Ricky Ledee. ... The Phillies entered 16-10 in August, their best record in any month this season. Manager Larry Bowa said the trade of Scott Rolen to St. Louis on July 29 might have had a positive effect. "Maybe just getting it over with kind of helped things in the clubhouse. I'm sure that helped. It was a distraction. Nothing against Scotty, it was a distraction for everybody,'' Bowa said. "All the questions, where are you going? You get tired of it. It wasn't Scotty's fault and it wasn't the Phillies' fault. It was just there and it wouldn't go away.'' ... Veteran reliever Dan Plesac was one player who did not stay up all night awaiting word on a labor agreement. "If we played, great. If we didn't, I was going to go watch my horse race in Pittsburgh.''

New York: Manager Bobby Valentine appealed his one-game suspension. He and reliever David Weathers were ejected Sunday in Colorado when Weathers hit a batter with a pitch. Weathers, suspended for three games, has also appealed. ... RHP Grant Roberts, on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right shoulder, threw more than 30 pitches from the mound and faced hitters. "He threw well,'' Valentine said, adding that Roberts used everything but his curveball and got up to about 90 mph. Roberts will probably throw again Tuesday. ... The Mets returned from a 3-5 road trip to open a seven-game homestand. They came in with 11 straight losses at Shea Stadium, their worst skid since setting a franchise record by dropping the final 13 home games in 1979 under manager Joe Torre. New York's last win at Shea was 10-0 over Houston on July 31.

Brewers at Reds
Milwaukee: The Brewers bought the contract of RHP Dave Pember from Double-A Huntsville. He filled the roster spot of Jamey Wright, who was traded to St. Louis on Thursday. Pember was 10-6 with a 3.17 ERA in 27 starts for Huntsville. ... Manager Jerry Royster was tired of strike talk. "It'll be nice to play the game without having to talk about it (a possible strike) afterward,'' Royster said. "I think a strike would have been devastating. You can't have the whole world mad at your sport. When major league baseball is right, it's the best sport in the world.'' ... 1B Richie Sexson was relieved. "It's good for baseball to have it over with ... for four years at least,'' Sexson said. "We had a lot of confidence in our union that they and the owners would get this thing done. Nobody really wanted this.''

Cincinnati: Whether the Reds expand their roster after the Sept. 1 call-up date, and by how much, probably will depend on how close Cincinnati is to NL Central leader St. Louis. "It probably will depend on how we play in the next six days,'' said manager Bob Boone. "We're not going to bring people up just to bring them up.'' ... Boone said he hadn't given much thought to a possible strike. "I thought it would be settled,'' Boone said. "But I wouldn't have bet much money on it.'' ... 1B Sean Casey said he felt the same as his family and friends that a strike would hurt baseball. "We play this game for a living, but I'm a fan, too,'' Casey said. "I didn't want to see a work stoppage, and I think a lot of players felt that way too. Trying to separate the emotion of playing the game from the business side was tough.''

Dodgers at Astros
Los Angeles: Alex Cora was in the Dodgers starting lineup Friday night for the first time since sustaining a mild concussion in Monday's game with Arizona. ... The Los Angeles pitching staff is the only one in the majors to boast four pitchers with 10 or more victories. Kazuhisa Ishii (13-9), Hideo Nomo (12-6), Odalis Perez (12-8) and Omar Daal (10-6).

Houston: Before the game, Houston players were stationed at entrances to Minute Maid Park greeting and thanking fans who were entering the park. ... Houston pitching has recorded nine shutouts this season, all at hitter friendly Minute Maid Park.

Giants at Diamondbacks
San Fracisco: 2B Jeff Kent homered in each game of the Giants' four-game sweep in Colorado. His 19 home runs since the All-Star break are the most in the majors. ... OF Barry Bonds was even better, with five homers and seven RBI in the Denver series. ... Manager Dusty Baker says the Giants will call up some players on Sunday when the rosters expand. Others won't join the team until they return home to face Colorado on Tuesday. ... San Francisco plays 10 of its next 12 games against Arizona and Los Angeles, the teams the Giants are chasing in the NL West.

Arizona: Manager Bob Brenly says he doesn't know if INF Craig Counsell will be able to rejoin the team this season. Counsell has been sidelined since Aug. 9 with a pinched neck nerve. He had three epidural shots and has improved some lately, Brenly said. ... Alex Cintron got his first start at 3B for the Diamondbacks Friday night. In his fourth callup from Triple-A Tucson, Cintron always has played 2B or SS. ... Arizona entered Friday night's game with the best record in the majors at 84-49.

Rockies at Padres
Colorado: The Rockies were among the teams that chose to wait until Friday to travel, until after they got word of a tentative labor settlement. Manager Clint Hurdle said the flight went well. "Everything was right on schedule. Everybody was excited to take off and land and drop our bags and head to the ballpark.'' ... Rockies starter Denny Neagle looked to add to his dominance of the Padres, bringing in a 5-1 record and 0.74 ERA in 12 games, including six starts, at Qualcomm Stadium.

San Diego: Tony Gwynn will be inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame on Saturday night. The ceremony was postponed from last Saturday, when Gwynn was working the telecast of the Little League World Series. ... Clay Condrey is scheduled to start Saturday night, the 14th different pitcher to start for the Padres this year. San Diego has already set a big league record by using 34 pitchers this year.