SUNDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Randy Johnson Improved to 11-0 in 12 career starts against the Cubs, reaching double-digit strikeouts for the sixth start in a row. IP H R K 9 6 0 16 Hero of the day Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco knocked in the winning run with a single in the ninth inning to help Philadelphia beat his former team -- the Cardinals -- 5-3. Goat of the day Indians starter Jake Westbook was roughed up for seven hits and eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in Cleveland's 12-4 loss to the Mariners. Injury report Seattle 1B John Olerud sat out for the fourth straight game with a strained left groin. He might return Tuesday. Cubs OF Sammy Sosa didn't play with a sore neck. Sosa will be examined by a doctor Monday if he continues to experience soreness. Brewers OF Jeffrey Hammonds missed his second straight game due to a sore right shoulder. He is day-to-day. Cardinals OF Eli Marrero left the game in the third inning with back spasms. White Sox 3B Tony Graffanino left the game in the first inning after injuring his right knee. He was placed on the disabled list. Mets OF Roger Cedeno didn't play with soreness in his right shoulder. Rockies OF Larry Walker missed his fourth straight game because of a dislocated rib. Stat of the day The Devil Rays have lost 16 straight series after losing to the White Sox 8-3. It's the worst skid in the majors since the 1997 Phillies lost 23 in a row. Streak of the day Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick broke Cal Ripken's major league record for consecutive errorless chances by a shortstop after easily converting his 429th chance in the first inning. He now has 434 chances and 81 straight games without an error. The last word "Sixteen strikeouts, and [Randy Johnson] said it, he didn't realize how hard he was throwing in the last inning. I'm looking up at the board and I see 99 up there. I mean it's unbelievable what that guy is capable of.'' -- Arizona catcher Chad Moeller of Randy Johnson's performance.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Mariners at Indians
Seattle: The Mariners fell from two games ahead of Oakland in the AL West to two games behind the first-place Athletics in the past week. ... Seattle is 3-4 during a 10-game road trip that ends with three games at Minnesota. ... RHP Freddy Garcia got his first road win since June 19. ... Garcia is 3-1 in six career appearances against Cleveland. ... Seattle won the season series with the Indians for the second straight season (4-3). The last time that happened was 1987-88. The Mariners also beat Cleveland in five games in the first round of last year's playoffs. ... Seattle is 65-17 when scoring four or more runs. ... 1B John Olerud sat out for the fourth straight game with a strained left groin. Manager Lou Piniella said Olerud could be back Tuesday. ... Pitching coach Bryan Price was ejected from a game for the first time in his career. He argued balls and strikes in the first inning with plate umpire Bill Welke.

Cleveland: The Indians finished their 2002 schedule against the AL West with a 12-20 record. They lost the season series against each AL West team -- Anaheim (3-6); Oakland (2-5); Seattle (3-4); and Texas (4-5). ... Indians rookie OF Coco Crisp is 5-for-27 in the last seven games after going 6-for-17 in his first four games in the majors. He's hitting .250 overall. ... The Indians are 2-5 in the middle of a season-long 13-game homestand that concludes with three-game series against Detroit and Boston.

Angels at Red Sox
Anaheim: Starter Mickey Callaway made his first major league appearance since Aug. 10, 1999, with Tampa Bay and allowed two runs on five hits in the first two innings. Then he gave up just one run on two hits in his other four innings. ... The Angels are 20-1 when David Eckstein scores two runs or more. ... Darin Erstad went 1-for-5 but hit two groundballs that moved Eckstein up a base. Eckstein scored both times. ... Callaway, Brendan Donnelly and Scott Schoeneweiss combined to retire Boston's last 11 batters. ... The Angels lowered their AL-leading bullpen ERA from 3.04 to 3.01. ... Anaheim's 77-52 record equals its best mark after 129 games. The Angels also did it in 1989.

Boston: RHP Derek Lowe lost for the first time in eight decisions, going 5-1 in that stretch. It was his first loss since July 12 at Toronto. ... The 13 hits Lowe gave up were the most allowed by a Red Sox starter since Tim Wakefield allowed 16 on June 9, 1996, against the Chicago White Sox. ... Nomar Garciaparra hit his 44th double and has doubled in four of his last five games. ... CF Johnny Damon played his second straight game since missing one with a dislocated right ring finger sustained Thursday night. He singled in his first at-bat and got his first stolen base since July 31.

Blue Jays at Orioles
Toronto: The Blue Jays made several moves, including activating Carlos Delgado from the disabled list. Delgado, the Blue Jays' career home run leader with 250, had been sidelined since Aug. 8 with lower back tightness. He went 1-for-4 with a double and a walk as the DH. To make room for Delgado, Toronto put RHP Luke Prokopec on the DL with an elbow injury. The Blue Jays also optioned OF Pedro Swann to Triple-A Syracuse and recalled RHP Brian Bowles from the same club. ... After 43 starts at DH this year, Josh Phelps made his first major league start at 1B. He homered and has 20 RBI over his last 18 games. ... RHP Justin Miller has walked 20 batters in the first inning in his 12 starts. ... Toronto improved to 9-3 against Baltimore this season, including 5-1 at Camden Yards.

Baltimore: The Orioles put OF Gary Matthews Jr. on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his right wrist. Matthews further injured the wrist swinging a bat Friday. ''(The doctors) feel it's a minimum of seven to 10 days before he can pick up a bat,'' manager Mike Hargrove said. ... Baltimore recalled RHP Sean Douglass from Triple-A Rochester to replace Matthews and strengthen its depleted bullpen. ... When Shannon Stewart opened the game with an ordinary grounder to SS Mike Bordick, it turned out to be anything but routine. The ensuing assist gave Bordick a record 429 consecutive chances without an error, a major league record for shortstops. Bordick surpassed Cal Ripken's 1990 effort. When the Orioles signed Bordick in 1997, he replaced Ripken, who then moved to third base. ... RHP Scott Erickson made his first relief appearance since June 18, 1997. It is his third with the Orioles and fifth overall. ... Baltimore has lost its last six Sunday games. ... Jason Johnson is 0-7 in 12 career games against Toronto.

Twins at Royals
Minnesota: Eric Milton, who had knee surgery Aug. 8, threw off the mound in spikes for the first time since going on the disabled list. Milton is shooting to return to the rotation by Friday or Saturday. "They want to be cautious, (but) I'm ready to go,'' he said. Milton is 13-7 with a 4.60 ERA in 24 starts. ... CF Torii Hunter, hitting .136 (3-for-22) on the first six games of the road trip, was rested. Bobby Kielty replaced him in center. ... Rick Reed, who starts Thursday against Seattle, has six wins and only three walks since the All-Star break.

Kansas City: Chuck Knoblauch led off with a home run for the 31st time in his career and first since May 14, also against the Twins. ... Left-hander Darrell May starts Monday against Oakland. He replaces rookie Shawn Sedlacek, who is being skipped a start. May is 2-6 with a 5.21 ERA in 16 starts. ... The Royals are assured of a losing August, their 13th consecutive losing month, matching a franchise record. ... Royals rookie outfielder Aaron Guiel has one walk and 19 strikeouts in his past nine games. ... The Royals are 22-35 in games decided by one or two runs.

Rangers at Yankees
Texas: Herbert Perry's homer in the fourth inning gave Texas home runs in 12 straight games. But the Rangers didn't rely on the long ball to beat Andy Pettitte, with only one of Texas' six runs coming on a home run. "We did a great job grinding out at-bats and making him throw a lot of pitches,'' said 2B Michael Young, who drove in two runs. "We executed our game plan and made him work.'' ... The Rangers improved to 7-6 against the Yankees the past two seasons after winning just 13 of the previous 55 meetings -- including nine straight losses in the playoffs. ... Rafael Palmeiro singled in the fifth inning for his 2,600th career hit.

New York: Baseball's top offense has been held to just seven runs in the first three games of a series against the Rangers, who have the worst ERA in the majors. "Hitting is contagious,'' Derek Jeter said. "When a couple of guys are hot, everybody starts swinging. When you are struggling, it seems like a lot of guys are struggling at the same time.'' ... Closer Mariano Rivera (strained muscle in right shoulder) will report to the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., on Monday. Manager Joe Torre said he didn't expect Rivera to start throwing until the middle of the week at the earliest. ... Torre said he would discuss September callups this week with GM Brian Cashman. Torre said he doesn't like to bring up too many players because it can cause a distraction, but there might be room for heralded 3B Drew Henson, the former quarterback at Michigan. "The exposure wouldn't be bad for him,'' Torre said. ... 1B Nick Johnson took 50 swings off a tee, threw for six minutes, took grounders and ran the bases in Tampa as he tries to rehab from a bone bruise on his left wrist.

Athletics at Tigers
Oakland: OF John Mabry made the most of limited opportunities during a three-game sweep at Detroit. He hit two home runs in a 9-1 win Friday and a go-ahead, two-run double as a pinch-hitter in Sunday's 10-7 comeback win. He was 4-for-7 with seven RBI and is batting .432 (19-for-44) against the Tigers in his career. ... SS Miguel Tejada had an RBI double and a single for his team-leading 44th multihit game of the season. He's batting .339 (62-for-183) with 12 homers and 50 RBI in 42 games since the All-Star break. ... RHP Cory Lidle takes a string of 31 straight scoreless innings into Monday night's start at Kansas City. It's the second-longest streak in the majors this season behind Pedro Martinez's 35 straight scoreless innings for Boston from July 25-Aug. 16.

Detroit: The Tigers honored Hall of Famer Al Kaline in a pregame ceremony for his 50th season with the franchise. The Tigers are the only organization Kaline has played or worked for since his career began in 1953. Since his retirement as a player in 1974, he has been a team broadcaster and adviser and is currently a special assistant to president/general manager Dave Dombrowski. ... With a possible strike looming, manager Luis Pujols tried not to think about the possibility that it was his team's last game at Comerica Park this season. "It's weird, isn't it?'' Pujols said. "I try to stay positive.'' ... Switch-hitting SS Ramon Santiago, on the disabled list since July 24 for surgery to remove the hamate bone from his right wrist, is ready to go defensively, but Pujols said his hitting still needs some work, especially left-handed.

Devil Rays at White Sox
Tampa Bay: Manager Hal McRae believes there is going to be a strike. He thinks both sides are looking too much into the money issue and not enough into the game. "You would think that the negotiators would put the importance on the game and not the dollars,'' McRae said. "It seems like greed on both parts. We are talking about the cake not being present, but the cake is there. So we are talking about cutting the cake and that is just greed.'' ... The Devil Rays will affect the AL West race. They play Anaheim six times in the next 10 days. McRae doesn't believe that his team will be more motivated to play them than any other team. "I don't believe there should be any extra motivation because of who we are playing because that will show we weren't motivated to play the other games. So if you play a 162-game schedule as a professional you should be motivated to play each night.''

Chicago: Joe Crede, recalled from Triple-A Charlotte after the White Sox dealt Ray Durham, Kenny Lofton and Sandy Alomar Jr., has struggled during his time in the majors. But manager Jerry Manuel feels Crede is making improvements on a daily basis. "Joe has been making continual progress since coming up,'' Manuel said. "I don't think he would let you know himself, but I think his injured hand made a big difference in the beginning. Since then he has been doing a fine job.'' Crede is batting .214 this season. ... Manuel was openly criticized by White Sox television play-by-play announcer Ken Harrelson on a radio sports talk show Tuesday. Harrelson criticized Manuel about how he handled the benching of Frank Thomas in mid-July and the number of baserunning errors the White Sox have made this season. Manuel will not put too much thought to Harrelson's comments. "I really don't listen to the radio that much and I think everybody is entitled to their own opinion about what we are doing. I have no problem with that,'' Manuel said. Harrelson is employed by the White Sox and is in his 13th season with the organization. "Whether the guy supposedly works for us or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is truth, and if that's the way he feels I have no problem with it,'' Manuel said. Harrelson was general manager of the White Sox in 1986.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Reds at Astros
Cincinnati: Aaron Boone is two home runs away from becoming the seventh player in team history to record 25 homers and 25 stolen bases in the same season. ... The Reds are 43-21 against teams with below-.500 records and 21-43 against winning teams.

Houston: Orlando Merced was in the leadoff spot for Sunday's game. It was the second time Merced has led off this year. Manager Jimy Williams has had seven players lead off but that isn't the position with the most turnover. Eleven players have hit in the No. 7 spot and 10 in the No. 8 hole.

Expos at Giants
Montreal: Vladimir Guerrero stole two bases on Sunday, giving him four in the series and 28 on the season. With two more, he'll have his second consecutive season with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases. ... Pinch-hitter Wil Cordero hit a two-run homer in the ninth. Montreal has nine pinch-hit homers this season, tying the club record set in 1973. ... After taking two of three in San Francisco, the Expos are headed to Philadelphia for a three-game series that will conclude their nine-game road trip.

San Francisco: Barry Bonds was intentionally walked by the Expos on Sunday -- with runners on first and second base, no less -- to extend his own major league record for intentional walks. Bonds has been intentionally walked 51 times, breaking Willie McCovey's 1969 record. ... Jeff Kent leads the NL with 53 multihit games, but he went 2-for-5 on Sunday to surrender the NL lead in total hits to Guerrero (165-163). ... SS Rich Aurilia allowed a popup by Brad Wilkerson to drop in the shallow outfield at Pacific Bell Park, leading to a two-run Expos rally. The teams combined for six errors, with Montreal making four. Even the Giants haven't figured out every tricky play in their 3-year-old park. "It's a tough place to play defense,'' Aurilia said. "With the wind and the sun and the dimensions, it can be a rough day for anybody.''

Braves at Dodgers
Atlanta: Tom Glavine, who was selected in the fourth round of the 1984 NHL draft by the NHL Kings, got a chance to pose for photos with the Stanley Cup before Sunday's game. It was brought to Dodger Stadium by Luc Robitaille of the champion Detroit Red Wings, who was chosen five rounds and 102 picks after Glavine by the Kings. ... Sept. 11 is the due date for Gary and DeLeon Sheffield's first child, who they will name Jaden Amir. So if the players go on strike, Sheffield will have plenty to keep him busy. "You don't want to see a strike because of the fans and what it means to them. But as far as I'm concerned, I would rather be home with my family and my newborn. But either way is fine,'' said Sheffield, who has three other children. "I'm just looking forward to it. It's important for your kids to see the accomplishments in your career and be a part of it. That way, he can decide what he wants to be.'' ... John Smoltz entered Sunday night's game tied with Eric Gagne of the Dodgers for the major league lead with 44 saves apiece. "I think that him becoming a closer was basically a no-brainer because his arm wasn't ready to tackle 240 innings,'' pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. "But there isn't anything John Smoltz can't do on a ballfield. I've seen him pitch some of the biggest games in the history of this franchise. And he's a good closer because he's kept his starter's mentality.'' ... Half of Sheffield's 24 home runs have come with more than one runner on base. Sheffield's homers have accounted for 43 of his 77 RBI with the Braves. ... CF Andruw Jones was back in the Braves lineup Sunday after missing two games because of a strained left shoulder and right wrist.

Los Angeles: The Stanley Cup made a surprise appearance at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, accompanied by Luc Robitaille of the champion Detroit Red Wings. Closer Eric Gagne, who grew up playing hockey in Montreal, got the chance to lift the Cup over his head and pose for photos at home plate after presenting Robitaille with a Dodgers uniform shirt that had Robitaille's familiar No. 20 on it. The Dodgers retired that number in 1998 in honor of Hall of Famer Don Sutton, who was working the game in the Atlanta Braves' broadcast booth. Robitaille played 11 seasons for the Los Angeles Kings, who are still looking to lift the Cup for the first time after 36 years of trying. ... Kazuhisa Ishii had his shortest outing in 26 big league starts, throwing 38 pitches and getting only three outs while surrendering a three-run homer by Chipper Jones and a two-run shot by Javy Lopez. Ishii has allowed 18 homers, equaling the career-high total he gave up last year in his 10th season with the Yakult Swallows. ... Kevin Brown appears ready to replace Ishii in the starting rotation. Brown took over for him in the second inning and struck out the side on 14 pitches in his third relief appearance off the DL. ... The Dodgers are the only team in the majors with four pitchers who have 10 or more victories.

Cubs at Diamondbacks
Chicago: Sammy Sosa, bothered by a sore neck, returned to Chicago and was absent from Sunday's series finale in Arizona. The Cubs said the injury wasn't believed serious but Sosa would see a doctor on Monday if the soreness persisted. ... Chicago activated RHP Juan Cruz from the DL (right arm strain) and optioned RHP Steve Smyth to Triple-A Iowa.

Arizona: SS Tony Womack got the day off Sunday as part of manager Bob Brenly's plan to get periodic rest for his infielders. Alex Cintron, recently called up for the fourth time this season from Triple-A Tucson, got the start in Womack's place. ... Security guards prevented two fans wearing anti-strike T-shirts from entering the ballpark on Saturday. Team officials said the security people made a mistake, and there were many anti-strike shirts on display Sunday.

Pirates at Brewers
Pittsburgh: 2B Pokey Reese has the longest stolen base streak in the majors with 16 straight, dating to July 26, 2001. Reese also has reached base in 19 straight games. He had two singles and was hit by a pitch Sunday. ... The Pirates won their ninth game of the season in Milwaukee, marking the first time since 1961 they had nine road wins against one club (at Philadelphia). ... OF Brian Giles walked twice Sunday, reaching 100 for the season. Giles has received 90 or more walks the last four seasons. ... The Pirates have the day off Monday after playing 20 straight games.

Milwaukee: OF Jeffrey Hammonds was out of the lineup again Sunday and will likely need periodic rest if the season continues beyond Friday, the strike day set by the players' union. Manager Jerry Royster said he hoped to get Hammonds, who has shoulder problems, back to where he can play three games and then get a rest. Hammonds aggravated his right shoulder Friday and sat out the rest of the weekend. ... The Brewers tied a franchise record when they lost their 15th game of the season against the Pirates. The 1973 Brewers lost 15 games in one season against Oakland and Baltimore.

Mets at Rockies
New York: OF Roger Cedeno was held out of Sunday's game with soreness in his right shoulder. Cedeno injured the shoulder making a catch in Friday's game. "The soreness hasn't gone away,'' Cedeno said. "I'll give it another day.'' ... John Valentin was in the lineup for slumping 1B Mo Vaughn, 3-for-19 on the road trip. "Mo's been playing a lot and really doesn't have a backup,'' manager Bobby Valentine said. "Maybe a day off will get his bat and legs back.'' ... Timo Perez drew some criticism for his celebration following Saturday's ninth-inning home run, but not from Valentine. "I've seen a lot worse,'' Valentine said. "The club has been going through some tough times and the guy celebrates probably our biggest win of the year. I don't think the guy can do anything right for some people.'' Perez saw the first pitch he saw from LHP Denny Neagle sail behind his head in the first inning, prompting a warning to Neagle from home plate umpire Jerry Crawford. ... LHP Al Leiter won for only the second time in five decisions at Coors Field. He is 2-3 with a 7.59 in five appearances at Coors Field.

Colorado: Manager Clint Hurdle was still fuming about the ejection of closer Jose Jimenez without a warning by umpire Lance Barksdale after Jimenez hit John Valentin in the ninth inning of Saturday's game. "I guess Lance took some psychology courses in college and had it all figured out,'' Hurdle said. "He was throwing at him. Our catcher sets up to throw outside. I guess he is smarter than me.'' And no warning? "That is the way I've seen it go a whole lot of times.'' ... LHP Mike Hampton watched his third straight winning decision get away when Jimenez served up the two-run home run to Timo Perez. "Jose has pitched lights out for so long,'' Hampton said. "He made a mistake.'' ... The Rockies learned that Jimenez has been tipping his pitches. "Jose has been coming to the belt before throwing his fastball and staying high when he throws his slider or changeup,'' Hurdle said. "We'll spend some time with him.''

Phillies at Cardinals
Philadelphia: Luther Hackman, who started Sunday, will stay in the rotation with Matt Morris out with a stained left hamstring. The Cardinals had hoped to return Hackman to the bullpen, but he is now scheduled to start one of the games in a doubleheader in Chicago Saturday. Hackman hasn't pitched more than 5 1-3 innings in any of his starts, but the Cardinals are 3-2 in those games. Hackman allowed two runs in four innings Sunday and did not figure in the decision ... Woody Williams, who has been out with a strained muscle in his left side, pitched five innings of one-hit, one-run ball Saturday night in a rehabilitation assignment for Triple-A Memphis. He is scheduled to pitch Thursday for the Cardinals at Cincinnati. Williams has been out since July 7. Garrett Stephenson, who has been out since May 30 with a hamstring pull and a sore shoulder, will start Wednesday.

St. Louis: Brandon Duckworth had a bad outing against the Cardinals on Friday night, but manager Larry Bowa said he would stay in the starting rotation. Duckworth, who was removed from the rotation for one start to work on his problems, allowed three runs on four hits, walked three batters and hit one in less than three innings. He is 0-3 with a 7.22 ERA in his last eight starts. Bowa said Duckworth just needed to pitch. "You just have to go out and pitch and let your reactions take over,'' Bowa said. ... Bobby Abreu is the first Phillie with 40 doubles in three straight years since Ed Delahanty did it in 1895-97.

Marlins at Padres
Florida: Eric Owens, dealt to Florida in a five-player trade on March 31, 2001, remains the most popular former Padre. Although Owens played just two seasons in San Diego, he quickly became a fan favorite with his hustle and all-out play. By comparison, former Padres stars Kevin Brown, Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley were booed in every appearance in San Diego after leaving the club. ... 2B Luis Castillo, who started the day 10th in NL with a .308 average, has struggled in August. The switch-hitter is batting just .207 in 20 games this month. Castillo, who had a 35-game hitting streak this season, hit .376 in May, .340 in June and .324 in July before his recent slump.

San Diego: OF Gene Kingsale has made the Padres take notice since being acquired off waivers from the Seattle Mariners on June 14. The 26-year-old Kingsale is inexperienced, having played in just 80 major league games since breaking in with the Baltimore Orioles in 1996. But the Aruba native has been impressive with his speed, defense and bat control. "Sometimes you don't know what you have until you see a guy play every day,'' Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. Initially, the Padres thought Kingsale would see time mostly as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement. But Kingsale has worked hard with manager Bruce Bochy and the coaching staff to improve. In 56 games, including 21 starts, the switch-hitting Kingsale has hit .300 (36-for-120) with six doubles, three triples, two home runs, 18 RBI and 20 runs scored. In addition, Kingsale is 6-for-10 as a pinch-hitter with one homer and six RBI, and has made a number of sensational defensive plays. ... With one more RBI, OF Ron Gant will reach the 1,000-RBI plateau.