FRIDAY'S TIDBITS Line of the Day Tomo Ohka Became first Japanese pitcher to win in Puerto Rico, and did so playing for Canada-based team. IP H R SO 8 1 0 7 Hero of the day Dee Brown, who drew a leadoff walk, and then worked his way around the bases on two groundouts and a single for the only run in the Royals' 1-0 victory at Cleveland. Kansas City (8-0) extended its franchise-record start and remains the only unbeaten team. Goat of the day After the Phillies opened a one-run lead in the top of the inning, Jose Mesa gave up a two-run, game-winning home run to Austin Kearns in the bottom of the ninth in the Reds' 7-6 victory. Injuries The Pirates announced that LF Brian Giles sprained a ligament in his right knee Thursday and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. Pittsburgh will recall Adam Hyzdu from Triple-A Nashville. The Padres transferred closer Trevor Hoffman to the 60-day disabled list. Hoffman, 33, has yet to play this season since undergoing surgery on his right shoulder on Feb. 28. Stat of the day Rafael Palmeiro hit his 494th homer, passing Lou Gehrig for 19th place on the career list, in the Rangers' 4-2 victory at Seattle. Stat of the day, part deux The Tigers earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to open two consecutive seasons with 0-9 starts. The last word "'I'm not a happy camper and I hope our players are not happy campers. What are you going to do, are you going to quit? No, that's not acceptable.'' -- Rookie Tigers manager Allen Trammell, on his team's terrible start.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Twins at Blue Jays
Minnesota: First base coach Jerry White didn't coach first after being struck below the right eye by a ball before batting practice. Hitting coach Scott Ullger replaced White as first base coach. ... The Twins and Blue Jays don't play each other again after this series. ... The Twins turned just their second double play of the season in the second inning. Toronto: Manager Carlos Tosca gave 2B Orlando Hudson a day off. Hudson is game hitting .214 with no home runs and one RBI. ... Closer Kelvim Escobar turned 27. ... SS Chris Woodward entered 10-for-19 in his last five games. "He's got thunder in his bat,'' Tosca said. "We're lucky to have a guy like that hit that low in our lineup.'' Woodward batted eighth. ... 1B Carlos Delgado had hit in seven of his last eight games.

Devil Rays at Yankees
Tampa Bay: The Devil Rays are the only team to beat the Yankees this season, winning 6-5 at Tropicana Field on April 5. Tampa Bay hasn't exactly done well overall against New York, losing 53 of 76 meetings. ... Through 10 games, Tampa Bay relievers pitched 48 2-3 innings, nearly as many as the starters (49 1-3 innings). ... SS Rey Ordonez already has nine RBI, one more than he's had in any previous April. ... Lou Piniella is 56-56 managing against the Yankees, his former team. New York: At 8-1, the Yankees seemed on their way to a 13th straight month with a winning record. They are the only team in the majors without a non-winning month since the start of the 2001 season. ... Backup catcher John Flaherty hit .260 in 76 games for the Devil Rays last season. ... Roger Clemens is scheduled to start Sunday and try for his 296th career victory.

White Sox at Tigers
Chicago: RHP Dan Wright, on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation since March 27, believes he's making progress. "I feel good, feel strong,'' Wright said. "I'm building my arm strength back up.'' Wright expects to make a start April 17 at Triple-A Charlotte. ... Frank Thomas will not miss hitting 380-foot outs to left field in Comerica Park anymore. To make the ballpark more hitter-friendly, the distance from home plate to the left-center wall was shortened to 370 feet, down from 395 in its first three seasons. "Much better ballpark,'' Thomas said. "It's amazing.'' ... LHP Josh Stewart will make his second career start Saturday against Detroit, the team he faced in his debut. Stewart did not get the win, but allowed just two runs on seven hits over 6 2-3 innings. Detroit: Manager Alan Trammell emptied his bench in the hopes of turning around the winless Tigers. Craig Paquette started in left field, instead of Dmitri Young, who was the designated hitter in place of Dean Palmer. Hiram Bocachica started in center in Gene Kingsale's place, and Matt Walbeck replaced catcher Brandon Inge. Bobby Higginson was moved from leadoff to the third spot in the lineup. "Just trying to do something different to see if something works,'' Trammell said. "Just trying to get something going.'' Trammell said Detroit's youth movement will go forward, however. "We're going to stick with the kids,'' he said. "We're just giving them a break. We're just trying to find a spark.'' ... Trammell attended the Detroit Red Wings' NHL playoff game against Anaheim on Thursday night. "I enjoy going to hockey games, I missed that in San Diego,'' he said.

Royals at Indians
Kansas City: The flu bug has hit 16 Royals, according to manager Tony Pena, who said most should be available sometime during the three-game weekend series in Cleveland. "Every day three or four more get sick,'' Pena said. "But 22-year-old guys get better fast.'' Pena said rookie 1B Ken Harvey, "feels better, but we'll give him some extra time.'' ... Desi Relaford, whom Pena said was the first flu victim earlier in the week, started in right field. ... RHP D.J. Carrasco, who struck out six straight in three scoreless innings Thursday, was the only pitcher unavailable. ... The 7-0 start was the best in the majors since Texas went 7-0 in 1996. ... Pitching keyed the big start as the Royals' 2.57 team ERA tied Montreal for the best in baseball. ... The Royals also batted .297 during their 7-0 start, putting them seven games over .500 for the first time since June 26, 1995. ... The last time Kansas City stood alone with the best record in baseball this late into a season was Sept. 9, 1980, when the Royals were 87-52. ... Kansas City is in the midst of 21 straight games against the AL Central. Cleveland: Manager Eric Wedge replaced 2B Brandon Phillips, C Josh Bard and 3B Casey Blake in the starting lineup. "I'm just giving them a day off,'' Wedge said of the trio, hitting a collective .132 (10-for-76). John McDonald replaced rookie Phillips at second base and Bill Selby started at third in place of Blake. Selby came in batting .385 (5-for-13) with two homers against Royals starter Runelvys Hernandez, and McDonald had hit .375 (3-for-8) against the right-hander. Tim Laker made his second start in place of Bard. ... OF Karim Garcia missed his second straight game with a sore left wrist. "We'll probably sit him a couple more days, too,'' Wedge said. ... OF Milton Bradley singled in the first inning and has hit in all nine games. ... OF Grady Sizemore, acquired as part of the Bartolo Colon trade with Montreal last year, is hitting .407 (11-for-27) for the Indians' Double-A team in Akron.

Rangers at Mariners
Texas: All-Star SS Alex Rodriguez, who left Seattle as a free agent and signed with Texas after the 2000 season, said he thinks time heals all wounds. He doesn't expect the fans in Seattle to boo him as strongly this season. "I think being three years removed from the situation will make it a lot easier on me,'' Rodriguez said before Friday night's game. Rodriguez doesn't know when the Rangers will be able to turn around their fortunes, but he hopes it's soon. "Pitching and defense are synonymous with October baseball,'' he said. "That's all I'm going to say on that subject. Hopefully, we'll be there soon.'' The Rangers lost 89 games (2001) and 90 games (2002) in Rodriguez's first two seasons in Texas. ... Rafael Palmeiro has hit more home runs (10) than any visiting player at Safeco Field. Rodriguez has hit five homers as a visiting player at Safeco. ... INF Herbert Perry, who is on the DL because of a sore right shoulder and a bone bruise on his left knee, suffered a strained left oblique muscle in Thursday night's game for Double-A Frisco while on a rehabilitation assignment. He was recalled by the Rangers from the rehab assignment Friday. "We stopped the clock so to speak on the rehab,'' manager Buck Showalter said. Showalter said he doesn't know how long Perry will be out. "I know it's frustrating for Herb,'' Showalter said. "That potential (to be out a long time) is there if you look at the history of obliques.'' Seattle: DH Edgar Martinez missed his fourth straight game Friday night because of a strained left hamstring. But Martinez, who was injured while beating out an infield hit Sunday, said he feels like he's close to returning to the lineup. "I hope I can get in tomorrow,'' he said. "It's improved a lot the last two days.'' Manager Bob Melvin agreed. "Hopefully, it's tomorrow.''

Athletics at Angels
Oakland: Ken Macha returned to Anaheim on Friday for the first time as a major league manager. He spent three seasons as a coach with the Angels when they were still chasing that elusive world championship banner that now flies behind the left field fence at Edison Field. "I'm happy for those guys,'' Macha said. "They worked a long time for this. It's great for baseball because it's revitalized an organization.'' ... RF Jermaine Dye had one home run and four RBI through Oakland's first nine games, but Macha isn't concerned. "He's a middle-of-the-order guy, and we're expecting power numbers out of him. But you've got to have patience,'' Macha said. "You can't judge a guy by spring training or the first nine games of the season. He's got a track record and he's got a great swing.'' ... 3B Eric Chavez, the cleanup hitter who entered Friday with just seven hits in 34 at-bats, joined Frank Menechino, Chris Singleton, Mark Johnson and Eric Byrnes for early batting practice Friday. "He said last night after the game that he was pulling off some pitches, so he came out here and worked hard to correct it,'' Macha said. "Not all the time do these things get corrected in a hurry. I don't think it's a concern.'' Anaheim: RF Tim Salmon was back in the lineup after coming out of Wednesday's game because of tightness in his left groin. ... DH Brad Fullmer had three homers and 12 RBI as the Angels headed into Friday night's game against Oakland. Last year, he had no homers and five RBI by the end of April. ... The Angels' bullpen, which had an AL-best 2.98 ERA last year, had a 1.65 ERA in 27 1-3 innings spanning the first nine games this season.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pirates at Cubs
Pittsburgh: Mike Williams is 5-for-5 in save chances after going 46-of-50 last season. ... Pittsburgh has a 1.40 ERA in the last five games ... OF Brian Giles underwent an MRI on his right knee Friday and the team was awaiting the results. He's day-to-day. ... 3B Aramis Ramirez got the day off Thursday after going 2-of-19 in his previous five games but came back strong Friday. He went 2-for-3 against the Cubs with an RBI single in the first inning and a run scored. ... Jeff D'Amico improved to 5-0 in five career starts against the Cubs. Chicago: Manager Dusty Baker shook up the lineup Friday, giving Tom Goodwin his first start and batting him leadoff, moving Sammy Sosa down a spot in the batting order to cleanup and also giving starts to 1B Eric Karros and C Paul Bako. The manager said some of it had to do with matchups and otherwise "we're just playing some guys that need to play.'' Sosa was 2-for-4 but Goodwin went hitless in four at-bats and struck out twice. ... Baker praised Pirates CF Kenny Lofton, who played for him last year in San Francisco. "We really took off when we got Kenny Lofton last year. I really enjoyed having him on my team,'' Baker said. He also said Lofton is the favorite player of his son Darren. "My son's dying to get out here and see Kenny.'' ... 2B Mark Grudzielanek's hitting streak ended at eight games. ... 3B Mark Bellhorn returned to the lineup after being given the day off Thursday but continued to struggle from the plate. He went 0-for-3, is hitless since opening day and saw his average drop to .038.

Mets at Expos
New York: Mets C Mike Piazza wasn't in the starting lineup Friday night. Manager Art Howe said it was just a day off after three straight games. "We got in after 3 in the morning last night,'' Howe said. "I felt it was time to give him a day.'' ... Howe played and managed in Puerto Rico. He noticed how the fences had been moved in at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. "I wish they would have had it here when I played,'' he said. "I would have hit .400 a couple of times. It's definitely a hitter's ballpark.'' ... Howe said Armando Benitez is still his closer, even though he blew chances Sunday against the Expos and Thursday at Florida. Montreal: RHP Orlando Hernandez probably will be sidelined until the middle of May, Expos manager Frank Robinson said. Hernandez, bothered by tendinitis in his right shoulder, hasn't pitched since a spring training start against Cleveland on March 13. ... Brian Schneider's third-inning homer was his seventh in 375 career at-bats. ... Brad Wilkerson's grand slam was the first of his career.

Phillies at Reds
Philadelphia: 3B David Bell, who missed three of the last four games with lower back spasms, returned to the lineup Friday. ... Reds manager Bob Boone saw Phillies starter Brett Myers pitch at Englewood High School in Florida, and was impressed with his 90 mph fastball but didn't like his awkward motion. "He has smoothed out his delivery,'' Boone said. ... Manager Larry Bowa likes the way newcomers Bell, Kevin Millwood and Jim Thome are fitting in. "They've had an effect not only on the field, but in the clubhouse,'' Bowa said. "They've all played on winning teams. They've been there before. They're approachable. People gravitate to them. They treat everybody from the clubhouse guys to the president of the team the same. They're down to earth.'' ... RHP Brandon Duckworth pitched 4 2-3 innings in possibly his last rehab start for Class-A Clearwater. Duckworth allowed one run on two hits. "I had good action on the ball,'' Duckworth said. "Most importantly I went through all my pitches. My curveball was good but I couldn't get them to swing at it. I think I have had one curve ball swung at the whole time I have been down here.'' Cincinnati: SS Barry Larkin was out of the lineup Friday with a strained calf, suffered the previous night in Houston. ... LF Adam Dunn was back in the lineup after getting a day off because of his slump. Dunn doubled in his first at-bat Friday, only his fifth hit in 30 at-bats. ... The Reds were last in the NL in batting (.208) coming into the game. Manager Bob Boone thinks it's a case of too many big swings in the last few games. "I thought that a lot of our swings were trying to hit homers, hoping the pitch was there,'' he said. "That's part that contagiousness. You start thinking, 'Geez, how are we going to score? I've got to hit a home run here.' You get that kind of a feeling going up there.'' ... RHP Jimmy Haynes plans to make his start Saturday. He had to leave a game last Saturday because of a tight back, and got an extra day of rest. "It's still a little tight,'' Haynes said Friday. "But it's not sore like it was. I'm going to try to do my regular routine.''

Braves at Marlins
Atlanta: Greg Maddux, who is 0-3 with an 11.05 ERA in three starts, will make his next start on three days' rest Sunday at Florida. Maddux turns 37 Monday, an off day for the Braves. ... RHP Shane Reynolds, who signed a one-year contract Thursday, joined the team Friday. He's scheduled to make his first start Tuesday against Montreal in Puerto Rico. RHP Jason Marquis will move to the bullpen and RHP Joe Dawley was optioned to Triple-A Richmond. ... RHP Paul Byrd, who underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery Friday, could start throwing in three weeks, trainer Jeff Porter said. He said Byrd's return to the rotation is two-to-four months away. ... LHP Mike Hampton (strained right calf) is scheduled to make a minor-league rehabilitation start Monday. He may make his Atlanta debut next Saturday at Turner Field against Philadelphia. Florida: The victories against the New York Mets on Wednesday and Thursday were the Marlins' first back-to-back bottom-of-the-ninth wins since Aug. 9-11, 1999, both against San Francisco. ... Josh Beckett's streak of 31 consecutive innings without allowing a homer was ended Thursday by the Mets' Ty Wigginton.

Cardinals at Astros
St. Louis: LHP Kevin Ohme joined the team Friday from Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals placed LHP Lance Painter on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a strained right hamstring. Painter didn't pitch last season while recovering from elbow surgery in October 2001. ... Albert Pujols (left hamstring) and Jim Edmonds (strained left calf) have been playing despite their injuries. ... The Cardinals rank first in the NL in team hitting with a .308 average. Houston: The rainout between Houston and St. Louis on April 6 was rescheduled for May 29 at 7:10 p.m. CDT. ... Tim Redding goes into his second start on Saturday with a 1.29 ERA. He got a no-decision in his season debut against the Cardinals last week. He pitched seven strong innings and allowed seven hits. ... Since 1983, Houston OF Craig Biggio and Cincinnati's Barry Larkin are the only players who have played 2,000 games for their first team.

Brewers at Diamondbacks
Milwaukee: Richie Sexson has a career .375 record at Bank One Ballpark with six home runs and 15 RBI. Sexson needs one homer to reach 150 for his career. ... The Brewers were shut out by San Francisco's Kirk Rueter in their only game against a left-handed starter this season heading into Friday night's contest against Randy Johnson. Milwaukee was 9-23 against lefties last season, 3-13 on the road. ... Milwaukee won its first series by taking two of three in Pittsburgh, with Brewers' starters allowing just five runs in 22 1-3 innings. Arizona: RHP John Patterson was recalled from Triple-A Tucson and will be the Diamondbacks' fifth starter. His first start will be next Tuesday against Colorado. Arizona outrighted RHP Scott Service to Tucson. ... The Diamondbacks' .216 batting average is second-worst in the NL, behind only Cincinnati's .208. ... Going into Friday night's game, no Arizona starter had won a game. Both of the team's victories went to closer Matt Mantei, one of them after he blew a save opportunity. ... The two Diamondbacks' victories came in extra-innings against Los Angeles, one in Phoenix and one at Dodger Stadium. ... While those around him have struggled, Luis Gonzalez went 10-for-22 on the team's six-game road trip and has homered in his last three games.

Rockies at Padres
Colorado: RHP Todd Jones is in the midst of an amazing streak against the Padres. Jones has yet to allow an earned run in 21 career appearances covering 34 1-3 innings against San Diego. Jones gave up one unearned run to the Padres on April 28, 1996 as a member of the Houston Astros. Anaheim's Troy Percival is the only other active pitcher who has thrown at least 30 innings against one team without allowing an earned run, having pitched 35 innings over 33 appearances against Minnesota. ... A win on Friday night will equal the best 10-game start in Rockies history at 7-3, achieved in 1995 and 1997. ... LHP Denny Neagle (left elbow stiffness) and RHP Denny Stark (strained back), both on the 15-day DL, each pitched on the sidelines Friday and reported feeling well after their respective outings. San Diego: 3B Sean Burroughs was held out of the lineup with a sore right shoulder. Burroughs, who has had shoulder problems each of the last two seasons, may be available to play over the weekend. ... The Padres hold a lifetime record of 69-68 against Colorado. ... San Diego purchased the contract of RHP Matt Herges from Triple-A Portland. The club also transferred RHP Trevor Hoffman from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. Hoffman, 33, has yet to pitch this season since undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in February.

Dodgers at Giants
Los Angeles: Manager Jim Tracy hopes 3B Adrian Beltre's struggles at the plate will pass and he will soon develop the consistency the Dodgers believe he has in him. Beltre entered Friday's game hitting .220 (9-for-41). "We need Adrian Beltre to contribute for us offensively,'' Tracy said. "When he can contribute for us offensively our lineup is better. If he can realize (his talent and ability) all of it and bring it to the forefront he can become a very special player.'' ... LHP Troy Brohawn, whose contract was purchased Tuesday, made his Dodger debut in Thursday's 2-1 loss. He pitched one perfect inning with a strikeout. San Francisco: Andres Galarraga got the start at 1B in place of regular J.T. Snow. "It's not giving Snow a day off, it's getting Galarraga in the game,'' manager Felipe Alou said. "He helped us win a game the other day with an RBI and a couple good plays. We're giving him a shot to stay in it.'' ... Alou watched the start of the Mets-Expos series in Puerto Rico on his office television before the game. He used to manage the Expos and also coached a season of winter ball in Puerto Rico and his team played in the same stadium. ... 3B Edgardo Alfonzo returned to the lineup after two days off. Alou has moved him to second in the batting order and Jose Cruz Jr. to fifth because Alfonzo was struggling behind slugger Barry Bonds. Alfonzo is hitting .200 (5-for-25). "He has to stay away from hitting so many flyballs,'' Alou said. ... Talented prospect Jesse Foppert will make his first major league start Monday against Jeff Kent and the Houston Astros.