AMERICAN LEAGUE

Devil Rays vs. Indians
Tampa Bay: Bench coach Bill Russell managed the team in place of Larry Rothschild, who began serving a three-game suspension resulting from last week's fights against Boston. Russell went 2-0 while Rothschild was suspended July 26-27. ... RHP Cory Lidle sat out the second game of his three-game suspension, while OF Gerald Williams, (five games), RHP Dave Eiland (three games) and RHP Tony Fiore (three games) continued to play pending appeals. ... C Mike DeFelice has hit .130 (9-for-69) since July 13, dropping his average from .292 to .231. ... Rookie 1B-OF Steve Cox leads the team in pinch hits, going 7-for-20 (.350) off the bench. Cleveland: Manager Charlie Manuel said it is unlikely C Sandy Alomar will get the green light to steal again soon. "He got his one, that's it," Manuel said with a chuckle. Alomar got his first stolen base in four years Tuesday night. ... Manuel said he will meet with pitching coach Dick Pole and RHP Charles Nagy about Nagy's possible return to the starting rotation. Nagy had elbow surgery May 19 and is currently on rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo. "He's had some success against the teams we'll be playing (Chicago and Boston), but we'll see," Manuel said. ... In 38 games since missing four games July 20-23 with a sore left ankle, 2B Roberto Alomar hit .336 with seven homers and 19 RBI. ... The Indians do not have a stolen base from the designated hitter spot in the lineup this season.

Mariners vs. Blue Jays
Seattle: LF Rickey Henderson entered the game fourth on the career runs list with 2,170, just four runs behind Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, tied for second with 2,174. ... With his 32nd save on Tuesday night, Kazuhiro Sasaki established a new AL rookie record for saves. The major league record is held by Todd Worrell, who had 36 with St. Louis in 1986. Toronto: Toronto manager Jim Fregosi gave RF Dave Martinez a day off. Chad Mottola started in his place. Mottola was the International League's MVP this season after hitting .309 with a league-leading 33 homers and 102 RBI, second in the IL. ... 2B Homer Bush had surgery on his right hip Wednesday to repair fraying of his cartilage. Bush won't play until spring training next year. ... The Tennessee Smokies and the Blue Jays have agreed to extend their working relationship for two more seasons. The Smokies are the only Double-A franchise the Blue Jays have ever had.

Athletics vs. Red Sox
Oakland: The A's had to be happy heading home after Wednesday's game that ended a six-game trip. Going into the game, Oakland was 11-22 on the road since the All-Star break. Before the break, the A's road record was 24-12. ... Boston's Rolando Arrojo had to face the batter who ruined his first start with the Red Sox, catcher Sal Fasano. On July 30 in Oakland, Fasano had a grand slam and a solo homer as the A's won 5-2 just three days after Arrojo was traded from Colorado. Arrojo allowed only one other hit in 6 1/3 innings. Fasano began Wednesday's game batting .203 and singled in his first at bat. ... When Randy Velarde doubled in two runs in the second inning, it was the eighth time he reached base in 10 plate appearances. Boston: 1B Brian Daubach missed his seventh consecutive game since suffering a hyperextended left elbow Aug. 29 in a brawl with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. 3B Lou Merloni, who sustained a concussion during the fight, played in Boston's next game but has missed all six since then. ... RHP Rick Croushore, obtained in the trade that brought Arrojo to Boston, was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. ... SS Nomar Garciaparra, an outstanding fielder, had a rough first inning. Leadoff hitter Terrence Long hit a hard grounder at him just to the left of second base. Garciaparra knocked the ball down, then picked it up, but the speedy Long beat the throw for a single. Then, with Garciaparra playing to the right of second base for lefty Jason Giambi, a hard one-hopper was hit just to his glove side but it skipped by him for another single. In the third, Garciaparra made a throwing error on Ben Grieve's grounder.

Orioles vs. Twins
Baltimore: The Orioles got a bit of a scare when a comebacker from Twins DH David Ortiz bounced off the forearm of starting pitcher Sidney Ponson. Both Ponson and manager Mike Hargrove said Ponson probably will not miss his next turn in the rotation. Ponson completed the play by throwing out Ortiz, but then was replaced by reliever B.J. Ryan. Minnesota: Manager Tom Kelly was particularly happy LF Jacque Jones had two singles and drove in two runs in Wednesday's 4-1 victory, including the go-ahead RBI on a seventh-inning groundout. Jones has hit safely in only 13 of his last 22 games and was hitless in five at-bats during the series going into Wednesday's game.

Rangers vs. White Sox
Texas: Jonathon Johnson earned his first major league victory in relief Tuesday night, and manager Johnny Oates said there was no grand scheme for putting him in the game. "I just said (Tim) Crabtree and (Jeff) Zimmerman have worked a lot," Oates said. "It came down to (Brian Sikorski) and Johnson and I said let's give him a chance." ... Oates will be looking at his young players in the next few weeks, and he'd like to see them have some success. "No one likes to fail all the time," he said. "Success breeds success. The more success you have, the better you think of yourself, the more confident you are." ... Ruben Sierra made his first start since 1998 on Wednesday night. The veteran outfielder was recalled by the Rangers before Tuesday's game. ... The Rangers' 2-1 victory Tuesday night was their third straight. It's only the second time in the last 54 games they've won three or more in a row. ... The Rangers are 5-3 against the White Sox this year, one of only two teams with a winning record against Chicago. The Kansas City Royals are 6-3 against the White Sox. Chicago: Despite having the best record in the majors, the White Sox still aren't drawing fans. ... Greg Norton, called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, started at third Wednesday night in place of Herbert Perry. "Herbert's feeling a little fatigued," Manuel said. ... With the Indians cutting into Chicago's lead in the AL Central, the weekend series at Cleveland takes on more significance. "This weekend is going to be a big weekend in baseball," Manuel said. "To go in and play a team that's chasing us, it's going to be exciting."

Angels vs. Tigers
Anaheim: RHP Tim Belcher never liked pitching in Tiger Stadium. The former Tiger will get his first start in Comerica Park when he replaces the injured Kent Mercker for Thursday's series finale. ... 1B Mo Vaughn was 1-for-9 with six strikeouts (including four Tuesday) in the first two games of the series at Detroit. Vaughn entered Wednesday with an AL-leading 152 strikeouts. ... Darin Erstad returned to the outfield Tuesday for the first time since he missed four games with muscle spasms in his left rib cage. Erstad was the DH in his last 10 games. ... Tuesday's 7-5 loss at Detroit left the Angels 36-36 in games decided by two runs or fewer. Detroit: 1B Tony Clark was out of the lineup Wednesday for the first time since he returned from the DL (lumbar spine strain) last week. Manager Phil Garner said the switch-hitting Clark isn't swinging well right-handed, so he sat against Angels LHP Scott Schoeneweis. ... OF Juan Gonzalez missed his second straight game with what Garner called "a slight case of the flu" and is day-to-day. ... RHP Dave Mlicki makes his first start since July 22 in Thursday's series finale against Anaheim. Mlicki (4-10, 5.61) has out with a severe sinus infection that required surgery. ... Bench coach Bob Melvin is hospitalized with a viral infection in his middle ear. "It's like having shingles in your ear," Garner said. "There's a good chance he'll be out (of the hospital) tomorrow and then he'll be a few days away from joining us.

Yankees vs. Royals
New York: Yankees RHP David Cone will miss his scheduled start Sunday after separating his left shoulder in the third inning of Tuesday's 10-5 win over Kansas City. An MRI exam on Wednesday revealed minimal bruising, Cone said. Manager Joe Torre said he will announce Sunday's starter Thursday. ... New York 2B Chuck Knoblauch started Wednesday's game, his first appearance since coming off the DL on Friday. He had been sidelined since Aug. 3 with tendinitis in his right elbow. ... Yankees RHP Orlando Hernandez was making his first start of the season against the Royals. Kansas City: Kansas City's Johnny Damon was one sacrifice fly short of the team single-season record of 13, set by Darrell Porter in 1979 and matched by Dean Palmer in 1998. ... The Royals' Mike Sweeney had a career-high 126 RBI going into Wednesday's game. He needed seven more to tie Hal McRae's club record, set in 1982.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Expos vs. Cardinals
Montreal: The Expos recalled 1B-OF Talmadge Noonan from Triple-A Ottawa. ... Jose Vidro, with 87 RBI is bidding to join Vladimir Guerrero as the only two Expos to ever drive in 100 runs in a single season. St. Louis: The Nos. 6-7-8 hitters have batted .370 (47-127) with 29 RBI in the last 12 games before Wednesday's action. ... The bottom three position players drove in six runs Tuesday night and all four runs that were scored Monday. ... The Cardinals, with one game left on the homestand, did not activate Mark McGwire from the DL. The Cardinals said they hoped to activate McGwire for use as a pinch hitter before their next road trip.

Mets vs. Reds
New York: The Mets have 24 homers in their past 21 games. ... New York is just 1-5 in September. ... When Bobby M. Jones relieved Bobby J. Jones, it was the first time in Mets history that pitchers with the same first and last names followed each other. Cincinnati: Scott Williamson is expected to come off the DL (lower back strain) Friday and start for the Reds at Pittsburgh. ... A wild pitch by Rob Bell in the second raised the Reds' club record and major league leading total to 86. ... Osvaldo Fernandez made his first relief appearance since 1996 when he pitched two-thirds of an inning for Cincinnati. He last pitched July 6 at St. Louis, went on the DL the next day with a sore elbow, then was activated Friday.

Marlins vs. Astros
Florida: Marlins manager John Bole missed Wednesday night's game, going to Chicago to be with his ailing father. 3B coach Fredi Gonzalez managed the team in Boles' absence. ... Luis Castillo leads the majors with a career-high 54 stolen bases. Houston: Tim Bogar was hitting .140 when he was a starter at shortstop the first six weeks of the season. Bogar regained the starting job in August after the Astros had to shuffle infield players due to Craig Biggio's season-ending knee injury and Bogar responded by hitting .295 with two homers and 10 RBI in August. He is hitting .306 in his past 23 starts. ... Astros starting pitchers have taken the decision in each of the last 12 games, including two complete games by Chris Holt and Wade Miller, and have a 6-6 record in that span.

Cubs vs. Rockies
Chicago: Rick Aguilera got his 29th save Wednesday and is a save away from his seventh 30-save season. ... Sammy Sosa hit his 382nd home run, his 252nd with the Cubs; he has more home runs in the past five seasons (251) than anyone else in the majors except Mark McGwire (275). ... Mark Grace struck out for only the 26th time this year. ... Eric Young's two steals gives him 47 for the year. Young has been successful on 21 consecutive stolen base attempts and hasn't been caught stealing since July 2 against Milwaukee. ... The win helped Chicago avoid an 0-6 on the road trip and matching its longest losing streak of the year, a seven-game skid from Aug. 15-22. Colorado: X-rays on Pedro Astacio's right hand were negative. Astacio was hit on the base of his thumb by a line drive off the bat of Young on the first pitch of the game. ... Larry Walker was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery Thursday at Vail, Colo., to remove a bone spur and other debris from his right elbow. ... C Brent Mayne made his first start since Aug. 28. ... The Rockies won the season series from the Cubs 5-4. Colorado holds a 4-3-1 season series edge in the eight years of the franchise. ... Left-handed batters are hitting .139 (11-for-80) against reliever Mike Myers. ... Todd Walker was hitless in six at-bats after going 6-for-7 with two triples, two home runs and seven RBI in the first two games of the series. ... Todd Helton tied a career high by striking out three times in an 0-for-5 game.

Diamondbacks vs. Braves
Arizona: Entering Wednesday, LF Luis Gonzalez h driven in seven of the Diamondbacks' 14 runs against Atlanta this season. He went 0-for-2 Tuesday with a sacrifice fly but still owned a .385 average (5-for-13) against the Braves. ... RHP Curt Schilling, who starts for Arizona on Thursday, has lost his last three starts. Against the Braves, though, Schilling is 3-0 in four starts with a 1.16 ERA and two shutouts. ... The Diamondbacks are 1-51 when trailing after eight innings. ... Despite losing 5-2 Tuesday night, LHP Randy Johnson struck out 11 to move within one strikeout of his fourth straight 300-K season. Johnson needs eight to become the 12th pitcher with 3,000 in his career. Atlanta: The Braves called up RHP Chris Seelbach, who went 5-7 with a 5.89 ERA at Triple-A Richmond. He made 22 starts and appeared in seven other games, coverting both of his save opportunities. ... LHP Derrin Ebert was designated for assignment. ... 3B Chipper Jones, who hit two homers against Johnson Tuesday, has three career two-homer games against left-handers. He did it Aug. 20 against Kirk Rueter and Sept. 5, 1999 against Johnson. ... John Rocker's 19th save Tuesday was the bullpen's 48th this year. The franchise record for saves is 51.

Phillies vs. Giants
Philadelphia: The Phillies were a season-worst 25 games under .500 entering play Wednesday, 24½ games behind Atlanta. ... OF Pat Burrell hit his 14th homer of the season Tuesday night, which snapped a 78 at-bat homerless streak dating to Aug. 8. ... 1B Doug Glanville singled home a run in the fourth Tuesday, which snapped an 0-for-33 streak for the team with runners in scoring position. San Francisco: RHP Russ Ortiz was selected NL pitcher of the month for August after winning all six of his decisions with an ERA of 1.12 in 40 1/3 innings. "Beautiful. That's awesome," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "That's a tremendous achievement, especially in a month where we really needed it. August set up September. We won 19 games and he won a third of them. That's a heck of a month." ... OF Armando Rios, who has missed the last five games with bruises on his left elbow and left knee, was available for spot duty Wednesday. Baker said he plans to start Rios on Saturday to give OF Ellis Burks a day off. ... RHP Robb Nen, who saved the past three games, wasn't available on Wednesday. ... Baker indicated he was going to try to get C Scott Servais and OF Terrell Lowery into a game as soon as possible. They are the only two September callups who have yet to appear.

Pirates vs. Dodgers
Pittsburgh: Former Pirates 3B Richie Hebner, who took over as manager at Triple-A Nashville in June when Trent Jewett replaced Jack Lind as Pirates 3B coach, will join the Bucs for the rest of the season beginning Friday. ... INF Mike Benjamin will have an MRI Friday in Pittsburgh on his sore lower back, which has kept him sidelined for 16 games. He was injured Aug. 20 at Cincinnati while backhanding a grounder and straightening up to make the throw to first base. ... The Pirates carried an errorless streak of 57 consecutive innings into Wednesday night's game -- their longest streak of the season. Los Angeles: LHP Carlos Perez, 1-6 with a 6.43 ERA in his last 15 starts, will miss the rest of the season and will probably undergo shoulder surgery next Thursday. An MRI and CAT scan detected a bone spur that had broken loose from the back of the shoulder capsule. Perez won't be able to throw for 2-3 months, according to Dr. Frank Jobe, but should be ready for the start of spring training. ... RHP Luke Prokopec, who made his major league debut Monday night and mopped up with three scoreless innings in a 12-1 loss, is penciled in to start next Tuesday at Arizona in place of Perez. Prokopec had planned on pitching for his native Australia in the Olympics before he was promoted from Double-A San Antonio on Sept. 1.

Brewers vs. Padres
Milwaukee: The Brewers would have to win 14 of their final 23 games under rookie manager Davey Lopes just to equal last season's record of 74-87. ... It's no wonder the Brewers look forward to the starts of RHP Jeff D'Amico, the majors' hottest starter the last two months. D'Amico, Friday's starter against St. Louis, is 9-1 with 1.95 ERA in 12 starts since coming off the DL on July 1. The Brewers are 13-5 when D'Amico starts. San Diego: Rookie RHP Adam Eaton will skip his next scheduled start on Friday at San Francisco and be replaced by RHP Will Cunnane. The Padres are being cautious with Eaton, who has experienced arm problems in his last two outings. Eaton, 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA, has combined to throw more innings (170) this season -- 113 with the Padres and 57 at Double-A Mobile -- than any other in his previous three professional seasons. ... 3B Phil Nevin is unhappy that the Padres (67-72) are in a position where reaching .500 mark has become a primary goal. "To be honest, it (stinks) to have a goal to finish .500," Nevin said. "But where we're at and where we were at the middle of May, it would be pretty good to finish .500. I just think we're much better than a last-place team."