AMERICAN LEAGUE

Yankees vs. Red Sox
New York: CF Bernie Williams missed his fourth straight game with a strained right rib cage, and is expected to sit out at least two more. ... RHP David Cone, nursing a separated left shoulder, was expected to rejoin the Yankees on Saturday in Boston. Manager Joe Torre thinks Cone could return to the rotation next Friday after missing just one start. Boston: Dante Bichette, traded by Cincinnati to Boston on Aug. 31, improved his career batting against Roger Clemens to 8-for-18 with a second-inning single. Brian Daubach then flied out to fall to 0-for-12 lifetime against Clemens. ... Jose Offerman's total of three homers on Wednesday and Thursday marked the first time he has connected in consecutive games since Aug. 5 and 6, 1998, when he was with Kansas City.

White Sox vs. Indians
Chicago: GM Ron Schueler said there's still a chance RHP Cal Eldred could pitch again this season. Eldred had surgery Thursday in which a screw was inserted near his right elbow because of a stress fracture. Schueler said Eldred will play catch next week, and if he shows enough improvement, Eldred will be sent to either instructional league or Double-A Birmingham. ... The White Sox are on pace to set franchise records in homers, runs, hits, total bases, doubles and slugging percentage. Cleveland: After blowing Thursday night's game against Tampa Bay, reliever Steve Karsay said it was difficult to control his emotions once he got back into the clubhouse. "I wasn't a happy camper," said Karsay, who dressed in the shower and left before talking to reporters. "There's nothing to throw around in here. Charlie got rid of the ping-pong table. We've still got the big-screen TV, but I didn't want to spend $4,000." ... RHP Charles Nagy pitched a simulated game and said he's ready to pitch next Thursday against Boston, if that's what the Indians want. "My arm's OK," said Nagy, whose been on the DL since undergoing elbow surgery in May. "I didn't have the velocity I'd like to have. But if they want me to pitch, I'll pitch." ... RHP Sean DePaula was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday and placed on the 60-day DL with tendinitis in his right elbow.

Tigers vs. Blue Jays
Detroit: Juan Gonzalez missed his fourth straight game with the flu. Gonzalez has missed a career-high 36 games this season. With 22 games left, Gonzalez has 62 RBI. In each of the past four seasons, he has had at least 128 RBI. ... Todd Jones' next save will break John Hiller's club record of 38. Hiller, a Toronto native, did it in 1973. ... RHP Steve Sparks, the AL's player of the month for August, will start Sunday instead of RHP Brian Moehler. Sparks went 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA in August. Toronto: The Blue Jays entered the game batting an AL-worst .225 (50-for-222) batting average in September. "When your not hitting it looks like you're dead," Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said. "Nothing is going on. You look flat." ... The Blue Jays reached agreement Friday to keep their spring training home in Dunedin, Fla., for another 15 years. Dunedin Stadium will undergo major renovations, including new facilities that are to be ready for March 1, 2002. "The Blue Jays are pleased to extend a long-established relationship with the City of Dunedin and the County of Pinellas well in to the next decade," Blue Jays president Gord Ash said.

Rangers vs. Royals
Texas: The Rangers enter the three-game set with the Royals without having won a series since late July. Since taking two of three from the Anaheim Angels on July 24-26, the Rangers are 0-9-3 in series. ... The Rangers' 10-6 loss to the White Sox on Thursday was the 39th time their opponents have come from behind for a victory this season. Texas suffered only 30 such defeats all of 1999. Kansas City: The Royals will pass their attendance total from last season with Friday night's crowd. With the 20,933 in attendance for the final game of the Yankees series on Thursday, the Royals passed the 1.5 million mark (1,500,369) after 69 dates. The Royals drew 1,506,068 total in 1999.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Astros vs. Cubs
Houston: OF Moises Alou had to leave Friday's game after three innings with a strained right hamstring. His status was day-to-day. Alou went 2-for-2 and is now batting .364, second in the NL to Colorado's Todd Helton. ... C Mitch Meluskey had to leave the game in the fourth because of flu-like symptoms. ... OF Richard Hidalgo extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double in the first. ... 2B Julio Lugo had a career-high five hits. ... The 20 hits by the Astros were a single-game high. Chicago: The Cubs announced a change in their rotation. RHP Jon Lieber will start Sunday in place of LHP Daniel Garibay. ... RHP Kerry Wood did not appeal a three-game suspension issued by major league baseball for intentionally throwing at a batter in the Cubs-Dodgers game Aug. 27. Dodgers pitcher Ismael Valdes received a six-game suspension and fine for intentionally throwing at a batter after a warning had been issued. Wood, who started on Wednesday, will not miss a start. ... RHP Jerry Spradlin, who was released by Kansas City on Aug. 30, signed a contract for the remainder of the season. Spradlin was 4-4 with a career-high seven saves and 5.52 ERA in 50 games with the Royals. He pitched the eighth, the 48th player to appear in at least one game for the Cubs this season. ... Rookie C Mike Mahoney came on as a defensive replacement in the sixth, the 12th player to make his major league debut this year with the Cubs.

Reds vs. Pirates
Cincinnati: Reds SS Barry Larkin had arthroscopic surgery Friday to remove left knee cartilage and is expected to miss the rest of the season. He could return for the final week, but only if the Reds have something to play for. C Eddie Taubensee also had season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured disk in his back. .... Going into Friday night's doubleheader, the Reds' 99-80 record in Three Rivers Stadium was by far the best of any visiting NL team. The only other longstanding NL visiting club with a winning record there is Los Angeles (86-75). ... The Reds lost a game in the NL Central standings to St. Louis despite winning 10 of 14 going into Friday. ... Scott Williamson came off the DL (back spasms) to pitch the first game of the doubleheader, his first start since Aug. 23. Pittsburgh: The Pirates added RHP Brian Smith and OF Adam Hyzdu, an 11-year minor league veteran, to their active roster. Hyzdu, who has 188 homers in the minors, had his No. 16 retired at the end of the season by Double-A Altoona. He had 55 homers and 184 RBI in 233 games there the last two seasons. ... Hyzdu is wearing No. 27 in Pittsburgh. ... Smith is back on the 40-man roster after being taken off in December to create a roster spot for OF Wil Cordero, who was later traded to Cleveland. ... Kris Benson, who starts Saturday, is 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in two career starts against the Reds. ... The Pirates haven't had a winning September since 1992 (21-8). ... Only one of the Pirates' top five farm clubs made the playoffs, single-A Lynchburg.

Diamondbacks vs. Marlins
Arizona: Manager Buck Showalter rejoined the club just before Friday's game. Showalter left Atlanta shortly before the first pitch Thursday to visit his mother in Century, Fla. ... Entering the three-game series against Florida, the Diamondbacks had hit just three home runs in their last six games and nine in their last 16. Florida: Manager John Boles returned to the dugout Friday after missing two games to visit his 82-year-old father, who was hospitalized in Chicago. Boles said his father was "doing well." ... With RHP Brad Penny making his first start Friday since returning from the DL, Florida plans to use a six-man rotation for the rest of the season. ... After the three-game series against Arizona, the Marlins play the next 13 on the road, their longest trip of the season: "We're leaving as soon as the shirts are ironed," said Boles, whose club just finished a six-game trip.

Phillies vs. Mets
Philadelphia: The Phillies, on an eight-game skid, led just once during their six-game swing to Los Angeles and San Francisco and never after any inning. Their last lead after an inning came Aug. 30, when they were up 4-1 after five against Colorado. "Living through it is tough," manager Terry Francona said. "It's no fun for anybody. We just have to do the best we can." ... C Mike Lieberthal underwent tests in Los Angeles on his sore left ankle and right elbow to determine whether he would need surgery. ... The Phillies purchased the contract of LHP Thomas Jacquez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York: The Mets returned home after a six-game road trip that saw them hit .190 and score only 22 runs. "Everybody has cooled off at the same time," said Todd Zeile, who was 3-for-13 on the trip. 3B Robin Ventura entered the day in a 3-for-38 slump; C Mike Piazza 3-for-16; 2B Edgardo Alfonzo 3-for-17; and Mike Bordick 2-for-18. ... Of the Mets' final 23 games, 17 are against Philadelphia, Montreal and Milwaukee -- who are a combined 173-241 (.418). The rest are against first-place Atlanta. ... SS Kurt Abbott will rejoin the team Saturday after his wife gave birth Thursday to the couple's second child: Kyle Thomas Abbott. ... Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, decked out in a Mets uniform, threw out the first pitch from a full windup to Piazza. He threw a strike.

Expos vs. Braves
Montreal: 2B Jose Vidro, a late scratch against St. Louis on Thursday, missed his second straight game after an MRI on Friday revealed a partial tear of a ligament in his right elbow. Vidro could possibly be available for Sunday's game in Atlanta and said he will play the rest of the season and hopefully a winter of rest will heal the injury. ... OF Milton Bradley left Thursday's game with a strained left oblique muscle which he originally injured Wednesday while making a throw. He's listed as day-to-day. ... 1B Lee Stevens left Monday's game with a strained left big toe and returned to his home in Grapevine, Texas. He will rejoin the team on Wednesday in Montreal to be re-evaluated. ... The Expos and their Triple-A Ottawa affiliate have renewed their player development agreement for another two years. The Lynx have been the Expos' top farm club since Ottawa entered the International League in 1993. Atlanta: OF B.J. Surhoff, who left Thursday night's game with a pulled right quadriceps, will likely miss at least a week, the club said. ... 1B Tim Unroe made his first appearance and start with the Braves. Atlanta purchased Unroe's contract from Triple-A Richmond on Monday. He hit .278 with 24 homers there in 121 games. He previously played in the majors with Milwaukee (1995-97) and Anaheim (1999) and had a career .233 batting average in 75 games.

Dodgers vs. Rockies
Los Angeles: RHP Chan Ho Park is 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA in his past four starts. ... RHP Luke Prokopec will joining the Dodgers rotation for the Arizona series which begins Monday. Prokopec made his major league debut last Monday and threw three scoreless innings against the Pirates. ... Although blowing eight of his first 19 save opportunities, Los Angeles closer has converted 12 straight chances and has stranded all nine runners he has inherited this season. ... The Dodgers were outscored 28-4 by Pittsburgh in their last series at home. ... Los Angeles was five games in back of NL-West-leading San Francisco on Aug. 29, but have dropped 10 game back by going 3-5 since. The Dodgers have scored more then three runs once in their previous eight games. The team leads the NL with 121 errors. ... OF Tom Goodwin has fanned 30 times in 34 games with the Dodgers. ... The 187 home runs is second most in their stay in Los Angeles to 191 in 1977. The franchise record is 208 set in Brooklyn in 1953. Colorado: RHP Pedro Astacio will start Sunday against the Dodgers. Astacio hadn't been scheduled to start until next Wednesday in San Diego after a line drive off the bat of Eric Young of the Chicago Cubs hit him his right hand below the thumb on the first pitch of Wednesday's game. Astacio threw without pain on Friday. The move pushes RHP Brian Rose back to Tuesday, the first game of the Padres series. ... OF Larry Walker underwent successful surgery to remove a bone spur and a piece of cartilage from his right elbow. The Rockies expect Walker to be ready for spring training in February. "Everything went well and he will begin his rehab on Saturday," manager Buddy Bell said. "The timing means he will have time to heal and have a normal winter." ... 3B Jeff Cirillo was given Friday and Saturday off. ... Colorado relievers have not issued a walk in 13 innings.

Padres vs. Giants
San Diego: 3B Phil Nevin, the Padres' top run producer, will be out for at least two weeks because of an abdominal strain he suffered Wednesday night. That's a blow to San Diego's hopes of finishing at .500 or above. To get to the even point, the Padres must go 13-8, and they have six games left against each San Francisco, Los Angeles and Colorado and three against St. Louis, all of which have winning records. ... Padres top prospect Sean Burroughs had a pinch-hit homer for the USA Olympic Team in an 11-2 win over Italy in a pre-Olympic contest in Gold Coast, Australia on Thursday. San Francisco: If Giants manager Dusty Baker had a vote for NL MVP, it would go to 2B Jeff Kent. "I look at his average, his RBI and his clutch hitting. Barry (Bonds) has been our home run man, but Jeff is our RBI man. There are probably 10 or 12 guys who are possibly in the running." When asked about the Cy Young Award, he said, "We have some Cy Youngs in the making here, but realistically probably not this year. (Closer Robb) Nen is a possibility, but he has the Fireman of the Year award. Starters have the Cy Young." ... RF Ellis Burks wasn't in the starting lineup Friday night just to give him a day off. Burks is .438 (28-for-64) with eight homers and 30 RBI in his last 18 games. "We want to keep him sharp," said Baker. "This was the longest stretch of games he's played, but the schedule was easier with so many night games. We want him to be strong at the end." ... OF Armando Rios will miss the next few days to join his family in Puerto Rico following the death of his grandmother on Friday. He's expected to rejoin the team on Monday in Houston. OF Felipe Crespo started in right field in place of Burks. ... OF Barry Bonds is scheduled for a day off on Saturday.

Cardinals vs. Brewers
St. Louis: Mark McGwire was activated before Friday night's game. He struck out looking in the first inning and then was replaced, as planned. ... Jim Edmonds needs one home run to become the fourth different Cardinals player to hit 40 in a season. McGwire (70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999), Johnny Mize (43 in 1940) and Rogers Hornsby (42 in 1922) are the others. ... Pat Hentgen, the starter on Saturday, has won four of his last five decisions and will be trying to become the Cards' third 15-game winner. Milwaukee: C Henry Blanco is out with a strained right shoulder and could miss the three-game series against St. Louis. ... With Friday night's game against the Cardinals, the Brewers begin a stretch of playing 20 of their last 23 games against NL Central opponents.