Friday in the Major Leagues brings a fresh and furious five.

A quintet of scintillating series begin, all with implications in the pennant races that are now only four days from what's shaping up to be a serious September.

With Atlanta heading to Philadelphia, the White Sox playing in the Bronx, the Tampa Bay Rays facing off with the Tigers in Detroit, the hot Texas Rangers playing the Twins in the Metrodome and the Rockies going to San Francisco for a rematch with the Giants, there's more than enough riveting weekend theater in the offing.

First off, there's Eastern intrigue as the Braves face the defending World Series champion Phillies in a key National League showdown.

The Braves trail the Phillies by seven games in the division, which means a series sweep is what's almost required for Atlanta to have much of a chance at the East.

"You're going against the division leaders," Braves outfielder Matt Diaz said. "It would be huge to take the first game. Then, you can think about winning a series. Then, if you win the second game, then you can start thinking about getting a sweep. But you can't go in saying we have to sweep."

Fortunately for Atlanta, it will have rookie sensation Tommy Hanson on the mound for Friday's game against Pedro Martinez and the Phils.

In New York, the White Sox need to build on the momentum of Thursday's big win in Boston, and they'll have Mark Buehrle, toeing the slab and trying to get them closer to the American League Central-leading Tigers, whom they trail by four games.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are still on cruise control, but aren't interested in looking past any opponents, especially after just dropping two of three to Texas, a potential postseason opponent, in their first home series loss since June.

"We're just trying to win games," Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said. "I'm glad it has been two months, but hopefully we can start another winning streak tomorrow."

At Comerica Park, the Tigers will try to stem the White Sox tide by taking care of the Rays, who are still in the AL Wild Card picture. They'll get the Rays again soon in St. Petersburg, too. And nobody in Detroit's dugout is claiming it will be easy.

"We know that we've got seven games coming up with the defending American League champions in the next 10-12 days," Leyland said. "We're very aware of that, so we'll have to play good.

"They're loaded. They're really a very talented team. They've got a tremendous combination of power and speed."

And the hot Rangers have power and pitching, which has enabled them to creep back to within four games of the AL West-leading Angels. On Friday, however, the Rangers will head to the Metrodome for the final time in the indoor stadium's history. Texas is hoping it will be an unforgiving farewell.

So is Ian Kinsler, who blasted two homers in New York on Thursday, but has hit .147 in the Dome in his career.

"Hopefully it will be different," Kinsler said. "My first couple of years, I didn't pick up the ball well and that affected me. Last year, I felt more comfortable and had some good at-bats. Hopefully that will carry over this year."

One thing that will carry over into the second Rockies-Giants showdown in the last two weeks is Wild Card intrigue, and Friday's opener will set the tone with a fantastic matchup of young right-handers in Ubaldo Jimenez and reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

"I love challenges," Jimenez said. "I'm positive when I have a challenge. I can't wait to be in that position. Hopefully, everything's going to be OK this time."

KANSAS CITY -- Zack Greinke had never had such a strikeout pitch working. Nor had any pitcher in the Royals' 41-year history.

Greinke struck out 15 Indians on Tuesday night as the Royals ended a five-game skid, 6-2, and earned a standing ovation from 17,353 fans at Kauffman Stadium. Greinke broke the club record of 14 strikeouts set by Mark Gubicza against Minnesota on Aug. 27, 1988.

And he did it in just eight innings. To hear Greinke tell it, it was a simple thing.

"My plan was to get ahead with pitches, and once you get ahead, to finish it," Greinke said.

Boy, did he finish it. Greinke's record-setting 15th strikeout came in the eighth, when Andy Marte missed a 1-2 pitch for the first out of the inning.

In a way, that was fitting justice. It was Marte who ended Greinke's shutout by leading off the sixth with a booming home run to left field. And, in Marte's eighth-inning at-bat, he gave Royals fans the willies by lofting a long drive that sailed just foul past the left-field pole.

"That was the one guy in their lineup I felt comfortable with going into the game, too, because I feel like I've done good against him in the past [0-for-3]," Greinke said. "I told [catcher Miguel] Olivo I was going to get him out, and I didn't do it. He almost hit another home run the time after that. It was good hitting, he was on everything I was throwing him."

Except that last pitch, recorded as an 89-mph slider.

It was evident early that Greinke was on his game, reaching 97 and 98 mph with his fastball. Royals manager Trey Hillman quickly knew something special was in the works.

"After the second, I did, simply because he had such great command of the slow curveball and he had bite to the slider," Hillman said. "He started mixing the changeup in, and it makes it very difficult on the hitters, obviously."

In fact, in that second inning, Greinke was so impressive that after Travis Hafner fanned, Olivo held the ball and started to run off the field. Oops, that was just the second out.

"I just wanted my pitcher to get out quick," Olivo said with a laugh.

By the fifth inning, when Greinke struck out the side, he already had 10 strikeouts. That also marked the 700th whiff of his career and the eighth time he'd reached double-digits -- five times this season alone.

Greinke wasn't thinking about a strikeout record but knew by that inning he was on.

"I knew I had a bunch after two or three, but that happens a lot and I slow up big time, but I didn't really think much of it until the fifth inning when there was 10, I think," Greinke said.

When Greinke slammed strike three past Shin-Soo Choo in the sixth, it was his career single-game high of 12. He'd fanned 11 Oakland A's on July 28, 2008.

When Greinke struck out Hafner for No. 13 in the seventh, it matched the Royals' season high, by Luke Hochevar on July 25 against Texas. And Greinke tied Gubicza's 14 by slipping a called strike three past Kelly Shoppach to end the seventh.

Meantime, the Royals had thoughtfully given their oft-neglected ace a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning. Only twice in his previous 11 starts had they scored that many runs.

The fourth run came as Olivo blasted a solo home run off Indians starter Justin Masterson. It was a majestic 413-foot shot over the lower tier of left-field seats, and it had special significance.

"I'm excited, because 17 is my career high, and even when I played every day I didn't have 17," said Olivo, who's been sharing time with two other catchers.

With one more than Mike Jacobs, Olivo also leads the club in homers.

There was another touch of home run drama when Mitch Maier connected for the first of his Major League career. That came in the seventh inning, a two-run blast that soared into the right-field bullpen. David DeJesus was on board after a single.

"It's a big yard, but I knew when I hit it that it was gone," Maier said. "I was trying not to smile the whole way around the bases. I was pretty excited."

The blast came in Maier's 303rd at-bat and 345th plate appearance in the Majors.

"Whether it'd be 400 or 500 at-bats, who knows? But I knew it'd just be a matter of time before I got one," Maier said. "Maybe a little longer than I wanted or than people expected."

The blow gave Greinke a 6-1 lead, so there was no worry when he was tapped for another run in the eighth. The inning ended with two superb defensive plays. Asdrubal Cabrera, after knocking in a run, was thrown out at third base. And center fielder Josh Anderson ended the inning with a diving catch.

By then, Greinke had matched his career high with 117 pitches (77 strikes) and didn't care about throwing the ninth. Hillman gave it no consideration.

"I was tired," Greinke said.

Greinke finished with just one walk and gave up five hits and boosted his record to 12-8, only his second victory since June 28. His season strikeout total reached 197, a personal best.

Robinson Tejeda relieved Greinke and threw a four-pitch walk but then struck out Jhonny Peralta -- the Royals' 16th strikeout of the night -- to tie a club record for a nine-inning game, accomplished for the sixth time.

Oddly enough, Greinke didn't realize that he'd broken Gubicza's record. He thought Hochevar had struck out 15 against Texas when, in fact, he'd fanned only 13.

"I don't know why, but I thought Hochevar had 15 and no walks," Greinke said. "And so I couldn't figure out what was going on. ... I didn't know why they were cheering so much. It didn't really make sense to me."

And, actually, Greinke paid tribute to Gubicza by inferring that the Royals Hall of Famer accomplished his 14 in an era when strikeouts were tougher to get.

"Strikeouts are easier now than they were in the past, so it's a different story," Greinke said. "Strikeouts are a lot easier now than they used to be. At least I think they are, because people are hitting more home runs now and they're breaking strikeout records every year."

By chance, Greinke and Gubicza each set their marks wearing uniform No. 23.

Why does Greinke wear 23?

"Michael Jordan," he replied.

Not because Gubicza wore No. 23?

"He was really good, but Michael Jordan."

DENVER -- Ryan Spilborghs watched the flight of the ball as he ran to first base, but once it landed into the Rockies bullpen, he raised his arms in celebration and jetted around the bases -- literally. After rounding halfway past third base, he threw his helmet off toward the Rockies dugout and jumped on home plate into the waiting arms of his celebrating teammates.

Spilborghs hit the first walk-off grand slam in Rockies history, his second career grand slam and his first walk-off homer in the 14th inning to squeak by the Giants, 6-4, Monday in front of about half of the 27,670 paid fans who remained at Coors Field.

"When I was running the bases, I was just trying to get to my teammates as fast as I could," Spilborghs said. "It's the 14th inning, I think we've all had enough."

Before the pandemonium Spilborghs created, he was as low on himself as anyone could be. In the fourth inning, he struck out to strand runners on the corners, and in the 10th, he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play with two men on. As bad as those missed opportunities sound, it wasn't as bad as what happened in the top of the 14th.

Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria sliced a one-out liner off Adam Eaton down the right-field line. Spilborghs, who had started in left field but shifted to right to start the 11th, tried to cut the ball off and hold Renteria to a single. Instead, the ball bounced around the corner, skipped past Spilborghs and then rolled along the right-field wall, which allowed Renteria to reach on a triple.

After a walk, Eugenio Velez drilled a two-run triple into the left-center-field gap to break a 1-1 tie. Velez later came around to score on Juan Uribe's fielder's choice to make it 4-1.

But all the Giants did was set up Spilborghs' heroics.

Dexter Fowler led off with a walk. After a Clint Barmes popout, pinch-hitter Chris Iannetta smacked a single up the middle to move Fowler to second. Troy Tulowitzki followed with a walk to load the bases to bring up the pitcher's spot. One problem, though. The Rockies ran out of position players. Pitcher Adam Eaton, a career .194 hitter, had to hit in his spot.

"The Tulowitzki walk was absolutely huge because I had told Adam Eaton that if they walked Tulowitzki, don't swing," manager Jim Tracy said. "I don't care if he throws three right down the middle, don't swing because I want Spilborghs to have a shot with the bases loaded. If [Giants pitcher] Justin Miller throws the ball over the plate and there's three pitches thrown for strikes, he struck out. But we're not going to let him take a swing and hit a ground ball and end the game."

Miraculously, Eaton drew a five-pitch walk off Miller to force in a run and make it 4-2. Giants manager Bruce Bochy went to the bullpen and summoned Merkin Valdez, his last available reliever, to face Spilborghs.

On the second pitch of the at-bat, Spilborghs said he knew the ball was going yard when he slammed Valdez's 96 mph fastball into a Rockies win.

"When [Fowler] started off the inning, I was almost shaking because I wanted the chance to redeem myself -- just give me one more opportunity to come up and do something," Spilborghs said. "It was surreal to go from zero to hero in a heartbeat."

Catcher Yorvit Torrealba added, "That was amazing. That reminds me, actually, of the one-game playoff that we have against the Padres [in 2007]."

The win pushed the Rockies' lead over the Giants to four games in the National League Wild Card chase. But maybe more importantly, they closed to within three games of the idle Dodgers in the NL West. The Rockies host the Dodgers for three games starting Tuesday.

"What can I say?" Tracy said. "You guys have heard me sit here how many different times in this chair since the end of May and talk to you about the fact that they don't quit? I don't think we need any better example than the one we just got.

"You play 27 outs. In tonight's case, I can't multiply that quickly. 14 innings times three is a lot of outs."

The Giants, on the other hand, had their hands on their heads and stared into their lockers in disbelief.

"We came back with three, they came back with five," starting pitcher Barry Zito said. "It was just a matter of us not being able to drive the nail in. I think it almost hurts sometimes when you're in the 14th inning and you're up by three. That intense focus that you've had every inning with zero margin of error, now you could say that you have a huge margin of error and you let a team in the door and they blow it wide open."

While Spilborghs was the man of the hour, he said he was not alone. Fowler hit a foul ball off his right leg before earning a walk to start the rally. He stayed on the ground for several minutes writhing in pain.

Earlier, Carlos Gonzalez pinch-ran for Todd Helton in the 10th hoping to win the game then. When it didn't happen, he had to play the field and even batted once even though he couldn't on a puncture wound that he suffered in his left hand Saturday night while eating. He was replaced when Iannetta pinch-hit for him in the 14th.

"Look at Carlos Gonzalez," Spilborghs said. "He came in, he has a stitch in his hand and he's going up there to try to take at-bats, playing defense. He doesn't need to be out there. But he's doing the best he can because we're trying to win."

Tracy said he was just happy his team didn't have to play another inning. Had they tied the game, he said he would've moved Torrealba to first base, Eaton to right field and brought in Matt Herges to relieve Eaton.

Torrealba said he had chatted with Tracy about the potential change and was fine with it. He said he was prepared because he had played more than 20 games at first base in winter ball in Venezuela last year.

Eaton (1-0) earned his first win with the Rockies despite surrendering three runs in two innings. It was also the first extra-innings win at Coors Field this season. Miller (2-3) received the loss as he failed to retire all three batters he faced.

Oh, and in case you wanted to know how it got into extra innings, the Rockies tied the game when Helton drew a bases-loaded walk -- the last of his three on the night -- in the fifth. The Giants scored in the opening frame on Pablo Sandoval's sacrifice fly, plating Velez.

NEW YORK -- Eric Bruntlett caught the ball, landed on second base in perfect stride and spun around to tag a bewildered Daniel Murphy.

Murphy had a look on his face that said, "No way. Did that really just happen?"

It had. Bruntlett had turned an unassisted triple play to end a 9-7 victory over the Mets at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon.

But after Bruntlett tagged Murphy, who made a futile attempt to get away, he still raised his glove and looked at second-base umpire Rob Drake for reassurance that the game had ended. Yes, Bruntlett caught Jeff Francoeur's line drive, which he scorched up the middle, for the first out. And, yes, he doubled up Luis Castillo on second base for the second out before he tagged Murphy to end the game.

"It's hard to know how to react to it," Bruntlett said. "I was almost laughing. That doesn't happen. What do you do there? Game is over. High fives."

It was just the 14th unassisted triple play in the regular season in baseball history. It was just the second unassisted triple play to end a game. Tigers first baseman John Neun turned the other against the Indians on May 31, 1927.

It was also just the second unassisted triple play among the 33 triple plays in Phillies history. Mickey Morandini recorded the first on Sept. 20, 1992, against the Pirates.

"That's great," Jimmy Rollins said. "Bruntly is in the books."

"It was the most unbelievable play I've ever been involved in," Francoeur said. "And the sickest."

It completed a memorable afternoon for Bruntlett, who entered the game hitting just .128 with six RBIs. He got a rare start because Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wanted to give Chase Utley a day off. Bruntlett responded with hits in his first three at-bats. He popped out in the seventh inning, but appeared to reach third on a triple with two outs in the ninth inning.

It would have been the first four-hit game of his career.

But Drake incorrectly ruled that Francoeur did not catch Bruntlett's ball in right-center field. After the Mets protested, the umpires convened and correctly ruled that Francoeur made the catch. Bruntlett finished 3-for-5.

Bruntlett quickly forgot about his near miss when Ryan Howard let Angel Pagan's ball get between his legs for a three-base error and he booted a ball Castillo hit to him, which allowed Pagan to score to cut the lead to two.

Murphy followed Castillo and hit a ball up the middle. Bruntlett tried to slide to make the catch, but he couldn't come up with it.

Both Manuel and Rollins said that was a difficult play to make.

But the damage had been done. The Mets had runners on first and second with no outs in a two-run game. It looked like Phillies closer Brad Lidge's misfortune would continue, except the Mets made a critical error.

They tried a double steal in a situation that didn't warrant it.

"I'm thinking that wasn't smart baseball," Rollins said.

Not that the Mets considered losing the game on a triple play, but Bruntlett acknowledged that having the runners in motion made that impossibility a possibility. Had the Mets not been stealing, Bruntlett said he almost certainly would not have caught Francoeur's ball. Had he not caught it, the Mets at the very least would have had the bases loaded with no outs.

"It was a crucial situation," Bruntlett said. "It was huge, especially when I was part of the reason that we got into a bad spot there in the ninth. It feels extra special to have that happen there to finish off the game."

BOSTON -- Some might believe that a healthy cushion in the American League East would remove some of the urgency for the Yankees from this weekend's showdown at Fenway Park, knowing no matter what, they will still leave town owning first place.

The assessment would be incorrect. The Yankees played with a message to deliver to the Red Sox the last time these two rivals met on a playing field, and coming off a four-game sweep, the objective remains to continue that pounding on Yawkey Way.

"You can't look at the standings," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "If you start looking at standings and what lead you may have, then I think that's when you lose the intensity level and you lose focus. We've got a lot of games left against all the teams that are behind us, so we need to keep winning games."

History appears to be on the Yankees' side, as far as heading into October with a good head of steam and leaving the Red Sox scampering for the playoffs' back door. No Yankees club has ever blown a lead of more than six games in the division, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

But that provides little comfort, especially in a rivalry where the books seem to be rewritten at will. After all, it is still too fresh for the Yankees to have forgotten 2004, when a very different Bombers club watched the Red Sox become the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the American League Championship Series in an epic collapse.

No one is comparing a late-August series to the ALCS, but these games always do take on a higher profile. And after beginning the year 0-8 against Boston, the Yanks know the Red Sox always make for a difficult challenge.

"You play so many games within your division against teams that know what you're capable of doing," Johnny Damon said. "We still have six more against Boston and we know that. We know we have to try to get a couple of the series. If we do, it'll be very nice."

Luckily for the Yankees, they don't seem to be swimming in any of that negative karma. The team flew on a cross-country red-eye to Boston early Thursday having secured its Major League-leading 76th win, matching a season-high 31 games over .500 and improving to a big league-best 25-9 since the All-Star break.

"The one thing that I've been really proud about [with] this club is that there's a sense of urgency every night," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "This club knows how to continue to push, and that's a good feeling.

"That's the feeling that you want them to have -- don't worry about stuff down the road -- and our guys understand that. It's another big series going into Boston, because you've got a chance to do something special."

Perhaps that is made easier by the fact that the Yankees aren't trumpeting their cushion. Girardi said that he has not heard players discussing the division lead, and if that's what works, they'll need it.

The road doesn't get much smoother. Upon New York's return from the rare off-day, the Yankees will enter the red-brick walkways of Fenway staring at 23 of their final 41 games against winning teams within five games of a playoff spot.

"I think we know the opportunity that we have, so we don't want to let an opportunity slip away to win games and gain ground, and hopefully get to the promised land," Mark Teixeira said.

"We know Boston and Tampa Bay aren't going to lay down. These teams are going to win a lot of games, and I wouldn't be surprised if this thing comes down to the last week of the season."

The Yankees come into the New England weekend seeming to hold a pitching advantage in the series, leading up to a premier showdown between CC Sabathia and Josh Beckett under the lights on Sunday.

While the Red Sox have struggled to find a rotation that clicks, the Yankees boast a starting set that has gone 9-3 with a 2.46 ERA over the past 13 games.

"Pitching is the bottom line," Jeter said. "We really haven't scuffled scoring runs here for the last -- I don't even know how many years. The issue has been the pitching staff, and [now] each guy seems to be trying to outdo the other guy. That's a good thing, and that's the reason we've been playing well, bottom line."

It was July 21 when the Yankees finally surpassed the Red Sox for sole possession of first place in the AL East, a post they'll have enjoyed for 45 days this season -- and 31 straight -- when the two clubs take the field Friday.

"All [the media] wanted to talk about was a letdown, and I'm glad to say that we haven't let down since that series," Teixeira said. "We've been playing good baseball and throwing the ball great. Our offense hasn't really carried us, but we're scoring just enough runs."

But the Yankees couldn't fully enjoy their perch as long as the black cloud against Boston remained. The Yankees achieved that by sweeping a four-game series Aug. 6-9 at Yankee Stadium, New York's first such overpowering since 1985.

"I think it gave some guys a little bit of an easier feeling about our club," Girardi said. "They were having to answer those questions all the time, and now they don't have to answer them anymore. It was a great series for us, because we won all different types of games and played extremely well."

Next on the agenda has to be finally posting a victory against the backdrop of the Green Monster. Consider this: the last Yankees pitcher to win a game at Fenway Park was Mike Mussina, who celebrated his final big league victory with a fistful of McDonald's French fries last Sept. 28 in the tiny, cramped visiting clubhouse.

"There's nothing we can do about the games that we lost to them early in the season," Damon said. "We just need to focus on how well we're playing. We know that's a team that we can't make mistakes against. If you do, they know how to capitalize. Hopefully, we can be the aggressor and the team that plays well."

Teixeira stated the obvious in saying that the Yankees certainly don't want to go 0-for-Boston this season, but Girardi pushed the envelope further. Spirited by the four-game sweep earlier in the month, the Yankees are dreaming bigger than just one win.

"I think the real thing is wanting to win another series," Girardi said. "If we do that, obviously we're going to win a game. The big thing was the zero in front of our names. I think that was bigger."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

PHILADELPHIA -- Cliff Lee has tried not to analyze his accomplishments in his first four starts with the Phillies.

He finds no value in that.

"I don't know how special it is," Lee said following an 8-1 victory over the D-backs on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. "It's me doing what I expect to do every time I go on the mound. Every inning, I expect to go out there and put up a zero. [I] get that inning behind me, go out to the next inning and I expect to put up a zero. I've done that more times than not. Yeah, I'm pleased with it. I'm not too caught up in it. I'm not going to sit here and pat myself on the back. We've still got a lot of work to do."

Lee is 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA in four starts with the Phillies, who acquired him July 29 in a trade with the Indians. He has allowed just 18 hits and six walks in 33 innings. He has struck out 34. Opponents have hit .161 against him.

He is 7-0 with a 1.09 ERA in his past seven starts, which include his final three with Cleveland.

"It's similar," he said, asked to compare this seven-start stretch with how he pitched last season when he won the American League Cy Young Award. "It's kind of the same, I guess. Last year is over. This game is over. My job is to prepare for the next one. I don't really sit there and think, 'My last four or five starts, I did this.' I really don't look at it like that."

But others can. Lee has carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning twice with the Phillies, including Wednesday. He has thrown two complete games, including Wednesday's gem.

He has been fantastic.

Lee threw 106 pitches to the Diamondbacks. Eighty-one were strikes. He allowed just two hits and one unearned run. He struck out a career-high-tying 11.

He got the ball and threw it.

And he got outs.

"Not a lot of ways to describe a beating like that," D-backs manager A.J. Hinch said. "They beat us in every aspect. Lee dominated us the whole night."

So when Chase Utley hit a two-run home run to right-center field in the third to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead, the club had to feel pretty comfortable about its chances. And when Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer to left-center field in the fifth to make it 5-1, and when Jayson Werth followed with a solo homer to center on the next pitch, the Phils had to feel this game was over.

"He's a for-real ace," Werth said. "He's that type of guy. He's a shutdown guy. He can go out and control a game. Look what he's done since he's been here. That's pretty remarkable. But that's the kind of stuff he brings to table. You can't expect a guy to do that every time out, but so far, the stuff he's offering is definitely different than what guys are used to seeing. At least it looks that way to me. You get a run on the board for a guy like that, you're in pretty good shape."

Remember the incredible run CC Sabathia had last season with the Brewers? He went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA. He pitched so well in 17 starts with Milwaukee that he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting.

Sabathia went 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA in his first four starts with the Brewers.

Lee has been better than Sabathia so far.

There is no question Lee is finding things a little easier in the NL. Instead of facing designated hitters like Jim Thome and David Ortiz, he is facing the pitcher. That helps. But to say his success is based largely on switching leagues would severely undermine how good of a pitcher he is.

Lee won the AL Cy Young Award last year. He can get hitters out in any league.

And that could come in handy in October.

So could the bats of Howard and Werth. Howard is hitting .351 (13-for-37) with two doubles, one triple, five homers and 15 RBIs in his past 10 games. Werth is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with one double, four home runs and five RBIs in his past five games.

They could be heating up at just the right time. Combine a booming offense with Lee, and it's a scary combination down the stretch.

Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

John Smoltz is "strongly leaning" toward signing with the Cardinals, according to a report on ESPN.com.

Smoltz, 42, told friends he will decide on a team Wednesday when his release waivers expire and he officially becomes a free agent, the report said. The pitcher is believed to prefer the Cardinals over the Dodgers, Marlins and Rangers.

The Cardinals on Monday expressed interest in the right-hander.

"I know that he's one of the guys we've been looking into," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's healthy, and when he's healthy, he's a weapon."

Should Smoltz join St. Louis, the Cardinals would use the veteran out of the bullpen as a setup man for closer Ryan Franklin, according to the report. Smoltz told clubs he would prefer to start but seems to have decided St. Louis is the best fit for him.

Additionally, the report states Smoltz's preference is to pitch in the National League. Former Braves teammates Mark DeRosa and Adam Wainright, now both with the Cardinals, have been actively recruiting Smoltz.

Smoltz went 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA in eight starts for the Red Sox this season before Boston released him Monday. In the final seven starts with the Red Sox, he had a 0.64 ERA in the first two innings. He last pitched out of the bullpen in 2004, when he saved 44 games in his final season as Atlanta's closer.

Jesse Sanchez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals agreed to terms with right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, less than two minutes before Monday's midnight ET deadline.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but it's reportedly a four-year contract worth more than $15 million. That exceeds the previous record of $10.5 million that right-hander Mark Prior received from the Cubs after the 2001 Draft.

Acting general manager Mike Rizzo called it an emotional -- and, in the end, an exciting -- day for the organization, which feels strongly that signing Strasburg is an important step toward making the Nationals a contender in the NL East.

"He is fireballing right-hander pitcher who has a very bright future," Rizzo said. "He is the most coveted amateur player in the history of the Draft and a potential front-line starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals.

"We are proud to have him in the organization. We are happy to add him to a growing list of young starting pitchers. It's a big day for the Washington Nationals. It's a big day for the fans of Washington, D.C."

Strasburg is expected to be introduced at Nationals Park either Wednesday or Thursday, where a press conference is expected to take place on the field prior to the game.

The Nationals believe Strasburg can make an immediate impact in their rotation but have not decided if he will pitch this season. With the Minor League season nearly complete and Strasburg having not pitched since a College World Series regional on May 30, finding a place other than the big leagues to get him tuned back up could be challenging.

"We are just going to let him get his feet on the ground [in Washington]. We'll figure out a plan for him in the very near future," Rizzo said. "We have to figure out where he is at and how in shape his arm is. How much we have to ramp him up before he can start pitching competitively?"

Rizzo did say that Strasburg will be in uniform to help him get acclimated with his team and the city.

Strasburg, 20, went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 starts this season at San Diego State University en route to being named the Golden Spikes Award winner. He struck out 195 batters and issued just 19 walks in 109 innings.

The day started at 9 a.m. ET with the team and Strasburg's advisor, Scott Boras, exchanging ideas and did not conclude until a deal was struck at 11:58:43 p.m. ET.

The negotiations between the two camps started to pick up more than a week ago when managing principal owner Ted Lerner, principal owner Robert Tanenbaum, team president Stan Kasten and Rizzo all went to see Strasburg in Southern California, and all four came away impressed with the right-hander. Rizzo went so far as to call Strasburg an independent thinker who wanted to start playing baseball again.

"The reason he signed is because he wants to pitch in the big leagues, and he wants to be a Washington National," Rizzo said. "He wants to win a Cy Young Award and championships in D.C. That's the reason he signed with us here. Money was a nice perk, a nice by-product for him, but he is here to pitch. He is champing at the bit to get on the mound. I think he was getting a little tired being around the house."

According to Rizzo, Strasburg was impressed that Lerner traveled to Southern California to see him.

"When a man like Ted Lerner travels cross country to meet you, that makes a huge statement," Rizzo said.

With the Strasburg deal out of the way, Rizzo said there is more work to be done to improve the ballclub. He is still looking to make trades.

"We have trade waivers going on, a lot of work to do," Rizzo said. "We are evaluating our team at all times. We'll take a few minutes tonight, but tomorrow is game day, so we are ready to go."

As great as the signing was for the organization, Kasten said it's not an experience he wants to repeat. At 43-75, the Nationals are three games behind the Royals for the worst record in baseball entering Tuesday's action.

"I never want to go through this ever again. We are planning to win every night," he said.

Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

SEATTLE -- For years, few have been as reliable as Derek Jeter has been at shortstop for the Yankees. And now, no one has been more productive.

With a three-hit performance in the Bombers' 10-3 loss to the Mariners on Sunday at Safeco Field, Jeter surpassed Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio in becoming the all-time Major League leader in hits as a shortstop.

"It was kind of hard to believe," Jeter said. "I just try to be consistent year in and year out. I think if you're consistent, then good things happen."

Jeter entered the afternoon trailing Aparicio (2,673) by one hit, but tied the former 18-year big league vet with a first-inning single to right field off Seattle right-hander Doug Fister.

The career Yankee stood alone after his next at-bat, a run-scoring double to right field off Fister that drove home Ramiro Pena with the first run of the game.

Jeter also added a bloop single to right field off Fister in the seventh inning to finish the afternoon 3-for-4 and with 2,675 hits as a shortstop. He also has 13 hits as a designated hitter in a Major League career that began in 1995.

"It's amazing what he's been able to accomplish, and he's still got a lot of baseball left," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "A lot of guys, when they try to get that record, it takes them a while. It didn't take him long today."

Jeter's place may not be completely secure -- the still-active Omar Vizquel of the Rangers has 2,669 hits as a shortstop.

"I don't ever sit around and look back on anything that we've done," Jeter said. "It's just more of what you can do to try and improve. That's what you try to do, year in and year out.

"I think being consistent is something that gets overlooked at times, but I think every player strives to be consistent. That's all you can do."

Regardless of what jockeying may occur in the future, Jeter said that he was proud to have played for so long at a position where many before him have had to move later in their careers.

Perhaps the most prominent example is Cal Ripken Jr., who notched 2,479 of his 3,184 hits as a shortstop. Ripken effectively abandoned shortstop for the Orioles after the 1996 season at the age of 36, but Jeter -- who turned 35 in June -- has no plans of moving elsewhere on the diamond.

"I think I have a few hits left in me," Jeter said. "You're going to have good years and you're going to have bad years. I think you have to take care of yourself and you have to put in a lot of work. I've been fortunate, but hopefully I have a few years left playing short."

With 2,688 hits over his 15-year career with the Yankees, Jeter is within 33 safeties of tying Lou Gehrig's franchise mark. He said that he would prefer to talk about that accomplishment if -- not when -- it happens, but acknowledged that it would be particularly meaningful.

"As a Yankee fan growing up, I played my whole career here," Jeter said. "Anytime there's a record that's involved with the Yankees, it's special. We all like to be a part of history."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

CINCINNATI -- Jonny Gomes heard his name chanted as he ambled from the Reds' dugout to acknowledge the raucous cheers.

Although only 16,889 fans attended Thursday's game against the Nationals, you wouldn't have known it from the screams for Gomes. And Gomes gave them plenty of reasons to be loud, since he had just blasted his third home run of the game and it was only the sixth inning.

Gomes' three homers were all the Reds needed as Bronson Arroyo threw a two-hitter in a 7-0 win. It was the second time in Gomes' Major League career that he had hit three homers in a game, with the first coming July 30, 2005, against the Royals. But this one meant much more for a player who has battled to get where he is today.

"It's a lot more emotional for me," Gomes said. "I was in Triple-A to start this thing off and not too many at-bats later, three home runs."

Coming off a loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday and returning home after a previous homestand where the Reds went 2-8 and struggled offensively, Gomes injected the offense with some needed firepower. Manager Dusty Baker showed his appreciation for the offensive boost by giving Gomes the lineup card after the game.

"That's the best performance I've seen in a long time," Baker said. "We needed runs and we needed a victory."

Gomes became the 24th player in Reds history to hit three homers in a game. The last player to do it was Joey Votto against the Cubs on May 7, 2008.

From his first at-bat, Gomes was instant offense. It started in the second when Laynce Nix led off with a double and Gomes drove him in with a two-run blast to left field that made in 2-0. One batter later, Ryan Hanigan gave the Reds another run when he homered to left.

Nix set the table again in the fourth when he led off with a single. And on the first pitch Gomes saw, he drilled it out to left again to make it 5-0.

And in his third at-bat, Gomes came through yet again, this time without the help of Nix. On a 2-2 pitch, he hit one out to center field to increase the Reds' lead to 6-0. As he rounded the bases, he pumped his fist to the delight of Reds fans.

"The curtain call was awesome," Gomes said. "Who are we as ballplayers without the fans?"

Gomes had one opportunity to make it a four-homer game, but struck out looking in the eighth. Yet he still received a rousing ovation from the crowd as he walked to the dugout.

"Now I'm in a slump," Gomes joked.

Gomes had been in somewhat of a slump in August with his average sinking from .281 to as low as .256. But that was forgotten against the Nationals.

With Gomes thrashing the ball out of Great American Ball Park, Arroyo was nearly perfect on the mound against the Nationals. He navigated through the order and pitched a complete game while giving up two hits.

Arroyo attacked hitters, forcing several groundouts and flyouts while only recording three strikeouts. He didn't throw more than 17 pitches in an inning and pitched his second shutout and third complete game of the season.

"Getting three runs early was huge," Arroyo said. "I haven't had that in a long time. I had to scratch to keep the score even lately."

Arroyo helped out an ailing bullpen that had pitched 18 innings over the past three games. Baker said Arroyo's start saved his bullpen from having to expend more innings.

"He was outstanding," Baker said. "It was almost like he didn't break a sweat tonight."

Gomes certainly broke one. As he stood by his locker after the game his face was covered in sweat. But one can forgive him for perspiring a little, for he spent much of the game rounding the basepaths.

Steve Gartner is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

ANAHEIM -- Mike Scioscia is eloquent and expansive on a wide range of subjects, but one is kept at arm's length, covered the way he protected home plate back in the day.

That subject is Mike Scioscia.

Ask him about the uncommon, consistent success experienced by the Angels in his decade as their manager, and he'll ramble on about the players' commitment, the owner's generosity, the foresight of two general managers, the collective vision of the scouts, the player development department's steady, nurturing role ... on and on.

Eventually, you throw up your arms like a third-base coach halting a runner and ask him if he can offer some enlightenment on his own role in all of this.

"Ah, leave me out of it, OK?" Scioscia says, earnestly. "Make this about somebody else. It's the organization that's done this, not me."

Leaving Scioscia out of this is like avoiding President Obama in a discussion of the current administration.

Scioscia's handprints and footprints -- two of his pet words -- are all over this operation. The hurdles these Angels have been forced to confront this season are virtually unprecedented, yet here they are, once again leading the American League West heading down the stretch with another shot at the brass ring.

If ever there was a time when the sum total of a manager's work should be recognized and applauded, this is it. What Scioscia has done in his 10th season is even more impressive than taking his third Angels team in 2002 and driving it to the franchise's first World Series championship.

What Scioscia has endured this season goes, as longtime friend and managerial rival Joe Maddon put it, "well beyond baseball. It's not about what he learned coming up in the Dodgers' organization. I think it goes back to his family, growing up [in the Philadelphia area].

"Mike is so well-grounded," continued Maddon, the 2008 American League Manager of the Year for driving the Rays to the World Series in a manner similar to Scioscia with the '02 Angels. "He's always about getting it right. In a difficult moment, a crisis, it goes back to how he was raised. You go through defining moments coming up in a large family. You have to deal with tragedies and difficulties often.

"That's where he has come from and why he has become the person he is today. He is all about taking care of what needs to be done -- and he'll take no credit for it, because he sees it as just the right thing to do."

Scioscia has been consistent from the beginning in separating baseball -- a game and career -- from the heartbreak of a family in the aftermath of the death of 22-year-old pitcher Nick Adenhart in the season's opening week.

"You try to keep perspective when you think about what's happened here with Nick and his tragedy," Scioscia said. "We still get to do what we love; these guys get to play baseball. His folks have lost a son. That really keeps your heart heavy. It always brings me back to his parents and what they're going through. That part has been difficult.

"You never pass over that. It's something that's going to be with us forever."

Reggie Willits is an Angels role player, accustomed to shuttling back and forth from Triple-A Salt Lake to Anaheim. This type of player usually is not a big fan of the system or the manager, but Willits has reverence for Scioscia, routinely calling him "the smartest manager in baseball, always a step ahead."

In the season's opening week, Willits was summoned from Salt Lake to rejoin the Angels, but it happened to come on one of the darkest days of his life.

April 9, 2009 was the day all Angels wept. It was the day one of their best and brightest was taken. Hours after pitching a gem in his season debut, clearly embarking on a career of distinction, Adenhart was killed in an auto wreck, along with companions Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson, while one -- Jon Wilhite -- miraculously survived.

"I was called up to take Nick's roster spot," Willits recalled. "I remember waking up that morning and seeing all these messages flashing on my cell phone. People were telling me how sorry they were about Nick, and I didn't even know what had happened yet."

As details of the incident surfaced and painful press conferences were staged in Anaheim; the series finale with the Athletics was postponed. The club would gather around its manager and resume the schedule with a three-game weekend series against the Red Sox.

"When I got here," Willits said, standing in the home clubhouse at Angel Stadium, "I shook Mike's hand. I didn't know what to expect. It was something none of us could have been prepared for -- we all knew and loved Nick. Everybody was numb, in shock.

"Mike told the team, 'We're going to get through this together.' It was a time when a family draws on the support of each other. Players always look to the manager, and Mike is so calm in every situation. I think that was an important time for us. He was in character, being there for us, as hard as it had to be. He loved Nick like all of us did.

"Watch [Scioscia] in the playoffs when something goes wrong, even terrible. His expression doesn't change. He's even-keel. Spring Training or playoffs, up 10 or down 10, there's never any panic with Mike. He never overreacts. I think players feed off it."

Angels general manager Tony Reagins was with Scioscia at the press conference that fateful day, and he has been in daily contact with the manager ever since.

"Obviously, we've faced challenges we've never faced in a season," Reagins said. "He's done a great job of keeping guys together and focused, really focused on the day at hand.

"Time obviously heals all wounds. The wounds aren't as fresh. You have to move forward -- but I don't think you ever move on."

Adenhart's presence remains a part of the club every day. His locker is maintained at home and on the road. The black 34 patch, Nick's number, is attached to each uniform. His image on the wall in center field, mid-delivery, is a constant reminder along with the fans' memorial in the walkway leading into the stadium.

"Mike is in charge of the clubhouse," Reagins said, "but there are a number of individuals in the front office, as well as in the clubhouse, who played significant roles in those first two months. It's not necessarily prominent guys in the clubhouse. A lot of the players who knew Nick best were in the Minor Leagues, where they played with him.

"I don't think you ever move on from something like this, but you have to try to move forward."

Moving forward with high character always has been the M.O. of Scioscia, going back to his Dodgers youth. Rare is the catcher in his early 20's who commands a pitching staff loaded with veterans, as it happened in the early 1980s in Los Angeles.

The late Danny Ozark, a successful Major League manager who coached for the Dodgers, once made a telling observation about the young receiver.

"Scioscia," Ozark said, "is like Patton's army. He's a real spearhead."

Very quietly, in their style, the Angels awarded Scioscia an almost unprecedented 10-year contract extension over the winter. Basically, he will manage the team until he's ready to walk away, barring something unforeseen.

"Arte, myself, Mike, we knew we wanted Mike to be here," Reagins said, referencing club owner Arte Moreno. "Arte likes stability and continuity. He's an employer who wants his people to perform at a high level, and Mike's been consistent, professional, a leader. Most important, he knows baseball.

"He's on the short list of the top managers in the game."

Scioscia believes in the Halos' organizational talent and style of play. He would not sign off on quick-fix deals to appease fans and insiders in recent seasons -- including proposals involving Roy Halladay and Heath Bell two weeks ago -- that would have severely depleted the flow of young talent and depth.

Unlike less-secure managers, he does not exist for the moment, for this season. He understands the big picture.

In his 10 seasons in Anaheim, Scioscia has produced a franchise-record 870 wins against 699 losses. His .554 winning percentage is second to Atlanta's Bobby Cox (.556) among active managers with at least 500 wins.

Scioscia has guided four AL West champions in the past five years, his teams winning more regular-season games since the start of the 2005 season than any other franchise.

Prior to Scioscia being named manager in 2000, the Angels had won a total of three division titles in their first 39 seasons.

Arriving as a free agent this season, and making a huge contribution on and off the field, Bobby Abreu has found baseball's version of paradise.

"There's a freedom the players have here," Abreu said, "and it makes for exciting baseball. That comes from a manager who wants his players to play free, not be afraid to make mistakes. Be aggressive. It's a great place to play baseball. I love it here."

One of the game's premier catchers with the Dodgers from 1980 through 1992, Scioscia was a World Series champion in 1981 and '88. He was formed in an organization that elevated assertive baserunning with Jackie Robinson, Maury Wills and Davey Lopes while leaning on power pitching and power hitting, as well.

Ron Roenicke, who succeeded Maddon as bench coach in 2006, has seen Scioscia work through a maze of issues, from the Adenhart tragedy to injuries to starters John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar to open the season, to losses of setup man Scot Shields for the season and stars Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter for extended periods.

"It's been a big challenge on a lot of levels, unlike any other season," said Roenicke, an outfielder who broke in with Scioscia in Dodger Blue. "Mike's always had the ability to keep his focus and create stability -- and he needed it this year more than ever.

"He's got great intelligence -- for the game and other things. Along with that, he's got common sense. They don't always go together.

"He's very secure, very confident in his abilities. He always has a reason for everything he does. He has thought it out thoroughly."

For Scioscia and his troupe, it is a season of moving forward, if not, as Reagins phrased it so profoundly, moving on.

Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

MIAMI -- No obstacle seems too large for the streaking Marlins. Not even a five-run deficit with four innings to go and Roy Oswalt on the opposing rubber.

Faced with that scenario on Tuesday, the Marlins scored six runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take the lead, then finished in walk-off style in extras after the Astros tied it in the ninth.

The final blow came courtesy of Dan Uggla, who brought in his second run of the game with a two-out RBI single to left field, scoring Chris Coghlan from third and giving the Marlins a 9-8 win in 11 innings in front of 13,312 at Land Shark Stadium.

Going into that frame -- one inning after Jeremy Hermida was easily thrown out at home trying to score on a two-out single by Emilio Bonifacio -- Cody Ross recalled turning to Uggla in the dugout and saying, "This is the inning. I feel it. We're going to win."

He just didn't figure his buddy would be responsible.

"We have a lot of confidence," Ross said. "That's one thing about our team -- is we're not going to give up. And when we're down, we're not just going to quit, because we know our team is capable of scoring a lot of runs."

Oswalt, who was making his first start since July 28, seemingly felt the same way, saying, "It seems like, no matter what happens, they always come back."

Facing Wesley Wright, Coghlan and Nick Johnson each drew walks to start the bottom of the 11th, and two outs later John Baker also got a free pass to load the bases. Then, with Alberto Arias on the hill, Uggla lined a 1-1 fastball -- the third heater in the at-bat -- to the left side for his third hit of the game and the Marlins' eighth walk-off win of the season.

"It feels great," said Uggla, who registered his first walk-off hit of the year and fifth of his career. "First off, to get the win, and then being the one that got the hit to get the win -- it's just a lot of fun.

"Any time you come back from that kind of deficit against a pitcher like that, you don't try to explain it. You just kind of go with it."

Thanks in large part to shelling Marlins starter Chris Volstad for five runs in the fifth, the Astros found themselves ahead, 7-2, going into the bottom of the sixth. But Florida came all the way back for its fifth straight win, handing Houston its biggest blown lead of the year.

"It just got away from us," said Astros manager Cecil Cooper, whose team is still without slugger Lance Berkman. "It looked like we couldn't throw enough strikes in the middle part of the game, and then at the end there, Wesley had a little trouble."

The Marlins (60-53) are now seven games above .500 -- the most since April 22 -- and stayed 3 1/2 games back of the Phillies -- who beat the Cubs, 4-3 in 12 innings -- in the National League East. With the Rockies' 7-3 loss to the Pirates, the Marlins gained a game in the NL Wild Card standings, sitting two back of Colorado.

With 14 hits, Florida -- which also drew eight walks -- extended the club record by notching double-digit hits for the eighth straight game. On Tuesday, the top six hitters in the lineup -- Coghlan, Johnson, Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, Baker and Uggla -- combined to score all nine runs while going 13-for-30 with five doubles and seven RBIs.

The Marlins have averaged 7.6 runs over their five-game winning streak.

"You can't say enough about our offense," said Volstad, who got the no-decision after giving up six runs on eight hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. "They've been doing such a great job. Looking back at this week especially, it's been unbelievable to watch our team, the way we've been playing."

In his nightmarish fifth inning, Volstad fired 35 pitches to nine batters and exited before recording the final out of the frame.

The inning started with seven of Volstad's first eight pitches going for balls -- one hitting Oswalt -- and continued with a bases-loaded two-run chopper by Miguel Tejada that gave Houston a 3-2 lead. Carlos Lee followed with a two-run double and, three batters later, former Marlins player Ivan Rodriguez worked an eight-pitch at-bat and hit an RBI single to put the Marlins in a 6-2 hole.

"Not a very good one at all," Volstad said about that inning. "I felt good through the first four, and then I don't know really what changed.

"I just stopped making pitches, I guess."

But the Marlins didn't stop hitting. They came back with their own big inning off Oswalt in the sixth, picking up four runs on four hits and two walks to make it a 7-6 game.

Florida started the frame with four straight singles -- capped by an RBI base hit by Baker -- then got runs on bases-loaded walks by Uggla and Hermida, and an RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Ross Gload.

The Marlins then took a one-run lead on a two-run double in the seventh by Baker, who finished with three RBIs.

The lead didn't last. With runners on the corners and one out in the top of the ninth, Leo Nunez served up an RBI single to Geoff Blum to tie the game at 8 -- his fourth blown save in 16 chances.

But the Marlins came back from that, too. And Brian Sanches got the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 11th.

"Every win from here on out is the most important win," Uggla said. "Tonight was the most important win so far, and [Wednesday] night, that's going to be our goal again."

Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

ANAHEIM -- After being shut out for the first time at home in 73 games on Sunday by the Rangers, the Angels were just hoping for their offense to show some life on Monday when they hosted the Rays.

Well, the offense did just that, as Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales hit two home runs each to lead the Angels to an 8-7 win over the Rays at Angel Stadium.

It was a special night for Guerrero, who not only hit his 400th career homer, but it also was the game-winner. His solo home run in the seventh inning gave the Angels a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Relievers Kevin Jepsen and Brian Fuentes combined to throw three scoreless innings to close out the game.

"We got some big home runs from Vlad and Kendry, but in between we also did a great job with situational hitting with runners in scoring position," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We kept scoring and they kept answering, but in the end, we got some clutch pitching from Kevin Jepsen and Brian Fuentes to win the game."

Guerrero stole the show, however, at least judging by the reaction of the 37,888 fans that gave him a standing ovation and called for a curtain call after his 400th career dinger gave the Angels the lead in the seventh.

It was a dramatic opposite-field home run off the right-field foul pole that even had Guerrero uncharacteristically giving a fist pump at first base when the ball caromed off the pole.

"I feel very good that not only was it home run No. 400, but it came at a moment when the team really needed it," Guerrero said through a translator.

Guerrero's eighth home run of the year, which came on a 3-1 fastball, made Rays reliever Russ Springer the loser.

"It was a fastball a little bit off the plate," Springer said. "He's made a career out of hitting pitchers' pitches and hitting balls off the plate and still doing damage with it. I threw the ball where I wanted, and he hit the right-field foul pole with it."

The long ball made him a footnote in the storied 14-year career of the free-swinging Guerrero.

"I've never faced a guy in my career ... who covers as much of an area as he does," Springer said. "He hits balls down and in. He hits balls out. When he's locked in, he has a big area he can make contact with."

The home run also came on a night when both starting pitchers struggled and offense reigned supreme.

The Rays jumped out to an early lead against Angels rookie starter Sean O'Sullivan with two runs in the first via a run-scoring double by Evan Longoria and an RBI single by Ben Zobrist.

But the Angels came right back with three runs of their own in the second against Rays starter Matt Garza, including Guerrero's first home run of the game. Erick Aybar added an RBI single in the inning, and Chone Figgins had his first RBI in 12 games with a run-scoring single of his own.

Tampa Bay, though, came back with a solo home run by Jason Bartlett to tie the game at 3 before Morales hit his first home run of the game in the third with a two-run shot off Garza.

Maicer Izturis' sacrifice fly gave the Angels a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning, and Garza was pulled after giving up six runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was his shortest outing with the Rays.

But the Rays came right back with three runs in the fifth when Carl Crawford hit a run-scoring double and Zobrist scored him with a sacrifice fly. Carlos Pena then homered to knock O'Sullivan out of the game.

"I think a couple things got away from him there," Scioscia said of O'Sullivan. "I think he fell behind and left fastballs in good zones. They have a group of guys over there that can drive the ball and they have bunch of guys who can run the base paths."

In all, Sullivan allowed six runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

"Everything felt a little off tonight," O'Sullivan admitted after the game. "I was having trouble getting ahead in the counts, and with a team like that, you can't fall behind and expect fastballs to sneak in there. But with an offense like ours, we're always in the game."

The Angels retook the lead in the fifth on Morales' second homer, but the Rays quickly tied in the sixth with an RBI triple by Bartlett, who finished a single short of the cycle.

But it all led up to Guerrero's heroics in the seventh inning, which made Jepsen the winner after pitching two scoreless innings in relief. Fuentes pitched a perfect ninth, including a running catch by Juan Rivera near the wall in left to secure the final out on a ball hit by Zobrist.

The win also left Scioscia confident the Angels can continue to grow offensively, especially with the way Guerrero has been swinging the bat and with Torii Hunter expected to rejoin the team this weekend.

"I think they're going to enhance what we're going. Our depth is going to be important because our lineup gets deep in a hurry with Torii," Scioscia said. "And we're going to need that moving forward. And hopefully our pitchers will settle down."

Rhett Bollinger is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

NEW YORK -- The Yankees have waited all season for their new palace to rock like home, echoing with the concrete-rippling thunder that used to make the experience so intimidating for opponents across the street.

They glanced into the triple-decked wonder this weekend and could agree: the energy is back. Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira pumped the volume with back-to-back eighth inning home runs as the Yankees rallied for a 5-2 win and an emotional four-game sweep of the Red Sox.

As Teixeira watched his go-ahead shot off Daniel Bard soar high into the night sky, he carried his bat down to first base, casting it aside when the drive stayed fair. The fourth sellout crowd of the weekend erupted into a frenzy, serenading the falling Red Sox with chants of "Sweep! Sweep!"

"That's Yankee Stadium for you," Teixeira said. "This place hasn't been around as much as the old one, but I remember being a part of a few games as a visitor. It felt like the place was shaking. It was kind of that feeling tonight."

The late rally came after Victor Martinez had snapped a 31-inning scoreless streak with a two-run homer off Phil Coke in the eighth. Damon crushed a fastball for his 21st homer before Teixeira put the Bombers ahead, teeing off on a Bard curveball for his American League-leading 29th round-tripper.

Nick Swisher provided cushion with a two-run single off Hideki Okajima, and Mariano Rivera locked down the ninth inning for his American League-leading 32nd save. The heroics created a thumping Stadium atmosphere that the Yankees, now a season-best 27 games over .500, could relish.

"There was a little extra buzz this time, and it seemed to get increased every day," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Four huge games, and we were able to come out on top in all of them. This place was alive."

"It was a postseason series," said Andy Pettitte, who hurled seven scoreless innings in arguably his best start of the year. "It really did feel like that. The fans were just unbelievably into it and have always been fired up. There was just a lot of excitement."

New York's lead in the AL East ballooned to 6 1/2 games over the fading Sox, an advantage of historical significance -- the Yankees have never lost a division lead of more than six games.

"There's still a long way to go," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "We were fortunate that they came here this particular series when we're playing well. We've got to continue it, because there's a lot of games left."

While the roaring crowd searched for brooms and taunted their Boston counterparts -- outscored 25-8 in the series -- onto the drizzly city streets, the Yankees were careful not to brag about crushing the Red Sox, who now see life through the prism of being tied with the Rangers for the AL Wild Card.

Girardi pointed to Boston's experience in coming back from deficits -- hello, 2004 -- and said that he expects the division to go "right down to the end," feeling more surprised than comfortable. But they intend to enjoy it as long as it lasts.

"We felt like we were a different club," Pettitte said. "I felt confident that I was going to pitch well if I threw in this series against the Red Sox. It was just one of those things. They'd won eight in a row, but there was nothing we could do about that.

"We had a great series, there's no doubt about it. We separated ourselves a little bit from them, and hopefully we can keep the pedal to the metal and playing like we are."

Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees the lead against Boston starter Jon Lester with career home run No. 574 in the seventh inning, moving him past Harmon Killebrew for sole possession of ninth place on baseball's all-time list and coming in support of Pettitte's seven shutout innings.

But Martinez -- who began his first Red Sox-Yankees series with a 1-for-14 showing -- got to Coke for a long drive to left field with Dustin Pedroia aboard, bringing home Boston's first runs since the ninth inning on Thursday.

"That Red Sox team is a very good team," Damon said. "For our pitchers to shut them down for as long as they did, it says something about our pitching staff. I know Phil Coke was a bit disappointed, but he's going to come up big for us down the stretch."

It was a weekend marked by both A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia stepping up in their respective coming out parties, whipping 7 2/3 scoreless frames each -- just the types of dominant performances the Yankees envisioned when they doled out $243.5 million in free agent dollars.

The 37-year-old Pettitte maintained the scoreless string -- the longest by Yankees pitchers against Boston since a 33-inning showing in Sept. 1952 -- by holding Boston to five hits and two walks while striking out four in a 112-pitch outing that saw him strand the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

"It just kind of feels that our pitching staff is almost having a competition within themselves," Swisher said. "It's like, 'Hey, I did this. What can you do today?' I think that's really helping us out. They're doing a tremendous job and this series was huge for us. I mean, it was big."

The Yankees had come home into the series handling questions about their 0-8 showing against Boston earlier in the season, which included a two-game sweep May 4 and 5 in the Bronx. The grounds were soggy then and so were the crowds, with the type of October frenzy seen this weekend still months away.

"We were on the other side of this for a while and we had some very tough losses," Girardi said. "To come out and win these four games like we did, and the great pitching that we had, and home runs from big players, everyone contributing ... it's a good feeling."

PHILADELPHIA -- J.A. Happ has earned his spot in the Phillies' rotation, but sometimes performance is not enough.

Sometimes the numbers don't jive.

Happ will learn soon enough if the numbers work in his favor, although he certainly made a compelling case for himself Wednesday. He threw his second shutout of the season in a 7-0 victory over the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed just four hits and struck out a career-high 10 batters. He left the mound 8-2 with a 2.74 ERA, which ranks sixth in the National League.

Happ left the mound unquestionably one of the five best starting pitchers on Philadelphia's roster, although that might not matter.

"I don't know. I guess. Maybe," Happ said when asked if he felt like he was pitching for his job in the rotation.

It is crazy to think Happ might be in the bullpen, but the reality is this: The Phils have six starting pitchers and five spots.

Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton take three spots. Jamie Moyer leads the team with 10 wins, but his 5.55 ERA is the second highest of any pitcher in the NL. Pedro Martinez struck out 11 and allowed three earned runs in six innings in a rehab start Wednesday for Double-A Reading, but he hasn't pitched in the Majors since last season.

The Phillies have said Moyer, 46, is not made for the bullpen.

They have also said they signed Martinez, 37, to be a starter.

But while Happ, 26, arguably has been the team's most consistent starter, he also has pitched effectively out of the bullpen.

"Tremendous pitching. Outstanding," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "If he didn't allow any hits that might have been the only way he could have done better. I think he showed me he wants to stay in the rotation."

Has he?

"Let me answer that for you later on, OK?" Manuel said. "I don't feel like getting into that no more. I've answered that now for what, a week?"

But that was before Happ threw his latest shutout.

"One of these days I'll answer it correctly, OK?" Manuel said.

If the Phillies think Martinez is ready for the big leagues, that decision might come before Happ's next scheduled start Tuesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

A sellout crowd of 45,129 voiced its opinion. Of course, it cheered because Happ was throwing a shutout. But it also cheered because Happ was throwing a shutout with so much speculation about his future.

Fans chanted "J.A. Happ! J.A. Happ!" after he doubled to center field in the eighth inning. They stood on their feet and cheered as he struck out Troy Tulowitzki on a 94-mph fastball to end the game.

"He was hitting his spots," Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler said. "The first few innings he wasn't really hitting his spots, but from the fifth inning on he was just spotting up. He'd go in, he'd go further in. Then he'd go on the black and go away."

Happ pitched great, and the Phils' offense showed a pulse for the first time in a week. Chase Utley hit a two-out double in the first and scored on Ryan Howard's single to center. It was Howard's first RBI with a runner in scoring position since July 26. Pedro Feliz hit a solo home run to left field in the second to make it 2-0. Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer to left field in the second for a 4-0 lead. Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer to right field in the fifth to make it 7-0.

But while the Phillies have been dying for more offense, they got it on a night they didn't need it.

Happ had this one covered.

"He's got all the stuff to stay in the rotation," catcher Carlos Ruiz said. "He's working hard. We'll see what happens. We don't have control over that. It's pitching and that's it."

It has been an interesting year for Happ. He narrowly lost a Spring Training competition for the fifth spot in the rotation to Chan Ho Park. He replaced Park in the rotation on May 23, and pitched well enough that the Blue Jays requested him in trade talks for Roy Halladay. The Phillies landed Lee instead, but now Happ finds himself trying to prove himself again.

The constant speculation and questioning of his place has motivated him.

"I don't like to keep talking about it," Happ said. "I wish that maybe I didn't have to, but that's the reality of it. You're never not going to try to prove yourself."

He proved himself Wednesday. He proved he belongs.

CINCINNATI -- Randy Wells kept it simple. Lou Piniella wishes Carlos Marmol would, too.

Mike Fontenot belted a three-run homer to back Wells and lift the Cubs to a 4-2 victory on Monday over the Reds. The win boosted the Cubs into a tie for first in the National League Central with the Cardinals, who were idle.

Wells (8-4) now ranks second on the team in wins, trailing only Ted Lilly (9-7), who is on the disabled list. The right-hander went 7 1/3 innings and scattered six hits, including Alex Gonzalez's solo homer leading off the eighth. He also gave the overtaxed bullpen a chance to catch its breath.

"Where would we be without this young man?" Piniella said of Wells. "He throws strikes, pitches quick, gets his pitches over the plate, changes speeds, locates. You can say nothing but nice things, and it shows, because he's winning with consistency now."

The rookie, who went 5-1 with a 3.23 ERA in July, is closing in on his personal high in wins, which is 10, recorded last season at Triple-A Iowa.

"Maybe all the time in Triple-A, I finally learned something," Wells said. "I'm honestly not changing anything, not doing anything different. Throw strikes, give your team a chance. It works for me."

It's good advice for Marmol, who was subbing for closer Kevin Gregg. Piniella wanted to give Gregg a day off after the right-hander botched back-to-back save opportunities in Florida. Marmol made it interesting, giving up an RBI double to Gonzalez with two outs and one on. He escaped when Willy Taveras grounded out, although not without getting an earful from Piniella on the mound.

"I went out there with a message," Piniella said. "I've got confidence in Marmol. The problem is, he's making it too hard on himself. You really can't continue to throw ball three to hitters and think you'll have success in the big leagues. There's nobody who tries any harder or cares any more, but he makes it too hard on himself."

And Marmol knows that.

"[Piniella] said, 'Let's go, stop walking people out there,' " Marmol said. "I know they're going to take a pitch. I try to throw it for a strike. I try to forget about everything in the past."

Fontenot gave Wells all the runs he needed in the second. With one out, Milton Bradley was hit by a pitch, and he moved up on Alfonso Soriano's single. Fontenot followed with his ninth homer of the season off a 2-2 pitch from Aaron Harang (5-13). The second baseman's last homer was on July 24, also off Harang. He's now one away from matching his 2008 home run total, but it seems as though the pop's been missing from his bat.

"It's kind of been there, but I haven't been using it much lately," Fontenot said. "I've been getting good swings on the ball. I have to stay in a zone. When I get good fastballs to hit, I try to square them up, and I feel like I've been doing that the last few days, and I have to try to keep it rolling."

Derrek Lee added an RBI double in the eighth to chase Harang, but the Cubs left the bases loaded, and that nearly came back to haunt them in the ninth.

Wells doesn't want to talk about any postseason awards, and he is trying to keep a low profile. A 38th-round Draft pick, he didn't get much notoriety coming up in the Cubs system compared to others, such as Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. It's going to be tough not to notice him now.

"As long as I can go out there every fifth day and pitch, that's enough for me," Wells said. "I love being here, I love everything about it. I love the camaraderie of the team. I can stay under the radar as long as I want to."

Pitching coach Larry Rothschild keeps him in check.

"Every inning, every start, every side day, [Rothschild] says, 'Stay hungry,' " Wells said. "It took me forever to get here, and I don't want to go back to Iowa."

He could be part of something special, as the Cubs are in the thick of both the division and Wild Card races.

"We know where we're at," Piniella said. "[Sunday's game against the Marlins] was a tough game for us to lose in a lot of ways. We lost a chance to pick up ground in the division, and then stayed the same in the Wild Card.

"If we play well enough, we'll have plenty of time, and if we don't play well enough, it won't make any difference."

CHICAGO -- You wouldn't have wanted to be sitting next to CC Sabathia in the dugout after the third inning on Sunday, as the usually jovial left-hander stomped off the field after giving a lead right back to the White Sox.

Sabathia glared into the eyes of his catcher and vowed they would get no more. The ace kept his word, pitching into the eighth inning as the Yankees posted an 8-5 victory on an afternoon when Melky Cabrera hit for the 15th cycle in franchise history.

"I came in and told [Jose] Molina, 'That's all they get,' and he kind of said the same thing," Sabathia said. "I felt a lot better today than I have in my past three or four starts. I felt like I had a pretty good idea where the ball was going."

While the Bombers' offense was paced by Cabrera's four-RBI day, logging New York's first cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995, Sabathia straightened out his mechanical flaws and outpitched Mark Buehrle in a much-hyped duel that never materialized.

Needing a win to avoid what might have been a deflating four-game series sweep at U.S. Cellular Field, the Yankees stepped up to the challenge of facing Buehrle, making his first start at home since throwing a perfect game on July 23 against the Rays.

Facing the Yankees, a team he has historically struggled against, Buehrle was far from flawless. The southpaw was battered for seven runs and 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings as his struggles with New York continued. Sunday's defeat lowered his record to 1-6 with a 6.84 ERA in nine career starts against them.

"It's not like everyone is running to the bat rack to go face [Buehrle]," Derek Jeter said. "He knows what he's doing when he's pitching. He comes after you; he's not going to walk you. He's one of the best pitchers in our league, so I think it's probably just coincidence."

The Yankees took a 3-0 lead when Cabrera started his march with history in the second inning, depositing a three-run homer into the left-field bullpen.

"I wouldn't say he's one of those guys that sticks out like one of those guys that own me," said Buehrle, who gave up three of Cabrera's four hits. "I know Derek Jeter has gotten me pretty good, but other than that on that team, nobody really sticks out that's gotten me that much."

In any event, that cushion was short-lived, as Sabathia gave it all back in a four-run Chicago third inning.

Gordon Beckham connected for an RBI single, and Sabathia served up back-to-back home runs to Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome. That was when he delivered his impassioned ultimatum to Molina, and the catcher bought it.

"There's not much to say," Molina said. "When a guy that knows what he's doing on the mound tells you, 'That's it,' you know what it means. It's easy to figure out that he wasn't happy about the four runs in the third.

"To me, it was just that he really wants to win. I think he always wants to win, but after he gave up the lead in this inning, he was saying that the guys just gave him three runs to work with and he blew it. If they score a couple more, he said he was going to shut this team down."

Sabathia had beaten himself up after his last start at Tampa Bay, saying that he didn't feel as though he'd thrown a first-pitch strike "in three weeks."

Yet Sabathia didn't panic on Sunday, because his side work with pitching coach Dave Eiland gave him the confidence to rebound and log his third victory in four starts.

"In previous games, I would have probably been a little more frustrated than I was today," Sabathia said. "I felt like if I could keep getting ahead and making pitches, I'd be fine. That's what it's about, making pitches when it counts."

Evading a leadoff Chris Getz triple unscathed in the seventh, Sabathia pitched into the eighth inning, allowing five runs on 10 hits while walking none and striking out five in a 100-pitch outing. The line looked ugly in the box score, but didn't show the shut-down mentality.

"That's what he's able to do, and that's the kind of pitcher we have," Girardi said. "That's really big. You get a leadoff triple and you don't score, that's momentum for us. CC did what he needed to do for us to win."

"How many guys take you to the eighth inning with five runs? Not many," Molina said. "That tells you that he got hit early and made just a couple of mistakes. You take that inning away, and we'd win, 8-1."

After Cabrera's 10th homer of the year, he added a RBI single in the fifth that chased Buehrle. Molina's fourth-inning single tied the game, and Johnny Damon gave the Yankees the lead with a run-scoring hit later in the inning.

Jerry Hairston Jr. also had an RBI single, and Jeter drove in Cabrera after his cycle-clinching triple in the ninth inning. Phil Hughes recorded two outs and Mariano Rivera got four to log his 30th save, as the Yankees improved to 3-4 on their current three-city, nine-game road trip.

"You never want to get swept," Sabathia said. "That's a good team over there, and we've got an off-day tomorrow. You just want to come out and do whatever you can to just win one."

Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz confirmed on Thursday that he tested positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, during Major League Baseball's 2003 survey testing season, he said in a statement released by the club.

The report surfaced Thursday morning in a story first published on The New York Times' Web site. According to lawyers who spoke to the Times, and whose names were not revealed, Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are on the list of 104 players who tested positive, testing that was agreed to and conducted only on the condition that the results would remain anonymous.

Ortiz and Ramirez were members of the Red Sox at the time and in 2004 helped the club end an 86-year streak in which they hadn't won a World Series.

"One, I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true," Ortiz said in his statement. "Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. Two, I will find out what I tested positive for. And, three, based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me -- I will not hide and I will not make excuses."

In St. Louis for a series against the Cardinals, Ramirez deflected questions about Thursday's report.

"If you guys want to talk about the game and what happens now, I can sit and talk for two hours. But something happened six years ago, I don't want to talk about that," Ramirez said. "If you want more information, you have the number for the union. Call them."

Ramirez was suspended for 50 games earlier this season for testing positive to what was later reported to be a fertility drug. He apologized to his friends, fans and teammates, didn't contest the suspension, and returned to action on July 3.

Ramirez said Thursday's news would not change his or Ortiz's approach to the game.

"One more thing: me and David are like two mountains," Ramirez said. "We'll still keep doing good, no matter what. That's the way it's going to be. We're going to keep playing the game. We'll try to move forward. That's the key here. We're still going to be doing good. Only God can move those two mountains."

In 2003, 5-to-7 percent of the players tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs, reaching a threshold that led to the establishment of MLB's current drug policy that includes random testing and was renegotiated three times. In '03, there were no punitive measures and the names were not supposed to be disclosed. Suspensions and/or fines began in '04.

Regarding the '03 results, the Players Association was supposed to destroy the tests, but officers of the federal government -- investigating the case against the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) -- seized them under a warrant from an MLB-approved lab. They are still in government possession and the union continues to contest the seizure with the case at the federal appellate court level.

Previously, the names of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Jason Grimsley and David Segui were revealed on that list of 104 players. And though the list has been the subject of spirited debate among fans, players and the media about what should be done with the remainder of the names, the tests are supposed to be under court seal and the union again on Thursday said it would fight to maintain that legal privacy.

"Today, The New York Times, once again, reports what it asserts to be information contained in documents under court seal," the union said. "And precisely for that reason, the Players Association will not, indeed cannot, comment on whether the information is accurate. But there should be no mistake. The leaking of information under a court seal is a crime. The active pursuit of information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal is a crime. That its informants, according to the Times, are lawyers is both shocking and sad. That the Times is pursuing and publishing what it openly declares to be information which may not be legally disclosed is equally sad.

"We intend to take the appropriate legal steps to see that the court orders are enforced."

Major League Baseball deferred any comments about the remaining names on the list to the union.

"We have no comment because Major League Baseball has no knowledge of the names that are on the list," said MLB vice president of public relations Pat Courtney.

After Thursday's game at Fenway Park -- an 8-5 Boston victory over the A's in which Ortiz hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to give Boston a 6-5 lead -- Ortiz reiterated what he said in his pregame statement: that he would disclose any information whenever he knows it.

"All I have to say right now is I found out like an hour before the game about the situation and, as you guys know, I never turn my back on you guys," Ortiz said. "I've always been a true guy with you guys. Honestly, right now, I don't have any information about it. I'm going to get more info about the situation and I'm going to honestly tell you guys what's up. Right now, I don't have any answers. I've got no information. The next few days, I'm going to get some information about it."

According to the Times, new information on Ortiz and Ramirez sprang from interviews with persons connected to pending litigation.

Ortiz had been let go by the Twins following the 2002 season, and after signing a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Red Sox, set personal highs with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs in 2003. Ortiz continued improving on those statistics, compiling 148 RBIs in 2005 and 54 homers the following season.

Unlike Ramirez, Ortiz had never before been connected to performance-enhancing drugs. But his initial handling of the disclosure on Thursday drew praise from Terry Francona, his manager.

"We admire his approach to this, which is, he's not going to run from it, he's not going to hide from it," Francona said after the game. "The first thing he needed to find out was whether he indeed tested positive or not, and he confirmed that this afternoon talking to the union. Now he needs to find out what he tested positive for. He needs some time to get some answers and then he's going to stand up and answer every question. I admire that courage."

Approaching the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, several teams shuffled players in search of their best possible hands.

The Pirates split a pair up the middle -- Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson -- for prospects while the Indians dealt their strikeout king Cliff Lee to Philadelphia.

All the while, the straight-faced Blue Jays continue to hold on to Roy Halladay, their ace in the hole.

Trade rumors became reality Wednesday for 15 other players, and if the events are any indication of what's to come, it's going to be a busy time in the hours leading up to Friday's 4 p.m. ET deadline.

Lee, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, and outfielder Ben Francisco were sent to the Phillies for pitching prospects Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson. Lee will make his debut Friday or Saturday for the Phillies in San Francisco. He bolsters a rotation that already features Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer and J.A. Happ. Philadelphia's surplus of starters in the organization also features Rodrigo Lopez and Pedro Martinez.

"Obviously, we're pretty pleased," said Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro. "One of our goals was to acquire a top-of-the-rotation guy, somebody who we felt like was going to make a difference. And we think that Cliff can certainly do that. We've talked a thousand times about the right-handed bat. We've given ourselves some versatility."

The Phillies were considered the favorite in the Halladay sweepstakes but could not come to terms with Toronto regarding prospects.

"I don't think it impacts us," said Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, referring to Lee's trade. "Obviously, it impacts the Phillies. I would say we're probably out with the Phillies, but we're still talking to other teams."

In the Pacific Northwest, the rumors of Seattle's demise have been greatly exaggerated. The Mariners, currently 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Angels in the American League West, splashed into the trade pool Wednesday by acquiring an All-Star shortstop in Wilson and right-handed pitcher Ian Snell from the Pirates for catcher/first baseman Jeff Clement, shortstop Ronny Cedeno and top right-handed pitching prospects Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock. The Mariners also traded outfielder Wladimir Balentien to Cincinnati for right-handed reliever Robert Manuel

Cedeno is the only player that will immediately join the big league club, but the Pirates are elated to have landed Clement, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft who came up through the Mariners system as a catcher.

Wilson will jump right into the Seattle lineup. Snell may start out at Triple-A Tacoma.

"Whenever you get talent, you have to give up talent. That's what it amounts to," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "Then you have to weigh: Does this deal fit us? And it did. We addressed two nice needs with this move and you have to give up talent to get talent.''

Moving talent to gain talent is a familiar act in Pittsburgh this season. In addition to moving Wilson to the Mariners, the club later traded Sanchez to the Giants for right-handed pitcher Tim Alderson.

The addition of Sanchez's bat complements the offensive prowess of newly acquired first baseman Ryan Garko from the Indians. The Giants are in second place in the National League West and trail the first-place Dodgers by 7 1/2 games. San Francisco leads Colorado in the NL Wild Card standings by a half-game.

"To think that we got two players of this caliber for two Minor League pitchers -- albeit they're probably going to pitch in the big leagues -- we're very fortunate," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said.

Sanchez's $8.1 million option for 2010 becomes guaranteed if he reaches 600 plate appearances. He currently sits at 382. Sabean said he expects Sanchez to be with the Giants in 2010.

"I'm not saying I can come in here and be a savior and hit .300 or .400," Sanchez said. "I'll tell you this: There won't be any plays where I'm not giving 100 percent."

Trading Sanchez and Wilson was not a complete surprise. The Pirates cut off contract talks with the players after the pair rejected offers to extend their contracts and the Pirates rejected Sanchez's counter-offer.

Last week, the Pirates traded first baseman Adam LaRoche to Boston for Minor League pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz. Earlier this summer, the club sent Nate McLouth to Atlanta and Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to Washington.

"[The Mariners] were reluctant to talk about a number of players that we got back in this situation," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said, pointing to the inclusion of Clement. "But at the end of the day, they realized they're getting two good players. They need to give up talent to get talent."

Toronto could still be a player this week. The club engaged in trade discussions with Boston and has been linked to the Angels, Dodgers, Yankees and Rangers.

The Red Sox might be willing to offer pitcher Clay Buchholz and prospects for Halladay, however, the Blue Jays appear reluctant to deal their ace.

"All the teams we've been talking to, we've looked at them as potential matches," Ricciardi said. "But, once again, we said from the beginning that we'd have to be moved to move the player. At this point, we haven't been moved."

For his part, Halladay admitted the past three weeks have taken its toll.

"Of course, for me and my family, it's not fun to go through" he said. "That's why I'm trying to do the best I can to turn the page right now. There's not much I can control at this point. It comes to a point where you have to quit worrying about those things and do the best you can to move on."

MINNEAPOLIS -- In one moment Tuesday night, Mark Buehrle was making history. It was the sort of history never seen before in Major League Baseball.

Seventeen up, 17 down against the Twins.

Factoring in his perfect game thrown last Thursday at home against the Rays, Buehrle set a Major League record with 45 consecutive batters retired. It's a streak that began on July 18 on a Nick Markakis flyout, officially became Buehrle's alone on Joe Crede's groundout to shortstop Alexei Ramirez for the second out in the fifth on a low throw adeptly scooped by first baseman Paul Konerko and ended with a walk issued to Alexi Casilla in the sixth.

From that moment on, when Casilla turned an 0-2 count into a free pass on a 3-2 changeup that ranged a bit low, it was horrifying, painful business as usual for the White Sox at the Metrodome.

Minnesota rallied for one in the sixth to tie the game and scored four in the seventh, knocking Buehrle from the mound and claiming a 5-3, come-from-behind victory. It was the White Sox 13th loss in 15 games at the Dome and 16th setback in 20 games, allowing the Twins to forge a tie for second place in the American League Central.

Yet, with Detroit's second straight loss in Texas, the White Sox (51-50) and their 1-5 record on this seven-game road swing through the American League Central frontrunners stayed just two games removed from the top.

"We've just [been] lucky all year long," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "When we play bad, the other top teams in the division play worse."

Jermaine Dye had put the White Sox ahead in the sixth with a two-out, solo shot off of Minnesota starter Scott Baker, Dye's 23rd home run of the season. That one run seemed like more than enough with the easy manner in which Buehrle (11-4) was dismantling the Twins (51-50), needing only two slick plays in the field from third baseman Gordon Beckham leading off the second against Michael Cuddyer and from second baseman Chris Getz with one out in the sixth against Nick Punto to stay perfect. It's the deepest any starter has stayed perfect on the heels of a perfect game.

Denard Span broke up the bid for a second straight no-hitter with a single to center after Casilla's walk. Joe Mauer's double down the left-field line, just out of the reach of Scott Podsednik, scored Casilla to even the score at 1.

That little rally was just a harbinger of bad things to come. The Twins' four-run uprising in the seventh started when Buehrle hit Cuddyer with a pitch, and that miscue was followed by consecutive singles from Crede and Brendan Harris. Crede hit a ground ball to right through a vacated spot at second, when Getz broke toward the base, despite no play being on for the Twins.

A sacrifice bunt by Carlos Gomez and Nick Punto's bloop single to right brought in two runs and brought Buehrle's night to an end at 6 1/3 innings. After the loss, it was darn near impossible for Buehrle to revel in his latest record due to the manner in which he dropped the game.

"Right now, it means nothing," said Buehrle, who struck out three and walked one, throwing 65 of his 97 pitches for strikes. "It's probably one of the most fired up I've been after a game. I'll get in too much trouble, but I'm not a big fan of guys getting base hits when they hit it hard, and I'm not a big fan of broken bat bloop singles."

Both Buehrle and Guillen chalked up the Twins success on Tuesday to the typical Dome-field advantage over the White Sox.

"Any time here, you know it's going to happen," Buehrle said. "We could be up 10-0 in the ninth inning and you know something is going to happen, somehow they are going to rally."

"Typical Minnesota Twins baseball, if you can call it that way," Guillen said. "That's the type of team that puts the ball in play, and makes you make a lot of mistakes."

Gordon Beckham's two-run single in the ninth forced the Twins to use Joe Nathan for the final out. But for his second straight start, this was really a story about Buehrle's unparalleled excellence.

As he exited in the seventh, the crowd of 34,642 rose and gave Buehrle a rousing standing ovation. Buehrle tipped his cap. Perfection was not in the cards on this night, and once again at the Metrodome, neither was a victory for the White Sox.

"I wasn't ready to see him make more history, especially on our field," Span said. "I just wasn't seeing that tonight. I give him a lot of credit. He definitely earned a lot of points in my book the way he came out and showed a lot of courage and just a lot of heart."

MILWAUKEE -- Outfielder Josh Willingham had the game of his life on Monday night at Miller Park as the Nationals pounded the Brewers, 14-6.

Willingham became the 13th player in Major League history to hit two grand slams in a game.

"That was a special night and one I will never forget," Willingham said after the game. "You don't get the opportunity to do that many times, much less come through in both situations."

In the fifth inning, with the bases loaded and the score tied at 2, Willingham took an 0-1 pitch from Brewers right-hander Jeff Suppan and hit the ball over the left-field wall to give Washington a 6-2 lead.

"I tell you, he had a good day," Suppan said. "As far as the at-bat off me, I was trying to throw a sinker down and away and it ran in the middle. Obviously, he drove the ball very well today."

An inning later, reliever Mark DiFelice was on the mound, when Willingham hit his second grand slam of the night, tying the franchise record with eight RBIs, to give Washington a 13-5 lead. The last player in franchise history to drive in eight was Tim Wallach, who did so with the Expos on May 13, 1990.

"We got a scouting report on him, but I'd never seen him and I missed the first slider or cutter that he threw me, so I thought it was coming again and he threw it again," said Willingham. "I got some good extension on it and hit it out."

The last player to hit two grand slams in a game was Red Sox infielder Bill Mueller, who did the trick on July 29, 2003. Mueller, like Willingham, hit his slams in consecutive innings.

The last National League player to pull it off was then-Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis on April 23, 1999, against the Dodgers. Tatis is the only player in history to hit a pair of slams in the same inning.

It seems hard to believe that Willingham started the season on the bench. The Nationals were loaded with outfielders and they were trying to find out if Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes and Austin Kearns were everyday players.

Neither player produced and it took until mid-May for the team to play Willingham on a regular basis. Next to Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman, Willingham has been the best run producer on the team.

Asked if it took the organization too long to realize that Willingham was an everyday player, interim manager Jim Riggleman said, "You really can't look back on it and second guess anything. Everything was done with a good purpose. When Josh got the opportunity, he took advantage of it."

The way the game was going at first, it looked like Willingham may not have his great day. Washington got off to a slow start at the plate in the first four innings. The team had a runner in scoring position with less than two outs in the first four innings against Suppan, but couldn't score a run.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, had a 2-0 lead against Washington right-hander Craig Stammen after two innings. In the first inning, Prince Fielder doubled near the left-field line to score Ryan Braun. An inning later, Corey Hart took a 2-1 pitch and hit the ball over the left-field wall.

But the Nationals poured it on in the top of the fifth inning off Suppan. Nyjer Morgan made it a 2-1 game by driving in Alberto Gonzalez with a single to right field. Three batters later, Washington had the bases loaded when Dunn walked to force home Morgan.

After Nick Johnson struck out, Willingham hit his first grand slam.

The Brewers made it a 6-5 game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Nationals put the game out of reach in the next frame against Suppan. Cristian Guzman drove in two runs with a double down the right-field line.

Following an intentional walk to Zimmerman to put runners on first and second, Suppan was taken out of the game in favor of left-hander Mitch Setter. The lefty-lefty matchup didn't work, as Dunn hit a ground-rule double to send Guzman home.

Johnson was walked to load the bases and Mark DiFelice then entered the game to face Willingham. History was in the making as Willingham hit his second grand slam.

"Josh Willingham is a great hitter," DiFelice said. "My hat's off to him. That hasn't been done for a long time -- two grand slams in one game. But it happens."

The Nationals have won five out of their past seven games and are now 31-68 for the season.

"We are playing better," Willingham said. "That starts with our pitching and defense. If you look at the games, our defense is playing a lot better and we have been getting consistent pitching. When you do that, it gives you a chance on a daily basis to win. We have been getting some key hits lately."

CHICAGO -- Rich Harden shrugged off his day/night, home/road splits on Sunday and focused on pitching, and the Cubs now find themselves in first place.

Harden struck out eight over six innings to help the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2, completing a series sweep and moving into first place in the National League Central in front of 41,528 at Wrigley Field. It was Chicago's 10th win in its past 13 games.

The Cubs have a half-game lead over St. Louis, which lost, 9-2, to Philadelphia on Sunday. It's the first time Chicago has been in first since April 21. On that day, Harden also beat the Reds and Micah Owings, 7-2.

"We're starting to play good baseball when you need to play good baseball," Lou Piniella said. "There's a long couple months ahead of us, but we're headed in the right direction. It feels good to be on top. It's only a half a game, but we're on top."

Harden entered the game 2-5 at Wrigley compared to 4-1 on the road, and 1-5 in day games versus 5-1 at night. He called all the hoopla surrounding his lopsided numbers "ridiculous."

"I've just been feeling good [since the break]," Harden said. "The big thing for me was using my legs and being efficient throwing the ball. The first half, I wasn't doing that."

He gave up one hit -- Joey Votto's home run with two outs in the first -- and then retired 16 in a row before he was pulled. In three starts since the All-Star break, Harden is 2-0 and has given up two earned runs over 19 innings.

"The pitch to Votto wasn't the right one," said Harden, now 7-6 overall. "It ran back over the plate a little bit and he happened to get it when the wind was blowing hard out to right field. Other than that, I felt good."

After Votto's homer, the Cubs tied the game with two outs in the second, when Kosuke Fukudome drew a bases-loaded walk. Milton Bradley scored from first on Alfonso Soriano's double off Owings (6-11) to make it 2-1 in the third. Owings exited after three because of a tight right shoulder. Rookie Jake Fox added an RBI bloop single in the Cubs' seventh, the only ball he didn't hit hard all day.

"I squared the ball up four times today and the only one I got a hit on was one off the end of the bat," Fox said. "That's the way it goes sometimes."

Fukudome and Koyie Hill teamed up on a solid defensive play in the eighth, when the center fielder threw out Edwin Encarnacion, who tried to score on pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston's fly ball. In the Chicago eighth, Hill, the Ironman catcher, made it 4-1 with his first career triple, driving in pinch-hitter Reed Johnson, who had singled. Hill then scored on Fukudome's one-out single.

"They were talking about a squeeze after that [triple]," Hill said. "I said, 'I've got triple speed, I don't know about a squeeze.' I don't know if I've ever hit a triple in the big leagues. You see something new every day."

Last season, the Cubs moved into first on May 11 and never looked back, winning 97 games. It's been a struggle this year because of injuries and an inconsistent offense, but they've persevered.

"To go through some adversity can build a lot of character," said Hill, starting in place of injured Geovany Soto. "I'm proud to be in the position we are in, but at the same time, there's a lot of baseball to go. We only care about being in first place Nov. 4 or 5, whatever day that is, that final day. We'll keep plugging away."

There are lots of good signs. Bradley made a running catch in foul territory of Jonny Gomes' fly ball in the fifth, and also drew two walks and hit a single. Fukudome looks better at the plate. They're averaging 5.6 runs a game since the All-Star break. Having Aramis Ramirez back is huge. He didn't get an RBI on Sunday, but his presence definitely helps.

"Any team that loses their cleanup hitter will suffer, I don't care who you are -- if you're the Yankees or whoever, you're going to struggle for awhile," Ramirez said. "We went through that."

On Tuesday, Ryan Dempster returns from the disabled list. The team may be without Ted Lilly, but rookie pitchers Randy Wells and Kevin Hart have picked up the slack. They've got 66 games to go.

"It matters where we're at after 162 [games]," Bradley said. "After 110 or whatever we've got now, who cares? But it's better than chasing."

ARLINGTON -- With the flu spreading around their clubhouse, the Rangers went with Plan B on Wednesday. That backup option, Dustin Nippert, didn't look too bad.

The righty led the Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Red Sox at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, completing a three-game sweep.

Nippert learned that he would be making an emergency start on Wednesday after Vicente Padilla was scratched. Seven players, including Padilla, are battling the flu.

"This shows what character this team has," outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "We went out and played. We didn't care who we were playing -- we just went out and played. The way our pitchers are pitching, if we can play good defense and score a few runs, we're going to win a lot of games."

Nippert went 5 2/3 innings on a night when manager Ron Washington expected between four and five. He also threw 94 pitches, much more than the 70 his skipper predicted before the game.

"He still had good stuff," Washington said on why he sent Nippert back out after 70 pitches. "He still had some pop in his ball, movement on his fastball. We read him, and he still had it. He really picked us up."

Nippert was working on three days' rest. He pitched in relief on Saturday and Sunday, combining for 55 pitches.

Wednesday's win gave the Rangers a series sweep over the Red Sox, something last achieved in 2004. They are now a season-high 11 games over .500 -- a mark they've reached three times this season.

The win also secured the seventh sweep this season for the Rangers, keeping them three games behind the Angels for the American League West lead.

Reliever Doug Mathis did his best not to be outdone. He entered in the sixth with a runner on and struck out the first hitter he saw. After allowing a leadoff single to Jason Varitek in the seventh, Mathis retired nine consecutive hitters to finish the game.

"I just wanted to execute my pitches, make them swing the bats and put the ball in play," Mathis said. "I wasn't worried about going 3 1/3 innings. I was just trying to get guys out, win the ballgame and finish the game."

And Mathis did for his first professional save. C.J. Wilson was the last Rangers reliever to record a save of more than three innings, doing so on Aug. 26, 2005, against the Twins.

Mathis has now worked 14 2/3 scoreless innings over his past 10 games.

"We had guys that were ready," Washington said, "but because of the way he was pitching, we kept sending him out there. His pitches were crisp."

The Rangers' offense produced enough for Nippert to work with. Ian Kinsler led off the third inning with a solo home run that tied the score at 1. Texas moved ahead an inning later after several heads-up baserunning plays on a night when it swiped six bases -- one short of a franchise record.

Nelson Cruz led off the inning with a single, which David Murphy followed with a single into right field. Cruz took third on the play, and Murphy advanced to second on the throw to third.

Cruz scored when Taylor Teagarden grounded out to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Elvis Andrus brought Murphy home on a squeeze bunt that was executed to perfection one batter later.

The Rangers' defense shined, as well. Cruz, a late insertion into right field, made a great running snag on a fly ball off the bat of Dustin Pedroia. Cruz ran into center fielder Josh Hamilton while making the plate, but he managed to hang on.

The two hugged for a few seconds before breaking apart.

"We're two big boys," Hamilton said. "We were running after the ball, both calling it, and we both couldn't hear each other because of the crowd. At the last second, I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and backed off."

Washington was proud of the play. Varitek was on first and was running on contact, because there were two outs.

"That was a big play," Washington said. "If that falls, we don't know how it would've ended."

The game ended with a win, but it couldn't have happened without an excellent Plan B.

OAKLAND -- Considered by many the greatest leadoff hitter in the game today, Ichiro Suzuki was in a playful mood earlier this month while holding court at the 80th All-Star Game in St. Louis.

Asked for his thoughts on the impending Hall of Fame induction of Rickey Henderson, widely considered the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, Ichiro thought about it for a second or two and smiled.

"I thought he was still playing," Ichiro offered.

His still-chiseled frame and unbridled enthusiasm for his hometown A's suggests Henderson might, indeed, still be able to make a difference on the diamond. But this Sunday, Henderson takes his rightful place among baseball's immortals, joining former Red Sox slugger Jim Rice in Cooperstown's Class of 2009.

"Could I play right now? You know me. You know my answer to that one," Henderson said last month while participating in a reunion of the 1989 A's team he helped lead to a World Series sweep of the Giants. "I'll probably say I can still play as long as I'm walking and talking."

Walking and talking helped make Henderson one of the most productive and colorful players in the game's rich history.

He owned the Major League record for walks (2,190) when he played the final game of his 25-year career as a 44-year-old member of the 2003 Dodgers, and he's always been a world-class gum-flapper -- polarizing and entertaining with a singular voice and perspective that, along with his flamboyance afield, greatly enhanced the baseball conversation for a quarter of a century.

"Hated the guy. Absolutely hated him," fellow A's Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley said of his impression of Henderson before they played together. "The guy would style after taking a walk! And he never stopped stylin' the whole game. He was brutal!"

But as a teammate?

"I dug playing with Rickey, and I dug Rickey as a person once I figured him out," said Eck, who played with Henderson on that 1989 team and in parts of six other seasons in Oakland. "People think he was a hot dog -- so did I, until I played with him. But he wasn't hot-dogging it, he was just being Rickey. That's who he was. It wasn't an act at all. It was just Rickey being Rickey, and Rickey was all about having fun."

That's six "Rickeys" in a six-sentence span -- a ratio many expect Henderson to eclipse Sunday during the most highly anticipated induction speech in recent memory.

Henderson, a remarkably versatile player who owns the all-time records for stolen bases in a season (130) and career (1,406), for runs scored (2,295) and for leading off a game with a home run (81), was the unofficial king of third-person references during his playing days.

Yet during a 35-minute session with the media in Oakland last month, and during a lengthy Hall of Fame conference call last week, Henderson didn't drop a single third-person "Rickey."

That doesn't mean Henderson won't slip into old habits once he takes the podium. In fact, he vowed to stay true to the creative style that made him such a joy to watch.

"You know, speech and me don't even get along sometimes; I [wasn't] a doctor or professor," he said. "So me having to go up and having to try to write a speech or read a speech like that, that's kind of like, you know, putting a tie too tight on my neck. ... I don't know what I'm doing, man -- that's the whole thing about it. ... When the time comes, whatever at the time is going to feel right, what I've got to do is going to happen.

"I have no special way. I can't tell you I've got a special way to do it. I'm going to try to be creative. I'm going to try to be, you know, just me. Myself."

Just as Eckersley suggested, no matter what Henderson says or does, he's just Rickey being Rickey.

Being Rickey these days means being incredibly humbled. Named on 95 percent of the ballots issued to Hall of Fame voters from the Baseball Writers of Association of America, Henderson became the 44th player in history elected in his first year of eligibility.

"This compliment, this achievement, it's a great honor," Henderson said. "It's been fun. It's getting exciting. Now you sit back and you're seeing what kind of player that you became out there. It's exciting that [voters said], 'Hey you played it the right way, you went out and you worked, and you achieved what some of the greatest players out there have achieved.' So now you're in that class, so it feels good to feel that.

"It took a long time for me to feel that I was [that kind of] player."

Henderson was a Gold Glove-caliber left fielder whose "snatch catch" drew the ire of more than a few foes, but his career stands alone among leadoff men because he was a one-man juggernaut on offense, impacting games with his keen eye, his explosive speed and his lighting-bolt power. From the time he made his big league debut with the A's in 1979, it was clear that Henderson was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, boasting a previously unprecedented package.

"He put fear in the other team," said former A's manager Tony LaRussa. "Rickey was an intimidator in so many ways."

A 10-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger Award-winner, the 1990 American League MVP, the 1989 AL Championship Series MVP, and the AL single-season leader in stolen bases 12 times, Henderson had four stints with the A's and also played for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Padres, Angels, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers and Mariners.

When his career came to a close -- he's never officially announced his retirement -- Henderson had amassed 3,055 hits with a .401 on-base percentage, 297 home runs and 1,115 RBIs.

"He was so good for so long," Eckersley said. "I mean, the guy was a force in his 40s."

In 2001, at age 42, Henderson stole 25 bases for the Padres to give him 23 consecutive seasons with at least 20 steals. He also broke Babe Ruth's all-time record for walks -- since broken by Barry Bonds -- and Ty Cobb's all-time runs record that season, passing Cobb with a homer punctuated by a popup slide before jumping into his younger teammates' arms.

On the final day of the season, displaying a flair for the dramatic that characterized his career, he collected hit No. 3,000.

"I just love the game," Henderson said. "Baseball was something that I dedicated my life to."

On Sunday in upstate New York, the game will, once again, love Rickey right back.

NEW YORK -- Hideki Matsui made the familiar left turn around third base and slapped hands with third-base coach Rob Thomson, the standard operating procedure for celebrating a home run -- big or small.

That wouldn't do for the Yankees players clustered at home plate. They wanted more and Matsui obliged them, firing his batting helmet into the night sky after toppling the Orioles on Monday, 2-1, with his game-winning drive in the bottom of the ninth inning.

"I was just going to step on home plate normally, but I was told to throw my helmet," Matsui said through an interpreter. "So I threw my helmet. I've never done it before; it was a little uncomfortable. But I'd like to follow whatever the team's rules are."

Celebrating Matsui's blast off Orioles reliever Jim Johnson, the Yankees reacted with glee to the gesture from the normally reserved Japanese designated hitter. Melky Cabrera snagged Matsui's helmet and Alex Rodriguez tore it from his hands, parading it around the infield.

Later, the Yankees would have a bigger reason to celebrate. New York moved into a tie for first place in the American League East when the Red Sox lost, 6-3, at Texas.

"It's such a tough division," said Andy Pettitte, who hurled 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball and happily took a no-decision. "We're going to have to win. The Rays are good and Boston is good. It almost seems like if you go into a couple-day slump, you really fall back. It's going to happen. The guys keep battling back when we have some adversity."

In the Yankees' ninth walk-off win this season, Matsui posted just his second career home run of that variety, his 15th homer of a season that has been marked by continuing battles with knee injuries but also a clean transition to life as a DH.

"We've always felt that he was real important," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Our biggest concern was his health, and he has been really good. He's had big hit after big hit. He's a guy that knows how to hit in that position."

After the homer -- as has become the popular custom with the Yankees thanks to pitcher and part-time prankster A.J. Burnett -- Matsui was left wiping whipped cream out of his eyes upon being hit from behind with a pie plate.

"The moment I got hit, I realized, 'Man, I had totally forgotten about it,'" Matsui said. "I was watching everybody else and I knew about it, but I was just caught in the moment and I had totally forgotten."

The late fun transpired after Pettitte turned in one of his strongest outings of the year. Nick Markakis took Pettitte deep for a solo home run in the top of the first inning, and Pettitte could have been excused for thinking, "Here we go again."

But Pettitte dusted off his briefly abandoned cutter, as Baltimore managed little else against the veteran left-hander. He left to a warm ovation in the eighth after tying his longest start of the year, posting a season-high eight strikeouts and scattering six hits while walking two.

"I've been feeling so good that it's been awfully frustrating for me," Pettitte said. "I couldn't feel any better about the way stuff has been going, and when the results aren't how you want them to be, it's really frustrating. I'm just hoping I can keep doing what I've been doing."

With Pettitte yielding after 109 pitches to Phil Coke, the left-handed reliever escaped a two-on, one-out jam in unconventional form.

Coke's first pitch was chopped on the ground to first base, where Mark Teixeira alertly fielded it and made an off-balance throw home to nail Cesar Izturis sliding feet-first for the second out.

"I got my glove down and there wasn't somebody there to tag, and then I looked up and saw him there going wild," Molina said. "My reaction was to just go get him because I didn't want him touching that plate."

Teixeira, a Gold Glove Award-winning defender in his own right, said the play reminded him of his days as a third baseman throwing on the move. He offered his best compliments to Molina.

"For me, the tag is more impressive, because he's got to know exactly where the play is and where the guy is sliding," Teixeira said. "He's blind. It's easy for me to catch the ball and throw it toward him. He made an incredible tag there."

Still not out of trouble, Coke bounced a fastball to Adam Jones that hit Molina in the chest protector and shot toward the Yankees' dugout.

Brian Roberts broke from third base and tried to score the go-ahead run, but the catcher's throw to the plate was in time for Coke to slap an inning-ending tag as Roberts appeared to miss the plate in a key sequence.

"If you don't make those plays, you don't necessarily win the game," Girardi said.

With both Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera unavailable as the Yankees played their third consecutive 2-1 game, Alfredo Aceves dodged another bullet in the top of the ninth by pitching around a hit batsman and intentional walk, preserving the tie and earning the win on Matsui's heroics.

Making his first career start against the Yankees, David Hernandez held New York to one run -- Eric Hinske's solo home run in the second inning, his fourth homer in four starts since being traded to the Yankees in June -- on three hits over six innings, walking three and striking out four.

The cohesive victory came on a day when Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner lauded the club's attitude, saying that the mood in the clubhouse is fresher than in years past.

Positive influences aside, the Bombers also seem to be finding ways to win ballgames -- a perfect recipe for strong camaraderie.

"You see the group of guys that we have in there," Girardi said. "Our guys have never stopped playing hard. They seem to really enjoy being around each other; the clubhouse is alive every day. It's a good group and a close group, and I think you can see it in the way we play."

SAN DIEGO -- Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis didn't get a chance to show his stuff at the All-Star Game in St. Louis, but he showed why he was All-Star-worthy Sunday at PETCO Park.

The righty tossed eight innings, allowing one run on five hits. He stifled the Padres' bats as Colorado rolled to a 6-1 victory to close the series with the Rockies, taking three of four games.

In earning his 12th victory, Marquis (12-6) leads Major League pitchers in the wins category.

"What he did today was pound the strike zone early in the count," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "When he starts throwing strikes early in the count and gets the opposition swinging, the ball starts getting hit on the ground. He gets a lot of easy outs.

"He gets a lot of low pitch-count innings. This is when Jason Marquis is at his best, and he was today."

Marquis threw 96 pitches, 66 for strikes, while battling some irritation on the middle finger of his throwing hand. He said he was most bothered when throwing his sinker and changeup.

"I had to change up a grip on a few of my pitches to take the sting away," Marquis said. "You make adjustments and try to work with what you have."

Marquis struck out three and walked none, which was the second time this season he has pitched at least eight innings without a walk.

"He sat them down and gave us an opportunity to add on and build a lead," Tracy said. "If today is any indication of what the second half for Jason Marquis will be like, we'll take that."

The Rockies built a 6-0 lead when they scored four runs in the sixth inning. Right fielder Brad Hawpe got it started with a solo homer to left field, and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki scored when catcher Chris Iannetta reached base on a fielding error by Padres third baseman Chase Headley.

Marquis then hit a two-run double to center field to score third baseman Ian Stewart and Iannetta.

"I haven't swung a bat in the past week or so with the All-Star break, and I hadn't taken [batting practice] this road trip yet," Marquis said. "I felt good, and I just tried to see it and hit it as hard as I could."

Marquis allowed his only run of the game in the seventh inning. Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

The Rockies started their offensive blitz when center fielder Carlos Gonzalez stole third base and scored on a throwing error by Padres catcher Jose Lobaton in the third inning.

"I was impressed to see some of the things I saw from Carlos Gonzalez today," Tracy said. "He had better swings today. When we get him on base, he's an electric player. His legs got us our first run and got us started in the right direction."

Stewart added a run in the fourth when he knocked a 430-foot home run to right field off Padres starting pitcher Mat Latos, who made his Major League debut.

"He's got some good stuff," Stewart said. "I didn't really see a lot of breaking balls. I saw a lot of baseball. Obviously he throws it pretty hard."

Latos (0-1) allowed two runs on three hits in four innings of work. Latos, who was clocked at 98 mph, had one walk and four strikeouts.

"There's no questioning the fastball and the arm that the kid has. He's got a very powerful arm," Tracy said. "When he starts to get to the point where he commands his secondary pitches, he's going to be a tough customer as he moves forward. I can promise you that."

MIAMI -- Ryan Howard's career is still relatively young. But power-wise, he's on an unprecedented track.

With his solo shot in the sixth inning of Thursday night's 4-0 win over the Marlins, the Phillies' first baseman became the fastest player in Major League history to hit 200 home runs.

Howard, 29, reached the 200-homer plateau with a drive to right field off Marlins starter Chris Volstad. It was the lefty slugger's 23rd home run of the year, and it came in his 658th career game, 48 fewer contests than the previous record.

Before Howard, the fewest amount of games a player needed to notch 200 homers was 706, by Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner.

"That's pretty cool," said Howard, who was able to retrieve the historic ball. "It'll hit me later on. I'll kind of come down a bit later. It'll be something I can look back on and just kind of cherish a little bit."

The homer was the fourth time in 15 at-bats Howard had gone deep against Volstad, Florida's 23-year-old right-hander. This time, Howard went deep on a 1-0 changeup that sailed right down the middle.

"That's pretty impressive," Volstad said of Howard's accomplishment. "Obviously, that's something you don't want to be part of. On that pitch, he did what he's supposed to do. That's why he has 200 home runs."

It was Howard's 23rd career long ball against the Marlins. The most he's hit against one team is 30, versus the Nationals.

"It just goes to show you how good he is," said manager Charlie Manuel, who said he could easily see Howard reaching the historic 500-home run mark. "When Ryan follows the ball, he becomes a good hitter. I mean, he stays on the ball. Hitting is no secret. When he hits the ball, he's really dangerous."

Howard trails Dick Allen by four home runs for seventh place on the Phillies' all-time list.

The St. Louis native was 24 when he made his debut with the Phils in 2004, but he wasted no time getting to work. And if Howard can stay at this remarkable home-run pace for another eight years, he could make a serious dent in the all-time home runs list by the time he's 37.

That just so happens to be the age of left fielder Raul Ibanez, who hit two home runs to catapult the Phils on Thursday and isn't doubting the younger Howard for one minute.

"I'm not foolish enough to put a limit on him," Ibanez said. "He's got incredible talent, and he works extremely hard, and he loves what he does. He loves his craft, and he's always on a quest to master his craft, which is really awesome to watch. And I think the thing that makes this team a great team is nobody's satisfied where they are -- they all want to get better."

As for staying in the game as long as his teammate and fellow All-Star?

"I would like to," Howard said. "Obviously that's kind of the age that guys are continuing to play through. Guys are taking care of their bodies more so they're able to play longer."

PHILADELPHIA -- Pedro Martinez answered the skeptics with a devilish grin.

"I might surprise you," Martinez said. "I might not. But it's going to be fun. It's going to be really fun to go and find out."

It certainly should be interesting. The Phillies announced Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park they had signed the 37-year-old right-hander to a one-year contract worth $1 million, plus roughly $1.5 million in incentives. Everybody will learn soon enough if Martinez can pitch effectively in the Major Leagues, but he showed how entertaining the ride could be as he answered questions for more than 30 minutes in a lively news conference.

"I bring with me a legacy," Martinez said. "I bring with me my last name. I bring my face. I bring everything I have, my integrity, to this team. ... I'm not going to say anything. I'm just here to prove it. Talking doesn't win games. I want to get between the white lines and see what I can do."

The Phillies placed Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with what they called a mild strain in his right shoulder. The move is more procedural, because Martinez, who has not pitched competitively since the World Baseball Classic in March, is not ready to pitch in the Majors. He will join the Phillies this weekend in Florida for an evaluation before he begins his rehabilitation assignment in Clearwater, Fla. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Martinez could be pitching for the Phillies as early as July 30, when he is eligible to be activated for the opener of a four-game series against the Giants in San Francisco.

Philadelphia considers this a low-risk, high-reward move.

It is low risk because the Phillies have committed only $1 million to Martinez, which allows them to continue their pursuit of Blue Jays right-hander Roy Halladay. Amaro, while not addressing Halladay specifically, said the Phillies have flexibility to add salary this season. In other words, if the Phils do not acquire Halladay, it will not be because of his contract. It will be because of the prospects Toronto wants in return, and whether or not Philadelphia is willing to give them up.

It is high reward because the Phils believe Martinez still has something left in his right arm, which means the club would end the pitching carousel at the bottom of its rotation, which has included Rodrigo Lopez, Antonio Bastardo, Chan Ho Park and Andrew Carpenter. Lopez is scheduled to make his next start Monday against the Cubs at Citizens Bank Park, but Martinez is expected to take his place in the rotation.

But how much does Martinez really have left? He went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA last season with the Mets. He pitched for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, but in a market where teams are desperate for pitching, he only now found a team to sign him.

"I just wasn't willing to sign a Minor League deal," Martinez said. "I wasn't willing to go to places that I didn't feel comfortable going. I didn't feel like going with some teams ... things like that, things that come into play when you're the kind of player that I am.

"I have already made a career. I don't have a need for anything material that you see out here. I just have the desire to play. I feel like I can play. I'm going to do it, and I'll be the first one to be convinced -- really convinced -- if I can do it or not. If I don't do it, I'm going to go home and take myself out of baseball. But I'm not going to let anybody, any comment, drag me out of baseball. I'm going to do it when I feel it's the right time. If my health fails, I will go. But none of you is going to drag me out."

Phillies assistant to the general manager Charley Kerfeld watched Martinez pitch in the Classic. Kerfeld watched Martinez pitch again last week at the team's baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. Kerfeld liked what he saw, so the Phillies asked Martinez to throw one more time to see how his arm responded. Phillies assistant general manager Benny Looper watched the second session, and he also liked what he saw.

Martinez's fastball ranged from 86 to 91 mph in the first session. It dropped a bit in the second, but Martinez hasn't thrown regularly since the Classic. The Phillies hope his rehab assignment in the Minors builds up his arm strength to allow him to throw more consistently.

"It hasn't been easy for me," Martinez said of his final two seasons with the Mets, which were marred by injuries. "I don't like to make excuses. I gave it up the last few years. I wasn't the same Pedro Martinez that you're accustomed to seeing. I was having surgery. I think I was too brave sometimes. I was stupid sometimes for pitching and knowing that I wasn't in the regular health that you should be in. The last few years have been horrible. I'm not saying horrible because of the results, but because I haven't felt like I wanted to feel.

"I don't expect to be the same Pedro that I was when I was 26. But I still feel like I can still bring something to the table. I still feel like this team needs a little help, very little help, and I think I can supply a little bit of it. I'm not going to say all of it, but a little bit of it."

Martinez could help the Phillies bury the Mets in late August, when the teams meet for a four-game series at Citi Field.

Martinez said he holds no ill will to the Mets. In fact, he said he very much loves the fans there.

Phillies fans might not like hearing that.

"Don't confuse that now," Martinez said of his love for Mets fans. "It could be my mom standing up with a bat, and if I have to back her up ... I'm a very competitive player. Once I step between the white lines, you see me smiling now, but you're not going to see that face when I'm on the field. As far as embracing the Phillies fans, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun, because they seem to be really wild. And I'm a little bit out there, too. I think we're going to match up really well. I'm looking forward to doing that, too.

"But I can't do anything with the hate you feel for the Mets or Mets fans. That's between you guys."

ST. LOUIS -- It was an All-Star Game full of fresh faces until the very end. And that meant a very familiar result on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

The American League extended its unbeaten streak in the Midsummer Classic to 13 years with a 4-3 win over the National League in front of 46,860. The AL's run without a loss is the longest unbeaten streak in All-Star history.

First-time All-Stars Adam Jones and Curtis Granderson teamed up to deliver the winning run for the Junior Circuit, which will have home-field advantage in this year's World Series, but All-Star veterans Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera brought the game home in relief.

"That's what we came here to do," said Rivera, who set a record with the fourth All-Star save of his magnificent career. "We came here with a mission and our mission was accomplished."

Jones' sacrifice fly with one out in the top of the eighth inning scored Granderson, who had tripled, for the winning run. That made a winner of Red Sox closer Papelbon, who pitched a perfect seventh despite a couple of very loud outs. The NL led early and for much of the game, but it couldn't bring home the victory in the late innings.

Thus in many ways, the game followed a very similar script to several recent All-Star Games -- all the way down to the game-winner, as it was the second consecutive year the AL won on a sac fly. Throughout the AL's unbeaten streak, the NL has threatened with many close calls, including four successive one-run losses. But in the end, the AL always comes up with the key hit, the big catch and especially the finishing pitch.

"I give them all the credit in the world," said NL manager Charlie Manuel. "They played a tremendous game. They got big hits when they had to, and they held us at the end."

The game turned drastically within a seven-batter stretch in the seventh and eighth innings.

Facing Papelbon, Brad Hawpe led off the bottom of the seventh with a high, deep drive to left field. All-Star Game MVP Carl Crawford tracked the ball all the way to the wall, timed his leap perfectly and reached over the wall to rob Hawpe of what would have been a tie-breaking homer. Miguel Tejada followed with a deep drive to right field, but his bid for a homer fell just short of the fence.

Crawford's catch earned him MVP honors.

"It's got to be the top play [of my career]," Crawford said. "I don't think I've ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight. It's definitely probably my best catch I've ever made."

Papelbon struck out Jayson Werth to end the inning, keeping the game tied. After Padres closer Heath Bell got a grounder to open the eighth, Granderson smacked a one-out triple that Justin Upton couldn't corral. Upton, playing left field for the first time, might have been able to play the ball better but it still would have been tough to gun down the speedy Granderson.

"I was waiting to see, did he catch it? ... As soon as it started to kick away, then I go ahead and say, 'Hey, I'm going to third,'" Granderson said.

After an intentional walk to Victor Martinez, Jones delivered the game-winner against Bell, who took the loss.

"It's still surreal to me," said Jones. "Right man at the right time. I'm glad the National League decided to walk Victor Martinez ahead of me."

The end overshadowed what was an entertaining and competitive game throughout. Both starters had some difficulty, and then the bullpens locked down.

NL starter Tim Lincecum got into trouble quickly, allowing a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki and hitting Derek Jeter with a pitch. Lincecum nearly got out of it, though. Joe Mauer grounded into a force and Mark Teixeira hit a grounder to Albert Pujols, but Pujols booted the ball and a run scored. After Jason Bay's soft single, Josh Hamilton grounded into a force play to bring home a second AL run.

Pujols made a couple of brilliant plays later in the game, but the Gold Glover's error still proved costly.

"The ball was hit in between second and first, and I just kind of got lost a little bit," Pujols said. "It kind of handcuffed me, because it went through Mauer's legs almost. I kind of lost that vision. But that's an error you don't want to make early in the game like that. It cost us two runs. But hey, it's part of the game. You learn from the experience."

Roy Halladay received that 2-0 lead before he even took the mound, and when he retired the first five NL batters, it appeared he was on his way to a superb night. But David Wright and Shane Victorino slapped two-out singles, and hometown hero Yadier Molina did something very familiar to the home fans when he delivered a clutch two-out hit. A throwing error by Hamilton allowed a second run to score, and Prince Fielder put the NL ahead with a pinch-hit RBI double.

"I think the hardest part is that you have a bunch of guys that you've never seen," Halladay said. "You're not quite sure what to do, but I had a lot of fun. For the most part I felt good. In games like this, you want to go out and you want to be aggressive. If you get hit, it's because you're throwing strikes and making guys swing the bat. I think that's what it's all about."

The lead stood until the fifth, when Mauer lined a two-out double to left field against Chad Billingsley. That scored Jeter, who had beaten out a potential double-play ball one batter earlier.

"I had three at-bats against three pitchers, and they're the best in the game," Mauer said. "So I tried to stay short. He threw me a cutter outside, and I was able to put a good swing on it."

Meanwhile, the AL pitchers were locking down as tight as security for President Barack Obama, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. AL pitchers retired 18 consecutive batters from the second into the eighth inning, the second longest such streak in All-Star Game history. Mark Buehrle, Zack Greinke, Edwin Jackson, Felix Hernandez and Papelbon all pitched perfect innings before the NL threatened against Nathan in the eighth.

The Twins closer got the first two outs of the inning, but walked Adrian Gonzalez. Orlando Hudson singled off shortstop Jason Bartlett's glove, bringing up the dangerous Ryan Howard. With full faith in his right-hander, though, AL manager Joe Maddon never had a thought of going to lefty -- and AL saves leader -- Brian Fuentes.

"These stallions in the bullpen, it's not necessary to match up," Maddon said. "It was their inning. There's no concern about matching up with those three guys in the bullpen. It's just their inning."

And just as Maddon expected, Nathan escaped. He got Howard to swing at a slider for the strikeout, ending the last real threat for the home team.

"I fouled off a couple fastballs and couldn't hold up on the slider," said Howard, a St. Louis-area native who would have been a huge hero if he'd delivered.

"That's the game of baseball, sometimes it happens like that. I came up a little bit short. I got caught off guard. He threw me a slider and I just couldn't hold up."

And with that out, the game was all but over, because Rivera loomed. The Hall of Fame-bound Yankees closer twirled an utterly uneventful 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the record-breaking save.

Some things just don't change.

"Everyone keeps talking about the winning streak that we have, but there have been a lot of games that could have gone either way," Jeter said. "It says a lot about our pitching. They have great players and a great team, but we're just fortunate."

ST. LOUIS -- This has been Albert Pujols' town since about 2002, when he was the best player and MVP runner-up on a team that made an inspiring and engrossing run to the National League Central championship.

The Cardinals have been Pujols' team for at least the past couple of seasons, since Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds were traded.

But now is unquestionably Pujols' moment, in a way it has never been before. This week's All-Star festivities belong to the two-time MVP, and Major League Baseball has made very little secret about it.

Pujols has been the centerpiece of advertising for not only Tuesday night's 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, but the State Farm Home Run Derby as well. He participated -- unsuccessfully, unfortunately -- in the "Call Your Shot" promotion before the Derby, trying to win a prize package for a fan. He's on the cover of one magazine after another. He's sure to get the biggest ovation before Tuesday night's game, and he drew unquestionably the biggest crowds during Monday's media sessions with the All-Stars.

It's Pujols' world, and everyone else is just living in it -- even 65 of the greatest baseball players on earth, his fellow All-Stars. However great his All-Star teammates and opponents are, this is Pujols' show.

"Yeah," said Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, "and it should be. It's his city. He's done so much for the city. I know what a great person he is. I know what he's done off the field as well. So it should be. It should be a celebration of how great he is as a player and as a person. He's a great ambassador for Major League Baseball. He's the best player we have in our game today, and he deserves all the accolades and all the attention and success he's received."

Yes, Cardinals fans -- that's Ryan Braun, object of so much of your scorn. Braun, the slugging star of the rival Brewers, is hitting cleanup for the National League team on Tuesday night. He's a legitimately great hitter in his own right. But even he marvels at Pujols.

"Playing this game every day, recognizing how difficult it is to have success and be consistent, when you look at the numbers that he's put up, it's incredible," Braun said.

Pujols is even going to receive the ceremonial first pitch that President Barack Obama will throw out before Tuesday night's game. And he's comfortable enough with his place in the whole thing to crack a joke about it.

"I'm just going to tell him, 'Lob it up there. Don't try to be a perfect throw,'" Pujols laughed. "The worst thing, if you throw any first pitch, you don't want to bounce it. That's the advice that I'm going to give. Make sure that you don't bounce it."

Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa has called Pujols the greatest player he's managed in a 30-year career. A recent Sports Illustrated article asked whether he was the most perfect player there has ever been. The questions are no longer whether Pujols is the best player in the game today. Simply, he is. The questions now focus on where he stands in the history of the game.

All before his 30th birthday.

"I don't think I'm a perfect ballplayer," Pujols said. "Because if I would have been perfect, there would be things I wouldn't have in my numbers that I want to change -- a strikeout, an error, that ball that went through my legs [on Sunday]. I don't think a perfect player would make a mistake like that. I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect player. It's great, but you need to be humble. I don't think there's any such thing as a perfect player. If you were perfect, this game wouldn't be fun. I wouldn't have to work hard."

And there's zero doubt about Pujols' work. He's obsessive about hitting, working not only hard, but smart. He attacks every batting practice session with a plan and hones his swing down to the finest details. Then he takes that plan into the game. One thing pitchers have learned over the years is that just because you get Pujols out one time, it doesn't mean the same thing will work next time.

"He takes every at-bat seriously," said Giants pitcher Matt Cain. "He doesn't go up there and give away at-bats. With a guy on second and nobody out, he's looking to help the team. He's going up there to get a guy over. If he gets a hit, it's good, but he's looking to help the team out. That's what makes Pujols an All-Star for so many years and such a great hitter."

Pujols also has shown more willingness this week, and to some extent this season, to be not only the game's best player, but one of the faces of baseball. It's still not a role he eagerly embraces, but he's growing more comfortable with it. He participated in two separate media sessions on Monday morning, and he was charming and engaging both times.

And even as Pujols gets better and more comfortable with such tasks, they remain far from his first priority.

"Represent the organization, represent this uniform that I wear every day and Major League Baseball -- that's something that I try to do every day," he said.

"Every day" is a key phrase in understanding Pujols. He is the same player from day to day, week to week, season to season. His consistency at an elite level is staggering. He hasn't hit below .327 or posted an on-base percentage lower than .415 since 2002. Only twice in his career has he slugged lower than .609.

When it comes to the finer points, he's gotten better every year. But the overall package is the same as it's been since he burst onto the scene in 2001. It's just that this year, for whatever reason, his star has risen. Perhaps it's the simple numbers, his remarkable display of first-half power. Perhaps with the tarnishing of superstars Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the spotlight has moved on to the next great one.

Maybe it's just his time. But it's certainly, unquestionably, his week. Just ask someone who would know. A year ago, the All-Star Game was at Yankee Stadium, in Derek Jeter's house, just as this year's Midsummer Classic is at Pujols' house.

"I think last year was more a celebration of Yankee Stadium, and rightly so," Jeter said. "And I think this year it seems like it's a celebration for Albert, and rightly so once again. What he's done for this organization, how he's handled himself, it's pretty special."

ST. LOUIS -- Post positions have been drawn and the horses are just about ready to break from the gate in baseball's favorite Derby.

The 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby field was finalized on Sunday, when American League home run leader Carlos Pena was named to replace the Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia on the AL roster for Tuesday's All-Star Game and as the fourth AL entrant in the Derby.

The Derby, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 8 p.m. ET tonight.

MLB.com's coverage will include a live feed of the Derby, a Twitter feed and real-time results.

Pena joins Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge, Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz and Twins catcher Joe Mauer from the Junior Circuit, and the National League features big league homer leader, hometown hero and All-Star centerpiece Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, plus Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres, Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard of the Phillies.

"I thought that it would be only fitting for me to experience the whole entire thing," Pena said of being named to the All-Star team and the Derby on the same day.

"This is a huge deal to me. I'm not going to even pretend to play it cool or professional. I'm in shock. I've called half the world."

Pujols is naturally the choice as the heavy favorite in this competition.

Not only will Pujols be swinging for fences that he knows -- and clears -- better than anyone in the game, but he's also on the way to the biggest power year in his otherworldly career. Pujols had 32 homers entering Sunday's games -- eight more than Gonzalez, the NL runner-up, or Pena, the AL leader.

Pujols will also participate in the "Call Your Shot" promotion, in which a fan points to a spot in the stands and Pujols attempts to hit a batting-practice home run to that area. If he is successful, the fan wins a prize package.

"It's good -- it's a great honor to be an All-Star and have the opportunity to be in the Home Run Derby in your hometown where you play," Pujols said. "Hopefully, I can perform good for the fans, and I'm pretty excited."

Pujols' two past Derby performances indicate flashes of brilliance. In 2003 at U.S. Cellular Field, he hit a Derby-high 14 homers in the semifinal round but lost, 9-8, in the final to then-Angels outfielder Garret Anderson.

In his only other Derby appearance, in 2007 at San Francisco, Pujols worked overtime. First, he won a swing-off against the Twins' Justin Morneau to get out of the first round. Then he hit nine homers in the semifinals, but because eventual winner Vladimir Guerrero matched Pujols with nine, Guerrero -- who had hit five first-round homers to Pujols' four -- advanced based on total numbers.

This year, Pujols said he's just happy to be celebrating the Midsummer Classic in St. Louis along with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and closer Ryan Franklin.

"I thank the fans for voting, not just for me, but for my teammates, too," Pujols said. "To have the opportunity to be in such a great event with some of the other great players in the game, obviously, I'm really humbled and honored to be there."

Howard is honored, too, and he's the only contestant in this year's Derby to have won this event before.

Howard -- a native of nearby Wildwood, Mo., who attended Missouri State University -- accomplished the feat in 2006 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, beating David Wright of the New York Mets, 5-4, in the final round. This year, Howard is bringing a secret weapon in the form of Deron Spink, his high school summer baseball coach, who will be Howard's personal pitcher.

"He knows me as well as anybody, as far as hitting goes," Howard said. "So I felt kind of like it was the place where it all began, and I just wanted to ask him, because I knew he would get a kick out of it."

Fielder is the only other Derby participant in either league who has tried this event in the past. The Brewers slugger didn't make it out of the first round in 2007 at San Francisco, hitting three homers. But he said he'll enjoy trying to do better this time.

"The fans like it," Fielder said. "I know the All-Star Game is 'for real' and everything, but I feel like it's more for the fans. If they want to see me, I'll be there."

Five first-timers will be there, too.

Gonzalez is the first Padres player to compete in the Derby since Gary Sheffield and Fred McGriff participated in 1992, when the All-Star Game was played in San Diego.

"It's exciting, and it's going to be fun," Gonzalez said. "There's always some fear of not hitting any home runs, although I wouldn't be the first or the last to do that. But hopefully, I can get into a good streak and hit a few of them."

Inge, who earned his All-Star spot by beating out four other players in the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote, said the Derby might be his one shot at All-Star glory.

"Let's face it -- I was the last American League [player] picked to be in the game, so who knows if I will even get a chance to play?" Inge said. "But I know for a fact that I am going to [participate] in the Home Run Derby, and that really is going to be a lot of fun."

Cruz, meanwhile, has the unique responsibility of carrying the Rangers' torch into this year's Derby after his teammate, Josh Hamilton, put on perhaps the most memorable show in the history of the event last year, blasting 28 balls out of Yankee Stadium in the first round alone.

"I think I have a chance," Cruz said. "I don't expect to hit 20 homers like Josh."

And then there's Mauer, who leads the AL in hitting, which, as a two-time batting champion, is normal. But through Saturday, he also had 15 homers in 236 at-bats this year when his previous best power output was 13 long balls in 521 at-bats in 2006.

So Mauer has that going for him, which is nice, and he's got his high school coach, Jim O'Neill -- from Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn. -- heading to the Gateway City to pitch to him.

"I wanted to make sure that he could do it, and here we are," Mauer said. "I just think it's a great event. I always told my buddies when we were younger -- we always played it in the backyard and stuff like that -- I always told them, 'If I ever had the opportunity to do it, I would jump at it,' and it happened this year."

In addition to the regular festivities of eight Major League sluggers trying their hardest to hit ball after ball out of Busch Stadium, the Derby will feature other wrinkles.

Once again, eight local Boys & Girls Club members will each be paired with a Derby participant to win a donation toward a new teen center. The club member paired with the winner gets a $50,000 donation for his or her Boys & Girls Clubs, while the remaining children each will receive a $10,000 donation for their respective clubs. Also, four local Boys & Girls Clubs members will serve as Derby shaggers.

The Derby also includes the "Gold Ball" charitable component, instituted in 2005, in which Rawlings, the official supplier of baseballs to Major League Baseball, has created a specially designed gold baseball that will be used in every round when a player is down to his final out. For every home run hit by a Derby participant after his ninth out, Major League Baseball and State Farm will combine to donate $17,000 (representing State Farm's 17,000 agents) to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Also, MLB and MasterCard Worldwide announced recently that Stand Up To Cancer, for the first time, will be the recipient of donations in the "Hit It Here" in-stadium promotion. The first home run to directly strike one of the MasterCard "Hit It Here" signs in Busch Stadium during the Home Run Derby or the 2009 MLB All-Star Game will result in MasterCard donating $1 million to Stand Up To Cancer.

With so much going on, grateful newcomer Pena said he'll just try to focus -- by not focusing.

"The last three years, in batting practice, I've totally just forgotten about hitting home runs in batting practice," Pena said. "And the ones that I do hit I try to hit them the other way. So it's something that I totally haven't practiced in years, to actually pull a ball for a home run.

"But who cares? I just want to be in it."

ANAHEIM -- Rangers manager Ron Washington went into detail before the game on why he wants Andruw Jones in the lineup even against right-hander pitchers.

Washington said Jones is a "presence." He said that Jones "any minute he can hurt you." He also cited Jones' vast experience in pennant races during his 11 years with the Atlanta Braves.

Jones was all of that on Wednesday night, completing the former Dodgers' triumphant return to Southern California by hitting three home runs and leading the Rangers to an 8-1 victory over the Anaheim.

"Andruw put us on his back, and everybody just followed," Washington said after his team finished taking two of three from the Angels.

"That's what Andruw is capable of," third baseman Michael Young said. "That's not the first time he's shown power; he's been doing it his whole career. There aren't many guys in the game who have as much natural power as Andruw."

Jones, making a convincing argument on why he should be the Rangers' everyday designated hitter, became the 12th player in Rangers history to hit three home runs in a game. It's been done 15 times total, including three times by Juan Gonzalez and twice by Al Oliver. Brad Wilkerson was the last to do it on July 3, 2007, against the Angels in Arlington.

Jones had already done it once himself on Sept. 25, 2002, while with the Atlanta Braves against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Taylor Teagarden and Marlon Byrd also hit home runs on Wednesday to support the pitching of Vicente Padilla, and the Rangers now have a one-game lead over the Angels in the American League West.

"It was just good to go out and perform well and get a win," Jones said. "Everybody produced tonight. It's about team, not just one individual person. It's about team and beating a team that you're competing against."

Jones also hit a three-run home run on Tuesday night, giving him four in three games in his first trip to Southern California since his disastrous 2008 season with the Dodgers. That's one more home run that he hit in 75 games with L.A. last year.

Jones insisted there was no motivation in performing well in Southern California after what happened last year, even though he was greeted with more than a few boos at Angel Stadium this week.

"No, none at all," Jones said. "Just because I had one bad year ... things just happen. I've been looking to put everything behind me. I've been working hard on things, the Rangers gave me an opportunity, and I've been lucky to take advantage of it."

Jones barely made the team out of Spring Training and began the season as the fifth outfielder and part-time designated hitter. Now he is hitting .250 with 14 home runs and 34 RBIs in 46 games and 160 at-bats. He hit .158 with 14 RBIs in 209 at-bats for the Dodgers last season.

"He's having a terrific season for them," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's obviously much more comfortable in the batter's box than we saw him last year with the Dodgers."

Jones is hitting .254 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs in his last 16 games. With Chris Davis in the Minor Leagues and Hank Blalock at first base, the path is clear for Jones to play regularly at designated hitter if he keeps this up.

"You're talking about a guy who was on his way to being a first-ballot Hall of Famer," Young said. "Andruw has a lot left in the tank. He works hard, has a good idea of what he's doing at the plate and has got monster power. You don't expect a guy to have a three-homer night, but it's not a shock."

Jones, batting in the cleanup spot, went deep on the first pitch he saw on Wednesday night. He came up with a runner on first and two outs in the first inning and jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Ervin Santana, driving it over the left-center-field wall for a two-run home run. His second home run came off a 1-2 fastball from Santana with the bases empty in the third inning, this one giving the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

"When you're hot like that, no matter what you throw, he's going to hit it," Santana said. "They were fastballs, good pitches. He just hit the ball very good tonight."

Santana was gone when Jones came to bat in the fifth. Instead, reliever Rich Thompson was on the mound with the Rangers leading, 5-1. Thompson couldn't get a fastball by Jones either. He threw a 93-mph fastball on a 2-2 pitch, and Jones belted it on a line to deep left field. The ball never did gain much altitude, but it was hit hard enough and high enough to clear the left-field wall for a third time.

"They made mistakes, and I took advantage of them," Jones said. "I was just looking for pitches over the plate. What they were trying to do, everything was either hard or soft. Nothing in between. I was patient enough to put good wood on the ball."

That gave Jones two shots to become the 16th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game. But he popped out against reliever Kevin Jepsen in the sixth and struck out against Jason Bulger in the ninth.

"I was thinking about it," Jones admitted. "I tried. I just couldn't get it done."

He had already done enough.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Blue Jays are not shopping Roy Halladay. That is one thing general manager J.P. Ricciardi wanted to make clear on Tuesday afternoon. What Ricciardi is willing to do is answer his phone and entertain any trade proposals for Toronto's ace.

That being said, it would take a significant package to pry Halladay -- the face of the Blue Jays' franchise -- away from the only organization he's known.

"We're not going to give the guy away," Ricciardi said in a phone interview. "We'd be willing to listen. That doesn't mean we'd be willing to trade."

Halladay's name has been floated in trader rumors in the past, but this is the first time Ricciardi has openly admitted that he's willing to consider dealing the right-hander. Halladay is signed through 2010 and Ricciardi has maintained that the Jays plan on discussing a contract extension with the pitcher this coming offseason.

That much remains true, but with the Blue Jays sliding into fourth place in the American League East, and the team's payroll slashed to around $80 million heading into the season, Toronto might see the benefit in at least analyzing what kind of offers come in for Halladay. Pulling the trigger on a trade is another story.

Ricciardi's comments don't necessarily mean the Jays are waving the white flag and preparing to unload players, especially Halladay.

"That's exactly right," Ricciardi said. "All we're willing to do is listen to anybody who is willing to talk to us about Doc. That's all."

Ricciardi added that he doesn't feel his latest remarks differ from anything he's said in the past.

"I don't think anything's changed," Ricciardi said. "It's not like we're moving him."

After learning about Ricciardi's comments, Halladay met with the media prior to Tuesday's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Halladay wanted to address the issue once, getting it out of the way with the hope that the development would not become a distraction.

Asked if he was more open to potentially being traded now than in the past, Halladay grimaced and hesitated before answering.

"That's tough. That's a tough question to answer, honestly," Halladay said. "I want to stay here, but I think when an organization is kind of thinking that maybe we kind of want to go this direction, and it's a situation that suits the team and yourself, then you have to evaluate that and say, 'Maybe this is the best thing.' I'm really not in that situation yet."

Considering the club's current situation, and given the fact that the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline is only a few weeks away, Halladay said he was not surprised by Ricciardi's statements. Halladay just doesn't want the situation to affect his focus on the task at hand, which is leading a Toronto rotation that is in shambles.

"For me, the best I can do is try to avoid letting it become a distraction and go from there," Halladay said. "I understand, obviously, the economics of the game and how the game works. It's a situation where I think if it's best for the team, if it's best for me, then you go from there. At this point, it's too hard to tell. Basically, he's just saying this is an option we have and maybe we'll look at it. That's really the extent of it at this point."

Halladay -- owner of the 2003 American League Cy Young Award -- is pitching in his 12th season and has said he ultimately wants to pitch for a team that has a chance to reach the World Series. In an increasingly tough AL East, the Blue Jays' chance of achieving that goal in the near future appears slim.

Halladay reiterated that desire on Tuesday. He would love nothing more than to lead the Jays to the postseason, but if he feels the organization isn't close to reaching that point, the pitcher isn't ruling out a new home.

"My goals have always been the same," Halladay said. "I love Toronto. I want to stay here, but I want to win as well. That's becoming more and more of a goal for me. Obviously, my first choice would be to do it here. Like I've said in the past, whether or not our organization and my goals line up, it's never always going to be that way. Sometimes teams have to take steps back, and I understand that.

Given the Blue Jays' current financial situation, it's unclear if the organization can afford to sign Halladay to an extension that would approach the type of deal the ace could receive as a free agent. Halladay has shown loyalty to Toronto over the years, signing a three-year, $40 million extension in the spring of 2006 -- a pact that fell below his market value.

Halladay and Ricciardi both have said they don't want to talk about a possible extension during this season. On Tuesday, Ricciardi indicated that the club hasn't outlined a financial plan within its budget to account for an extension, meaning the Blue Jays don't know how much they could afford to offer him at this point.

"I don't even think we've thought that far ahead," Ricciardi said. "I don't think that we could even answer that right now."

Halladay is under contract this season for $14.25 million and is scheduled to make $15.75 million next year in the final season of his current contract. His deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

If the Blue Jays decide to keep Halladay in the fold -- and approach him about an extension -- the pitcher might prefer to wait to see how the 2010 season plays out before signing. He said his concerns don't involve contract length or value.

"For me, my decisions are going to be based on having a chance to win, and that's it," Halladay said. "I don't know if you were to talk about something like [an extension] what it would entail. I think my biggest decision would be, 'Do I feel like this is going to go in a direction where we have a chance to win, and quickly?' And that's it.

"It's hard to tell, but it's not going to be a decision based on whether it's a certain years or certain number. It's going to be based on winning."

This season, the 32-year-old Halladay has started to piece together yet another impressive campaign as the horse of Toronto's rotation. Through 16 starts, he has posted a 10-2 record with a 2.79 ERA, completing three games and compiling 98 strikeouts against 17 walks over 116 innings. On Sunday, Halladay was named to his sixth All-Star team.

Suitors for Halladay could be plentiful. In the Blue Jays' division, the Yankees again are without Chien-Ming Wang and dealing with Joba Chamberlain's struggles, and the Red Sox have not gotten what they expected from John Smoltz. The Phillies, Mets, Brewers and Angels are other contenders in need of pitching.

The question is whether any team can, or will, step up with an offer of the type that in 2002 pried Bartolo Colon away from Cleveland. In that deal with the Montreal Expos, the Indians landed Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips.

If that type of blockbuster offer is dangled, Ricciardi is at least willing to listen. Halladay believes by admitting that much that Ricciardi also may be looking out for the pitcher's interests.

"J.P. and I have always got along well," Halladay said. "From Day 1, I think we've understood each other. And he knows that I want to win. That's really all it comes down to. A lot of the conversations that we've had about different things come down to that point. He knows where I'm coming from. I really believe, even in situations like this, that maybe he's looking out for my best interest, too."

BOSTON -- No matter what Nomar Garciaparra would have done in his return to Fenway Park, grabbing even a slice of the attention pie was going to be difficult for anyone wearing an Oakland uniform on Monday.

That Garciaparra, a Boston baseball icon for the better part of a decade, went 2-for-4 with an RBI single off likely future Hall of Famer John Smoltz figured to make it that much harder.

But check out the final score after the A's claimed the opener of a three-game series here: 6-0.

Somebody had to put up all those goose-eggs. Thus, Garciaparra was more than happy to share the spotlight after his first game at Fenway Park since he was traded from Boston to the Cubs in July 2004.

All the zeroes came courtesy of the same arm, and that in itself if big news. Rookie left-hander Brett Anderson turned in the game of his life with a two-hitter, striking out a career-high nine with two walks.

"A bunch of TV people wanted me for a postgame [interview] on the field," Garciaparra said. "I told them, 'What do you want me for? Did you see our pitcher tonight?!'

"It's not about me from a baseball side tonight. It was all Brett."

It was all Anderson and then some.

Anderson, 21, became the first A's pitcher to get through the eighth inning since Justin Duchscherer slapped a two-hit shutout on the visiting Mariners on July 8, 2008 -- this was Oakland's first complete game in 363 days.

"Any time you pitch into the eighth inning, you're doing everyone a favor," said Anderson, who kept warmed-up relievers Brad Ziegler and Craig Breslow in the bullpen by cruising through the ninth on nine pitches.

An equally impressive inning for Anderson (5-7) was the fourth, when he responded to his offense's four-run outburst in the top of the frame by striking out Julio Lugo, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz.

"He had a powerful fastball, a real good slider and he attacked the strike zone with both pitches and pretty much carved us up," Red Sox manager Terry Francona offered. "He went right through us tonight."

A charge of emotion went through Garciaparra in the second inning, when the Fenway faithful welcomed him back with a long standing ovation prior to his first at-bat of the night.

Garciaparra said he didn't have the vocabulary to describe the feeling, then smiled and said to a handful of reporters, "That's your job, to come up with words like that. I wish I could do it, but I can't."

Francona, Garciaparra's last manager in Boston, was similarly moved.

"It looked like it really touched him," Francona said. "It's a pretty special place. I hope that never changes. They're crazy fans, but they're so wrapped up, emotionally, in their team and people that have been a part of their teams. I think that's pretty cool."

Anderson, whose fastball sat in the 88- to 93-mph range for most of the season's first two months, got three extra days of rest before his final start of June, and he's been lighting up the stadium radar guns since.

Last week in Oakland he was touching 97, and he was doing it again Monday.

"I always seem to throw harder as the season goes on," Anderson said. "I think part of it is the extra rest, but it's also a credit to [strength and conditioning coach] Bob Alejo and the [training] staff. I'm in the best shape I've been in in a long time."

Anderson said Garciaparra being the center of attention Monday night against the Red Sox (49-33) probably helped, too.

"It kind of took the pressure off me," Anderson said. "It's a day I'll never forget."

Jason Giambi, booed every time he stepped into the batter's box by fans still sour at him for having played for the rival Yankees, got the A's (35-46) going in the fourth with a double off Red Sox righty John Smoltz, who was making his Fenway debut.

Kurt Suzuki's bunt single pushed Giambi to third, and Garciaparra punched a single through the left side to give Anderson all the support he'd need.

The A's got him more, though. Mark Ellis hit a two-run double to center later in the inning, and Adam Kennedy made it 4-0 with an RBI single, one of his three hits on the night.

Oakland padded its lead in the sixth; Jack Cust led off with a double, and Kennedy's two-out single scored pinch-runner Scott Hairston. Orlando Cabrera, another former Boston shortstop, capped the scoring with a home run over the Green Monster in the top of the ninth, pausing slightly to admire his work.

Hairston stayed in the game and dropped Jason Bay's fly ball to center field with one out in the seventh, but Anderson shrugged off the three-base error by getting Jason Varitek on a popup in foul ground and Rocco Baldelli on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Sweeney.

"You have to tip your cap to the kid tonight," Smoltz (0-2) said. "He pitched a magnificent game."

"He absolutely abused us," Varitek said.

With his wife, all-world soccer player Mia Hamm, waiting outside the visitors' clubhouse at Fenway, Garciaparra said he'll find a way to express his gratitude to Anderson for the role he played in his return to town.

"I can't wait to take him out to dinner and thank him for making tonight so much better," Garciaparra said.

When the stars come out in St. Louis on July 14, the summer Midwestern sky might be a little jealous of the turf at Busch Stadium.

With the Gateway Arch in view, the baseball stars lined up on the field for the 80th All-Star Game will provide as pretty a backdrop to a midsummer night as any starry sky could, with a mix of some familiar constellations and a few new celestial bodies lighting up the night.

Hometown hero Albert Pujols leads the parade of stars as the overall leading vote-getter, racking up 5,397,374 votes, the second-highest total in Major League Baseball history. But the Cardinals first baseman was just one star in a universe of them when the National League and American League All-Star teams were announced Sunday on the MLB All-Star Selection Show presented by Pepsi.

With rosters bumped up to 33 per team this year, Pujols will be joined by three other star first basemen on the NL squad. They will attempt to halt a 12-game unbeaten streak by the AL, which is led by 10-time All-Star Derek Jeter, the top vote-getter in the AL.

"I've said it time and time again, but it never gets old," said Jeter, whose 10 appearances match teammate Mariano Rivera for the most among this year's honorees. "It's something that every player wants to be a part of. If they tell you they don't, I think they're lying to you. There's a lot of great players out there, so it's great to be going."

The 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game.

Starters were determined by fan balloting, with 16 players on each roster being determined by player balloting -- eight pitchers (five starters, three relievers) and eight reserves per league. The remainder of the selections were made by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel of the NL and Rays manager Joe Maddon of the AL -- eight per league, including the 13th pitcher added when rosters were expanded to 33 on Wednesday.

The NL side will have a definite St. Louis feel to it, with Pujols being joined by catcher Yadier Molina in the starting lineup and reliever Ryan Franklin on the NL roster.

"It feels great to be there, representing the organization and the city that you play in," Pujols said. "Last year was a great experience in New York, looking back and seeing the standing ovations for Jeter and [Alex Rodriguez]. I'm pretty sure when they call all our three names, it's going to be the same thing. It's just great for the fans. I think MLB did a great job [choosing] St. Louis, and I think it's going to be really exciting."

Joining Pujols on the NL squad are three first basemen who could start this year, as well -- San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez, Philadelphia's Ryan Howard and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder. That gives the host NL squad a logjam of power at first, with Gonzalez winning out on the player ballot and Howard and Fielder both getting the nod from Manuel.

"I chose Ryan Howard because I feel he deserves to go," Manuel said. "And also I feel like he's our player -- my player. I feel like our players are the reason why I'm managing in the All-Star Game in the first place. We won the World Series. My players put me there."

The AL squad includes 10 first-timers, including standout pitchers Zack Greinke of the Royals and Edwin Jackson of the Tigers, who were among five chosen by their peers. Maddon selected the other five, including the lone representatives for Baltimore -- outfielder Adam Jones -- and Oakland -- pitcher Andrew Bailey.

"Pitching was very difficult, because I thought there were a lot of really worthy candidates after the people that had been elected," Maddon said. "But then some of that was pared down by team's not having representatives. So then we had to go to certain teams. So I'd say that there's a couple of pitchers that I'd say are really deserving of being on the team. But at this point, there's just no room. If there's any kind of injury situation, some of these names might pop up. But I thought pitching was really hard."

The AL's starting lineup will include Jeter at shortstop, sharing an all-AL East infield with the Yankees' Mark Teixeira at first, the Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia at second and the Rays' Evan Longoria at third. The Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, the Rangers' Josh Hamilton and the Red Sox's Jason Bay will start in the outfield. Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer makes the start behind the plate.

Pitchers and reserves on the AL squad include a pair of AL East closers in 10-time All-Star Mariano Rivera of the Yankees and Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox, and five of the starters voted in by fans were matched on the player ballot. The players thought Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson and Twins first baseman Justin Morneau were deserving choices at their positions.

The NL's starting lineup features an infield crew of Pujols at first, Chase Utley of the Phillies at second, Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins at short and David Wright of the Mets at third. The outfield features the Phillies' Raul Ibanez, the oldest position player to make his All-Star starting debut, along with the Brewers' Ryan Braun and the Mets' Carlos Beltran -- although Beltran is injured and if unable to perform would be replaced by Colorado's Brad Hawpe, by virtue of his standing on the player ballot. The Cardinals' Yadier Molina earned the nod behind the plate.

The NL's pitching staff features reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum of the Giants, two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana of the Mets and single-season saves record-holder Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. The player ballot matched the fan balloting other than at catcher, where the players gave Atlanta's Brian McCann the nod.

The Red Sox, owners of the AL's best record entering Monday, boast the most All-Stars with six, followed by the Rays with four and the Yankees, Tigers and Twins with three each.

"To go there with five of your teammates is also a definite positive," said Papelbon, to be joined in St. Louis by starting position players Pedroia and Bay, along with starting pitchers Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield. "You feel like you're going to the All-Star Game at full force. I feel like we deserve that and everyone else going, I feel like they deserve it."

In the NL, the Mets have the most players on the squad with four, while the Dodgers, Cardinals and defending World Series-champion Phillies all have three each.

Five teams have two starters each -- the Cardinals, Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Red Sox. The A's, Orioles, Indians, White Sox and Royals were limited to one representative in the AL, while the Braves, Cubs, Pirates and Nationals each had only one player on the NL squad.

Utley and Ramirez will be the first NL double-play combination to start back-to-back All-Star Games since Craig Biggio and Barry Larkin in 1994-95. The Jeter-Pedroia combo, meanwhile, marks the first AL repeat since Alfonso Soriano was the second baseman for the Yankees and Rodriguez was the shortstop for the Rangers, in 2002-03.

Also, Jeter's now the oldest AL shortstop elected to start an All-Star Game since 1971, when 37-year-old Luis Aparicio, then with the Red Sox, started in Detroit's Tiger Stadium.

While some players like Pujols and Jeter have made the Midsummer Classic an annual happening, getting there for the first time can be that much more fun. And among the 23 first-timers -- including 13 in the NL -- perhaps no one will have more fun being a rookie than Ibanez, who at age 37 is the oldest position player ever to make his All-Star debut.

A 14-year veteran, Ibanez was worthy of consideration several seasons in the AL with the Mariners and Royals, but it took his first foray into the NL to get to the Midsummer Classic.

"It's definitely a great feeling," Ibanez said. "I feel very blessed to have been voted in. The fact that I was playing on this club with all the great players, that definitely helped me to be a part of this."

It was a one-and-done Wednesday in the National League, with three games decided by the lowest possible score in baseball.

For the fifth time since 1900, three NL teams -- the Dodgers, Mets and Reds -- won by a score of 1-0 on the same day.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time it happened was Sept. 1, 1976, also a Wednesday. That's when the Astros beat the Phillies, the Mets beat the Giants and the Cardinals beat the Reds in 1-0 games.

There has never been four 1-0 games in the same league on the same day, according to Elias.

Here's a quick roundup of the 2009 version of this rare feat.

Dodgers 1, Rockies 0
The Dodgers made their MLB-leading 50th win a special one by taking advantage of shortstop Rafael Furcal's tiebreaking pinch-hit single in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. The victory was the club's 17th of the season in one-run games.

"We've been talking about it all year because we've done a lot of this," manager Joe Torre said. "The thing that's good -- I mean, it's not good for my health -- is that when you win close games especially ... when we've really been scuffling to score runs, it shows me that we may bend but we don't break."

The Dodgers have done all this without the services of suspended slugger Manny Ramirez, who's set to join the club Friday when his 50-game sentence is over.

Mets 1, Brewers 0
The struggling Mets needed a big performance from starter Mike Pelfrey and got it on the road at Miller Park, beating sharp Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo by making sure a sixth-inning RBI single by Ryan Church held up.

Gallardo struck out 12 Mets but Pelfrey was just a bit better, giving up six hits -- all singles -- in 7 2/3 shutout frames to give the Mets a win for the first time in six games.

"[Pelfrey] had great movement on his fastball," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "He threw a couple of pitches to guys that were almost unhittable. He struck out [Prince Fielder] his first time up on a great sinker. In the first couple of innings, he was a strike-throwing machine."

Reds 1, D-backs 0
Reds starter Johnny Cueto had pain in his back and a possible All-Star Game appearance on his mind Wednesday but still pitched like he's completely healthy and a shoo-in for the July 14 Midsummer Classic.

The right-hander shut out the D-backs on one hit -- a Felipe Lopez infield single -- at Great American Ball Park for six innings, Joey Votto singled in the game's only run, and suddenly the Reds are back at the .500 mark for the season.

"I came in after the second inning, and they stretched my back, big-time," Cueto said. "After that, I started feeling better and better."

And with an 8-4 record and a 2.69 ERA, his All-Star chances are looking better, too.

ST. LOUIS -- It's looking more and more like Tim Lincecum actually is better than he was last year.

Such a notion should be ridiculous, given the type of performance Lincecum sustained while winning the National League Cy Young Award. But the right-hander recently has exceeded even his own lofty standards, and he continued his ascent Monday night with a career-best two-hitter in the Giants' 10-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Lincecum (8-2) has thrown three complete games in his last four starts, including two shutouts. His only non-complete game in this stretch was the cursed June 17 outing against the Angels, who scored three tainted runs in his eighth and final inning. Lincecum has recorded a 1.03 ERA while allowing 24 hits in 35 innings during this stretch.

Bengie Molina, who has caught each of Lincecum's last 34 starts, believes that his batterymate senses when a complete game is imminent, explaining his durability.

"I think he smells that," Molina said. "He's close to the end, and he wants to finish the game."

Overall, Lincecum owns a 2.37 ERA, eclipsing last season's 2.62. He has walked 28 batters -- including none Monday -- in 114 innings, roughly one free pass every four innings. By comparison, he issued 84 walks in 227 innings a year ago, an average of one in slightly less than three innings.

Lincecum's success is notable not only for his results, but also his method. His pair of complete games in 2008, which he threw in consecutive starts on Sept. 13 and Sept. 18, were breathtaking but laborious efforts requiring 138 and 118 pitches, respectively.

This season, Lincecum's more of an artist than an attack dog. He remains capable of blowing away hitters, as his 37 strikeouts during this four-game stretch demonstrate. On Monday, his first of eight strikeout victims was St. Louis' Albert Pujols, widely regarded as the finest hitter on the planet. But Lincecum's just as likely to put away an opponent by inducing a ground ball or harmless fly on the second or third pitch of an at-bat, thus preserving his valuable arm.

Lincecum was at his economical best against the Cardinals. He threw 60 strikes in only 95 pitches and went to a three-ball count only twice, explaining why San Francisco's seventh victory in 10 games lasted only two hours and six minutes. In fact, Lincecum has started the Giants' three fastest games of the year, including his previous 2009 shutout, June 12 against Oakland (2:02) and May 26 against Atlanta (2:08).

The 25-year-old attributed his efficiency to improved location.

"I think I'm throwing my pitches down in the zone a little better. ... Guys are swinging early often," he said.

The rest of San Francisco's pitching staff has surged with Lincecum. Not only do the Giants lead the Major Leagues with nine shutouts, but they also have recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since Aug. 19-20, 2002, at Florida and against the New York Mets.

For a while, Lincecum appeared bound for even greater history. He maintained a perfect game for 4 2/3 innings, prompting everybody at Busch Stadium except Lincecum himself to ponder the possibility of a no-hitter.

"I never think about that," Lincecum said.

Rick Ankiel ended the no-hit bid by blooping a first-pitch, broken-bat single into right-center field. Pujols collected the other hit, a one-out double off the left-field wall in the seventh inning.

"Even though I gave up a couple of hits later in the game, I felt like my rhythm actually got better through the game," Lincecum said. "Between innings, I felt more comfortable and my offspeed stuff started working a little bit better, with the exception of the one I hung to Pujols."

Lincecum takes nothing for granted, which became obvious as he related his pregame thoughts regarding the Cardinals.

"When I saw the lineup card today, I was like, 'They're throwing pretty good guys at me,'" he said. "At the same time, I tried not to let that get to me. I'm good, I'm here for a reason and I can get these guys out if I can make the pitches I need to."

Told that those were surprising sentiments for a Cy Young winner, Lincecum explained, "I'm just being careful. I'm not getting ahead of myself and thinking I'm going to shut these guys down because of what I did. It's not about what I did, it's what I'm doing right now."

Usually, the Giants' offense, which has been lacking through much of the season, would command the most attention. They exceeded 10 hits for the fourth time in five games. Molina, who collected three hits, ended a personal 0-for-12 skid with a first-inning RBI single. Travis Ishikawa contributed a three-run homer in the fourth inning, Edgar Renteria's bases-loaded, three-run double highlighted a five-run seventh and Juan Uribe belted a 421-foot homer in the eighth.

But this was Lincecum's game from start to finish.

"It all started with the guy on the hill," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's one of the best games I've seen."

NEW YORK -- Another save? You'd have to excuse Mariano Rivera if that particular milestone didn't boost his excitement level -- after all, he's been there and done that, now 500 times and still counting.

It was Rivera's first career RBI Sunday night that really captured his imagination, coming on the same evening that the 39-year-old closer became the second member of baseball's most prestigious club for closers by recording the final four outs of a 4-2 Yankees victory over the Mets at Citi Field.

"The RBI is the best," Rivera said. "It was my first RBI. It was my 500th save."

Batting for the third time in a regular-season game -- but making his second plate appearance in five days -- Rivera crammed on a borrowed Cody Ransom batting helmet and worked a seven-pitch walk with the bases loaded against Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth inning.

Ball four sailed high and in to force home the Yankees' fourth run, a valuable insurance run as Rivera logged the 65th four-out save of his career. He joined Trevor Hoffman, who has 571 saves, as the only hurlers to record 500 or more since it became an official statistic in 1969.

"You can add up all the players that ever played the game, and Mo has been as consistent as anyone," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. "He's done it in the regular season, he's done it in the postseason, he's done it in Spring Training, he's done it in the Minor Leagues. He's done it everywhere he's been."

It was on Wednesday that Rivera dug in against the Braves' Manny Acosta, ignoring instructions from the dugout not to swing -- after all, he quite reasonably believed that would be his last big league at-bat -- while lining out to center field on an 0-1 fastball. The Yankees had a four-run lead at that time; here in the Subway Series, Rivera could really help his cause.

"I was so impressed by his at-bat in Atlanta, I felt, 'You know what? He's got a shot,'" Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I really felt that he had a shot. He's such a great athlete that I felt like if he got a fastball that was a strike, he had a shot."

Rivera had been summoned in the eighth after Chien-Ming Wang went 5 1/3 innings and the bullpen brought the Yankees close to a series sweep of their crosstown rivals. Rivera answered the call, striking out Omir Santos looking to strand two Mets aboard before setting down the side around a single in the ninth to lock down his 18th save in 19 opportunities this season.

"I don't look for records or things like that," Rivera said. "I'm not here for that. I'm here to play baseball and win World Series. If it happens, it happens. But I don't come here to chase records."

After the final out, first baseman Mark Teixeira presented Rivera with the ball and offered him a hug. A sequence of teammates followed with embraces for Rivera, as the longest-tenured Yankees -- Jeter, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte -- all shared special words.

"I wanted to be there," Posada said. "Mariano's meant a lot to me. He's made my job a lot easier. He's the best ever. No one can even compare."

Said Rivera: "I think they were more happy than I was."

Rivera's 500 saves are the most in American League history, and most remarkably, they were all accomplished on the strength of one pitch -- the right-hander's trademark cut fastball.

"Great movement, late movement," Girardi said. "Hitters really couldn't pick it up. They knew it was coming, and the movement was so late and so sharp that they couldn't really adjust to it.

"I remember left-handed hitters saying that the only place they could really hit it hard was over the first-base dugout, because it was so late and sharp. You couldn't keep it fair. I don't know if we'll ever see another Mariano Rivera. I really don't believe we will."

A former catcher, Girardi was there for save No. 1 on May 17, 1996, when Rivera was called in to induce Garret Anderson to hit into a game-ending double play and close out an 8-5 victory for Pettitte -- the beginning of a beautiful relationship that would, to date, produce a Major League-record combination of 59 wins and saves for the pair.

"I was traded here in '96, and I saw him in Spring Training," Girardi said. "I'm not sure if it was the first day or the second day, when you catch guys. I remember asking myself, 'Who is this guy? He's got great stuff.' Little did I know what an impact he'd have on the '96 season and, really, the next 14."

A nine-time AL All-Star, Rivera has been the Yankees' closer since 1997, when he assumed the job after serving as a setup man to John Wetteland in helping the club win the first of four World Series titles within a five-year span.

"The quicker I finish, the quicker I can go home," Rivera said. "All these guys have been here for so many hours, and when we get to the last inning, they want to go home. I don't want to waste their time."

As Rivera recounted on Sunday, he was first informed of his future during the 1996-97 offseason, when former manager Joe Torre called him at home in Panama and told him that he would be the closer upon reporting to Spring Training that season.

"I was just happy to be in the big leagues," Rivera said. "I wasn't thinking to achieve anything. I just wanted to be in the big leagues and do the best that I could for my team. I didn't expect any of this. We have accomplished so many things and goals. It just happens."

Rivera was in position for the milestone after securing a four-run lead on Thursday at Atlanta, throwing six pitches and recording the final out in save No. 499, one day after he struck out all four batters he faced for the first time in his career.

"I'm proud of what I have done with the team," Rivera said. "I'm proud of my teammates. I'm proud of everything we have accomplished. Every time I have the chance to wear this uniform, I'm proud."

Rivera had arthroscopic surgery after last season to shave down an AC joint in his right shoulder. He was among the Major Leagues' best closers in 2008, posting the lowest ERA (1.40) among hurlers with at least 70 innings pitched.

Restoring velocity quickly and rebounding from that procedure well while still providing the Yankees with a quality option in the late innings, Rivera said that he does not know how much longer he will continue pitching. But as long as he keeps on icing opponents, there's no rush to exit.

"Until God wants me to," Rivera said. "I have a contract for another year. I don't know what's going to happen after that. I feel good, so I don't know what's going to happen."

ATLANTA -- Alex Rodriguez had promised that he felt fresh enough to stay in the lineup through the weekend, and in a good sign for the Yankees, he kept his word.

Rounding out a series that Rodriguez called his second Opening Day, the slugger continued to snap out of his June swoon, belting a milestone home run and driving in four runs, as the Yankees powered past the Braves on Thursday at Turner Field, 11-7.

"I felt some good signs," Rodriguez said. "It's been a while, but I'm really driving the ball in batting practice. Being able to do that in the game tonight was a good sign."

One night after busting a 1-for-25 skid, Rodriguez equaled an icon with his first swing, belting career home run No. 563 off Braves starter Derek Lowe, tying Reggie Jackson for 11th place on baseball's all-time list. Rodriguez also added a two-run single off Peter Moylan in the seventh.

It was another night of big all-around offense for the Yankees, who were held scoreless for the first 14 innings of the series, only to pound 16 runs from the seventh inning of Wednesday's 8-4 win through the first four frames on Thursday, scoring at least one run in each inning.

Johnny Damon helped lead the charge with three hits and four RBIs, including a three-run triple off Lowe in the third inning. Derek Jeter wrapped the evening 4-for-5 with four runs scored, ending a three-game set that drew general manager Brian Cashman to Dixie and prompted extra hitting meetings.

"It's just getting the confidence back," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "These are good players. You are going to struggle from time to time, but you've got to find a way to fight out of it. And they did."

While much of the focus has been on Rodriguez, who remained set as the cleanup hitter despite his struggles -- Thursday marked his first multihit game since May 25 -- Damon said that he and Jeter are taking some responsibility for getting the slumbering offense moving again.

"It makes a huge difference," Damon said. "I don't think Derek and I have been hot together all year. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, because when we're both on our game, we're going to score tons of runs."

They didn't do badly against Lowe, who -- facing the Yankees for the first time since Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, when he sent the Red Sox on to their first World Series championship in 86 years -- was pounded for eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits in three-plus innings.

"A team like that, you have to give them credit," said Atlanta's Jeff Francoeur. "They're not going to be held hitless for a long time. They broke their bats out and didn't stop. With a team like this, I wouldn't be surprised to see them reel off six or seven in a row if they're swinging like that."

Lowe faced two batters in the fourth inning, and both scored on Cody Ransom's two-run double off reliever Kris Medlen. It was Lowe's third consecutive loss in as many starts, and he may have offered a familiar face for the Yankees, who have had mixed results against relatively unknown hurlers.

"He's had success against us before, so it's not like people were running to the bat racks to go face him," Jeter said. "He knows what he's doing. He's been a great pitcher for a long time, but today, he left some balls up and we took advantage of him. But it's not like it's fun to face him."

That staked Andy Pettitte to an 8-1 lead at the time, but it frittered away as the lefty could not make it out of a five-run fourth inning, surrendering a two-run double to Casey Kotchman and watching a run-scoring Brett Gardner error in center field prolong the frame.

"It's a big league ballgame, and to have an 8-1 lead and go three innings, it's not what you're looking for," Pettitte said. "You've got to get out of the inning. You just figure you can get out of the inning without having the manager come out there to pull you out of the game."

Pettitte recorded the second out by striking out Brian McCann, but Yunel Escobar chased the left-hander with a two-run single off the glove of a diving Mark Teixeira at first base. Pettitte was roughed up for six runs (three earned) in 3 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out four.

"He should have been out of that fourth inning probably giving up one run," Girardi said. "It's unfortunate, because we would have liked to see him a little bit longer tonight. He battled and threw good pitches. We just didn't play very good defense behind him."

Alfredo Aceves held the fort with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory, and Phil Coke hurled two scoreless innings before the Braves threatened in the ninth inning, moving the tying run to the on-deck circle against David Robertson.

Grudgingly, Girardi turned the ball over to closer Mariano Rivera, who threw six pitches in getting Diory Hernandez to fly out to center field for career save No. 499.

"It's not how you necessarily want to win a game, but I thought our guys did a nice job," Girardi said.

PHOENIX -- Brandon Webb has a big decision to make.

Webb had an MRI exam on his right shoulder Tuesday and was evaluated by team doctor Michael Lee to determine the next course of action and treatment. Webb previously treated the ailing shoulder with rest and strengthening exercises.

Season-ending surgery is an option this time around.

"It's a definite possibility," D-backs manager A.J. Hinch said. "You can't rule anything out at this point. We've got to find a way to alleviate the pain. That's what the doctors are paid for. They'll give their opinions. He and I and the rest of this organization will come together and come with a plan of treatment."

The 2006 National League Cy Young Award winner has been on the disabled list since April 13, retroactive to April 7, because of the shoulder. He began to experience discomfort during Spring Training and made one start before going on the DL. He was scheduled to make a bullpen session on Friday but felt discomfort and returned to Phoenix for an evaluation.

Webb was not available for comment before Wednesday's game against the Rangers but is reportedly seeking a second opinion.

"We're going through the evaluation with the doctors and he's evaluating how many doctors he wants to see and getting as many opinions as possible," Hinch said.

Hinch briefly alluded to a big decision by Webb following Tuesday's 8-2 victory against Texas.

"I was referring to a decision on what type of treatment he is going to get, how serious this setback is, and playing out the next month of his life, what our next step is," the manager said. "He wants to get as much information as possible from as many doctors as he can so he can get his arms around what is causing this thing."

President Barack Obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the 2009 All-Star Game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on July 14, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday.

Obama will be the fourth U.S. president to throw out the first pitch in the Midsummer Classic -- joining John F. Kennedy (1962), Richard Nixon ('70) and Gerald Ford ('76) -- and will be the seventh president to attend an All-Star Game. The first to attend an All-Star Game was Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1937.

"Major League Baseball is truly honored that President Obama will be in attendance to throw out the first pitch at the 80th All-Star Game on July 14 in St. Louis," MLB Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig said in a statement. "The central theme of the 2009 All-Star Game is community service, celebrating the extraordinary work being done by ordinary people. We are thrilled that we can come together with President Obama, who has encouraged a renewed spirit of national service, and illustrate a call to action in our communities. President Obama will continue a great tradition that joins our nation's leader and the national pastime."

The All-Star Game will be nationally televised on FOX Sports, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage.

"That would be nice if I get a chance to meet him," said Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who is currently leading the voting at his position. "But I've got to make it first. It would be fun to meet the president of the United States."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who will be a coach on Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel's National League squad, was on the field when President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch for the 2004 season in St. Louis, and he's looking forward to this Midsummer presidential visit.

"The President threw it out Opening Day for us in ['04]. It's exciting. The only thing is, he's pulling for the American League."

Obama is a devout White Sox fan. As a U.S. Senator, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the White Sox defeated the Anaheim Angels 2-1 in Game 2 of the 2005 AL Championship Series.

On April 22, MLB dedicated this year's All-Star Game and surrounding events to raising funds and awareness for charitable initiatives and community service. The charity and community-service initiatives, themed "Going Beyond," will be the most extensive in MLB All-Star history. In addition, MLB is supporting Obama's call for community service through "United We Serve," a program that encourages Americans to engage in community service. Obama is encouraging all Americans to visit www.serve.gov to find service opportunities in their area.

OMAHA -- The drama that has characterized the College World Series to this point continued Monday night in the opening game of the Championship Series as LSU battled back from two runs down against University of Texas in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, eventually winning, 7-6, in 11 innings.

"That was probably the most courageous, never-say-die, just resilient effort that I've ever seen out of one of my teams in 27 years of coaching," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "It was one for the ages." Both teams had their chances in the late innings but were unable to scratch a run across until freshman Mikie Mahtook hit a go-ahead single to give the Tigers their final lead in the top of the 11th.

With a two-run lead in the top of the ninth and one on, Texas' went to reliever Taylor Jungmann, who had been lights out throughout the CWS. Jungmann walked a batter and pushed a 2-0 count on Tyler Hanover before being lifted in favor of Austin Dicharry, who battled back and struck out Hanover. Down to the final out, Cubs second-round Draft pick DJ LeMahieu wouldn't let him off the hook, nailing a pitch to the left-field corner for the two-out double to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

Texas coach Augie Garrido acknowledged that both teams were grinding it out in the final innings.

"It was two teams that were doing unbelievable things in order to win," Garrido said. "The team that lost that game was going to feel the wrath of baseball and have to deal with the difficulties of so many great things happening that there had to be a loser.

Not to be forgotten in the victory is the work of the LSU bullpen, which held the Longhorns hitless over the final five innings. Five Tigers relievers combined to hold Texas at bay, yielding only two walks.

The game that ended with a manufactured small-ball run, began with what looked more like a home run derby than a baseball game, as the team's combined for seven home runs in the contest. Not known for its power, Texas slugged five homers, all off fifth-round Draft pick Louis Coleman. Coleman went six innings, giving up six runs, all earned, on nine hits. All of the five home runs the LSU ace yielded were of the solo variety. Coleman's other earned run came via a wild pitch.

Longhorns DH Russell Moldenhauer blasted two homers, his second and third of the College World Series. Moldenhauer's three home runs in Omaha are his only all season. Travis Tucker, Kevin Keyes and Connor Rowe all added homers for the Longhorns.

For its part, LSU got big offensive contributions from its draftees. Blue Jays fifth-round selection Ryan Schimpf started the Tigers off strong, knocking a solo shot in the first inning. LSU outfielder Jared Mitchell, first-round pick of the White Sox, tied the game in the seventh with a two-out, two-run double. LeMahieu added another homer in the seventh.

The Longhorns got a strong start from Chance Ruffin, who surrendered only three runs on five hits while striking out 10 over 5 2/3 innings. He appeared to exit the game with cramps, but he said afterward it wasn't his call.

"I was feeling fine, and I was going to fight through it," Ruffin said. "I never got asked for how I was feeling or anything like that. It was just the decision that was made."

The Tigers will be the home team Tuesday night as they go for the national championship, while the Longhorns have their backs against the wall. Jungmann will get the ball for the Longhorns, while Mainieri said he isn't sure which pitcher he will send to the mound. Sophomore Anthony Renaudo is the Tigers' No. 2 starter but would be pitching on three days' rest. It also remains to be seen if Mainieri will save him for a potential Game 3 on Wednesday.

Garrido said his club will have to completely forget this game if it wants to have a chance to get to Game 3.

"We've played with the spirit of a champion for a long time now," Garrido said. "We don't have to give that up because we lost a most difficult game. If you lose this game and you can't clear this game from your mind and you take it into tomorrow's game then you're going to lose that game before it starts."

KANSAS CITY -- The Cardinals' Tony La Russa became the third manager in Major League baseball history to win 2,500 games on Sunday, joining Connie Mack and John McGraw in the exclusive club with a 12-5 victory against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

And after La Russa had etched his name into the baseball record book, his players were waiting for their manager in the clubhouse with a water cooler ready

"This is not sweat," La Russa said, dripping from his postgame victory bath.

The Cardinals' victory on Sunday brought La Russa's career record to 2,500-2,177, but La Russa wanted to deflect the attention.

"You got to be around a long time and you've got to be in great situations, and that what I've been," La Russa said. "And to sit there and watch the effort today -- we had won the series yesterday, and it was hot and a tough game, and you watch these guys -- they're playing their hearts out."

Now La Russa's name will be forever linked with Mack and McGraw, two titans of baseball history.

The legendary Mack compiled a record of 3,731-3,948 while managing the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 seasons.

McGraw, the long-time manager of the New York Giants, was 2,763-1,948 in his career.

"I'm not lumped in with them. I'm not even close to them," La Russ said of the two iconic skippers. "I don't think about it that way. I think about -- and I mean this sincerely -- I think about the good fortune I've had."

La Russa's managing journey began with the White Sox in 1979. He went 522-510 on the South Side of Chicago through 1986. La Russa moved on to Oakland after the '86 season, registering 798 wins and 673 losses with the Athletics from 1986-95.

La Russa went to the World Series three straight years with Oakland from 1988-90 and brought home the crown in '89. In St. Louis, La Russa is 1,180-994 with the Cardinals, including a World Series title in 2006.

"Historically, he's been considered one of the most prepared managers," Royals manager Trey Hillman said.

After his milestone win, La Russa didn't want to talk about himself. He wanted to talk about two of his contemporaries instead.

"Probably the two guys that I grew up with that I feel were great managers were [Jim] Leyland and Tom Kelley," La Russa said. "And if they were in my situation, they'd have the 2,500 and I'd have less."

The message is ingrained in pitchers at an early age, and the philosophy holds true in the big leagues: Get ahead in the count with two quick strikes, and then make sure that third pitch can't be hit.

The "waste" pitch, as it's commonly called, is as much a strategy in the game as the sacrifice bunt, pitchout or hit-and-run.

You see it so often that it's habit forming. On 0-2 counts, the next pitch is so routinely a ball that you're stunned if the batter gets a hit. Pitchers, meanwhile, are irate when that happens, because they've let an advantage slip away.

"It's important not to give up 0-2 hits," said Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, a former NL Cy Young Award winner. "It's a stat that we keep -- 0-2 hits are tough hits to give up. You need to expand the strike zone, but my philosophy is to expand it in a way that you can still get an out on that pitch, instead of just throwing the ball anywhere.

"Any time you have a situation where you have the advantage, normally if you give up an 0-2 hit it's on a bad pitch. So when it happens, yeah, you're kicking yourself because you have the advantage and you've given up the hit. That's not what you're looking for. You're looking for a pitch you're going to get them out with."

Pitchers and pitching coaches magnify 0-2 hits allowed because, in their eyes, they're unacceptable. Yet, statistically, they also are infrequent.

Based on statistics of all Major Leaguers, through Sunday, June 14, the collective batting average on 0-2 counts was .168 (415-for-2,467). Granted, it is a 3 1/2 month sample size, but a look at last year shows a similar pattern. Hitters on 0-2 counts in 2008 batted merely .181 (1,135-for-6,254).

With the numbers stacked so heavily in favor of the pitchers, it raises the question: Is the waste pitch really a waste?

"Hitters don't hit very well in 0-2 counts. It's barely .100," said Dave Righetti, the Giants pitching coach. "So why waste a pitch? We don't talk about wasting one, we talk about tinkering with a tough pitch. Go after him."

There is a tactical way of going about challenging a hitter at 0-2 without throwing an automatic ball. Many in the industry call it a "purpose" pitch, which may indeed be a ball but is aimed at setting a hitter up for the 1-2 offering.

"I want the 1-2 pitch to be our so-called 'action' pitch," Righetti said. "Now, he's either going to get a hit, or what have you. I'd like to see us give up more 1-2 base hits than run up more 3-2 counts.

"These [hitters] now, when they see six, seven pitches, they're going to do some damage on you."

One of the dangers of throwing that automatic 0-2 ball is that the count is 1-2, then you may see a foul ball, followed by another ball, and suddenly it's 2-2. The trap a pitcher tries to avoid is seeing that 0-2 count reverse to 2-2 or 3-2, resulting in a long at-bat. Regardless of the outcome, the sequence runs up a pitch count.

From the pitcher's standpoint, it's important to put a batter away before getting deep in the count, because batting averages rise with the more pitches hitters see. For instance, the league average on 1-2 counts is .171, and it goes up to .195 on 2-2 counts and .237 when the count is full. Hitters this season are statistically better on 3-2 offerings this year than they were last year. In 2008, the average was .229.

Royals ace Zack Greinke doesn't believe in wasting a pitch. Instead, he aims to throw a tempting one.

"It's not really a waste pitch," Greinke said. "You throw a pitch that you want him to swing at but he can't really do anything with it. Which is either a breaking ball in the dirt or a fastball too high for him to catch up to.

"That's what I do, but some pitchers try to throw kind of like a perfect strike with it -- they just want the ball put in play. And I don't think that's the right way to do it, but it works for some pitchers. You just try to make it look like they can hit, but it's just a little bit out of their reach."

Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals sees the 0-2 advantage as a way of setting up a hitter.

"There is no such thing as a waste pitch -- or an intentional waste pitch. Every pitch has a purpose," Wainwright said. "If you're 0-2, you are not necessarily just trying to throw him a strike. You're still trying to get something out of it. You don't throw it five feet high. That doesn't do any good. You don't bounce something in front of the plate.

"Maybe you tease him on the outside corner or back him off the plate, if you need to get him out of the way. Maybe you throw him something high to get him a curveball, or throw him the curveball to set up the high fastball. So you never know. Everything has a purpose."

The way Wainwright sees it, if you effectively set up a hitter for 1-2, you still have the advantage.

"The good thing about 0-2 is you know you can use a pitch to get him out on the next pitch, if you need to do that," Wainwright said. "Sometimes you go after a guy to get him out at 0-2. Other times you throw a pitch with the intent on getting him out with the next pitch. If you go 0-2, and you use a pitch to set up the next pitch. Now, 1-2 is far from being in a hitter's count. When you start getting into 2-2 and 3-2 counts, that's when the whole thing changes."

Opinions on how to handle the situation vary from pitcher to pitcher. Some thrive on the cat-and-mouse tactics, using one pitch to set up another. Others stay aggressive.

"It depends on what the first two pitches were," said Giants righty Tim Lincecum, the 2008 Cy Young Award winner in the NL. "It's all about guessing whether or not the guy's looking for the pitch you're going to throw there on 0-2 -- whether you're going to throw it in the dirt, and he's going to be aggressive, or he thinks you're going to throw it in the dirt, and he just takes it.

"A lot of guys like to go to the opposite field when they get two strikes. Then you try not to throw him hard inside. I just don't like throwing that high fastball to set up my curveball. More and more I've been getting them with my changeup and throwing that 0-2 as well."

Florida's Josh Johnson, one of the rising young right-handers in the game, sees the two-strike advantage as a way to be fine with his third pitch.

"When I'm 0-2, a lot of times, I'll try to throw a pitch that's either just on the corner or just barely off," Johnson said. "I like to expand my fastball with two strikes because that's the pitch I locate best. Or I'll use it as a purpose pitch to set up something away, or throw something in. Or to throw a pitch up, to set up a pitch down. You use it to setup the next pitch. We don't want to give up 0-2 hits. That's something we've talked about in Spring Training."

The Marlins have a young rotation, and pitching coach Mark Wiley, during Spring Training, showed videos of all the 0-2 hits the team allowed in 2008.

Wiley is a firm believer that 0-2 hits are unacceptable.

"We gave up way too many 0-2 hits last year. We addressed it in Spring Training," he said. "We had video sessions on how many hard-hit balls we had on 0-2 pitches.

"Last year we gave up 82 hits on 0-2 counts, and 45 of them were rockets. That's just totally unacceptable. Teams give up hard-hit 0-2 hits all the time. Those are giving away outs, or at least balls that shouldn't be hit hard for extra bases. It's a big impact."

Wiley has a theory about when pitchers are hit hard on 0-2.

"That's just command. That means your command is not very good," Wiley said. "I have a joke when a guy is giving up a lot of hard hit 0-2 hits. I joke that they should throw a 'universe' pitch. They say, 'What is that?' I say, 'Throw it anywhere in the universe, except the strike zone.'"

It was yet another hot July afternoon in Round Rock, Tex., in 2008, and John Baker's patience had run dry.

The catcher, now with the Marlins, was in the middle of his seventh year in the Minor Leagues after making his fourth All-Star team, but his dream of being a big leaguer had still not come true.

And he was just tired.

Tired of putting up solid numbers at every level of the farm system, but continually being passed over.

Tired of painstakingly waiting his turn while younger, less-accomplished catchers got playing time over him.

And simply tired of the cold, harsh reality that can sometimes be the business of baseball.

"What am I doing here?" Baker rhetorically asked one of his Albuquerque Isotopes teammates that day. "I need to go home and go back to school."

Baker was a fourth-round pick in the heralded 2002 "Moneyball" Draft of Billy Beane's Athletics, but he found himself riding the backseat to Oakland's No. 35 overall selection that year, Alabama catcher Jeremy Brown.

Brown obviously became the organization's top priority, and Baker -- no matter what -- was pretty much stagnant for five long years.

But Baker's isn't an isolated situation. Not even close.

"It's very, very difficult," said Giants catcher Bengie Molina, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner whose patience was constantly tested through seven years in the Minors. "When you're busting your butt, and you're doing everything right, and you're putting up the numbers and working your way up, and all of a sudden -- because of the Draft choice, or because they've got a lot of money invested -- a guy is going to [play] over you and nobody pays attention to you. That's really tough."

Dale Thayer knows what that's like.

The right-handed reliever -- a 47th-round pick in 1999 -- spent the better part of seven years in the Minor Leagues before finally making it on the Rays this season, at 28 years of age, despite sporting an ERA no higher than 3.00 every season while in the Padres' and Rays' organizations.

"I took a while," Thayer said. "But if you keep going at it, good things will happen."

The problem, however, is many players can't afford to keep going.

Financial issues
A player in his first Minor League season will make $850 a month, and his first year in Triple-A won't get him more than $2,150 a month -- an income finding the player's pockets only during the season.

Giants reliever Justin Miller was a fifth-round Draft pick of the Rockies in 1997, but didn't have a full season in the big leagues until '02, with the Blue Jays. The 31-year-old right-hander was married with a child at 19, and by the team he reached the Majors, he said he was already $25,000 in debt.

"The Minor Leagues just kill you," said Miller, who worked at Walmart and Blockbuster Video during the offseason to make more money. "I wish baseball would do something for Minor Leaguers to make more money. I understand the gap from the Major Leagues, but it's not livable."

In 2004, a San Francisco Chronicle survey showed 42 players in the Major Leagues at that time had graduated from a four-year college. But in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft, for example, 11.4 percent ended up making it to the big leagues at any point.

For the many others who linger in the Minor Leagues and eventually deal with the dilemma of chasing the seemingly impossible dream, or getting another job to better support their families, it's a tough situation.

"I have no school, I have no education -- I went to junior college for barely a year," said Cardinals rookie right-hander Blake Hawksworth, who was initially on the fast track to the big leagues when he went into '04 as St. Louis' No. 1 prospect, according to Baseball America, but was passed over after ankle and shoulder surgeries.

"Whatever our field, baseball is going to be a part of our life because that's our whole resume."

A grind
You often hear the term, "Baseball is a business."

But while the business side is played out with contracts in air-conditioned offices, its sometimes-harsh realities are lived by the journeymen in the small ballparks, long bus rides and sparse amenities of the Minor Leagues.

Simply put, it's a grueling line of work.

"Nothing is given to you," said Rays reliever Joe Nelson, who made just five big league appearances in his first nine years in professional baseball. "And when you fight through injuries, or you fight through three years in Triple-A, it's rewarding to actually get to the big leagues. You do it for yourself, your family and your friends, but you also do it to show every one of those people that kept questioning you that you made it, and you're living your dream."

Baker eventually lived out his dream, and he hasn't looked back since.

But the road was rough.

Finally getting a shot
The Alameda, Calif., native said he knew when he was cut the first week of Spring Training in '07 that he didn't stand a chance in the A's organization. Shortly thereafter, Baker was shipped over to the Marlins and ended up hitting .285 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs in 89 games for Triple-A Albuquerque that season.

But, initially, Baker kept experiencing more of the same.

For the first game of the '08 season, a furious Baker saw he wasn't in the Isotopes' starting lineup, and he had to listen to his manager explain to him that, even though he was coming off a solid year, Brett Hayes -- a second-round pick by the Marlins in '05 -- was now with the team, so Baker needed to play the backup role.

Hayes then got hurt during the first game of the season, and Baker took over as the starter and was hitting over .300 for around the first three months. But he was still the forgotten man.

Another Marlins catcher, Paul Hoover, was brought back up to the big leagues, and Mike Rabelo -- who came over in the deal that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers in December 2007 -- was down in Triple-A, so Baker was told he needed to step aside once again.

That's when Baker decided he'd had enough.

The 28-year-old stormed to the bullpen in Round Rock that day and told now-Pirates Minor Leaguer Scott Nestor about how he was going to give it all up.

But what he got in return from Nestor -- three years his junior -- was encouragement.

"'What do I do, what do I have to prove?'" Baker asked Nestor. "'This is the second time I've been on the [Pacific Coast League] All-Star team -- fourth time in six years I've made an All-Star team -- and with seemingly no chance to ever realize my dreams of playing Major League Baseball.'

"And he looked at me, and he said, 'Hey, you're going to play in the big leagues this year. It's got to happen. You've gone through too much, it has to happen for you.'"

Then finally, about a week after that conversation, it did.

The Marlins needed another catcher after Matt Treanor landed on the disabled list, and Baker ended up being the guy.

Then, during his second game on July 10 at Dodger Stadium -- about 300 miles from where he grew up -- Baker notched his first big league hit against the Dodgers' Chan Ho Park, and that one crack of the bat sent the ball flying out for his first home run as well.

At last, that feeling of arrival overcame him as he rounded the bases.

A feeling shared by so many of those whose path to the big leagues wasn't so smoothly paved.

"You learn a lot about yourself, your resiliency, dealing with being a Minor League baseball player for a long time," said Baker, who hit .299 in 61 games last season and has been the Marlins' everyday catcher since his call-up. "It's not an easy job. It's tough physically, it's tough mentally, it's tough psychologically. But playing one day here, for me, was definitely worth it."

In the middle of his 2,225th game behind the plate, Ivan Rodriguez defined himself.

That's a little late in a life spent behind the mask for a revelation. Yet a career perhaps misunderstood, and certainly underappreciated, suddenly came into focus.

With an 0-and-2 count on Arizona's Felipe Lopez in the fifth inning on Sunday, Houston right-hander Brian Moehler snapped off a breaking pitch that bounced in front of the plate and short-hopped under Rodriguez's spread legs.

Rodriguez immediately doubled over in agony, maintaining that position for several minutes as each replay of the errant pitch on the giant video board elicited groans from the fans in Chase Field -- especially the male fans.

It would have taken typical men the rest of the weekend to recover from that ding. Within moments, Rodriguez was back in his catcher's crouch.

And then he called for the same pitch again. Seeing Moehler's offering again tumble into the dirt and bounce between his legs, most men would've simply passed out.

Rodriguez calmly short-hopped the ball with his mitt -- after Lopez had missed it for strike three -- and started to whip it around the infield.

There it was: The reason Pudge is one of the most brilliant and competitive catchers in baseball's long history, and also the reason he has survived to soon catch more Major League games than anyone else.

Lopez was set up for that sinking breaking ball, so bring it on. As for relenting to injury ... Rodriguez has been facing it for 17 years, and hasn't yet blinked.

"I'm proud of everything I've been able to accomplish in this game, but especially to be able to play with very little injuries," Rodriguez said on his way out of Phoenix and to Arlington and a date with history.

"I've always worked hard. I'm still working hard. I'm very pleased with my career."

The pride was a virtual ember in his eyes as Pudge added:

"A lot of people know the name 'Pudge Rodriguez.' Pretty much everyone knows me. I'm a player who has proven to be ready and play the game hard. I've earned a lot of respect from teammates and coaches and fans.

"I have no complaints."

And now he is about to receive confirmation.

In Tuesday's opener of an Interleague Series against the Texas Rangers, he will catch for the 2,226th time, tying Carlton Fisk's all-time record at the position. The next day, he will break the record that helped usher the original Pudge into the Hall of Fame.

"I congratulate the other Pudge on achieving this amazing milestone, as I know the endurance and strength it takes to get there," said Fisk. "Congrats!"

"To be able to get to that level is a great accomplishment," said Pudge II. "I've always taken care of myself, do everything needed to keep doing things in this game and to be able to reach that record. It's an honor."

And to have it happen in Arlington is poetic.

That is where Rodriguez played the first 12 of his 19 seasons, beginning as an 18-year-old in 1991. That is where he earned the first 10 of his 14 All-Star laurels, the first 10 of his 13 Gold Glove Awards. Where he chalked up the majority of the imminent record, catching 1,426 games as a a member of the Rangers.

"Being able to do that will be nice," Rodriguez said. "It will be nice for my family, my friends and the fans. They're great fans, and I think they look forward to it, too."

So does Omar Vizquel, who these days plays a little infield for the Rangers and does a lot of sitting: on the bench, and on his laurels, having last season set the Major League record for most games played at shortstop, which now stands at 2,669.

Having the record-holders at two of the six positions on the field (lumping the three outfield spots together) in the same house, even if only briefly, will be quite remarkable.

"Catching is probably the toughest position in the game," Vizquel said. "[Rodriguez is] still looking pretty agile and seems excited to be a part of that. It's not easy to be behind the plate that long. No doubt he's one of the best catchers in the history of the game."

Rodriguez will soon own the Major League record for catching the most games, but he does not hold the Rangers' record. That belongs to his predecessor, Jim Sundberg, who caught 1,439 games for them from 1974-83 and 1988-89 and now is the club's senior executive vice president.

"I think it's huge," Sundberg said over the weekend in anticipation of Rodriguez's record-setting arrival. "It demonstrates perseverance and toughness and longevity and all those things that make up what teammates look for, and say that person is somebody we can count on.

"It's a difficult position to have that kind of longevity," added Sundberg, who caught a total of 1,927 games. "There are only a handful who have caught loosely 2,000 games. It demonstrates value as much as a Gold Glove or any award."

"Longevity" and durability have always been associated with Rodriguez. He has played 123-plus games 11 times at the toughest, most physically demanding, most debilitating position on the diamond.

"Value," however, has not, unfairly. He has been a free agent multiple times, without being coveted. He signed on the eve of Spring Trainings in 2003 with the Marlins and in 2004 with the Tigers -- and wound up leading both teams into World Series.

Most recently, Rodriguez went unsigned until March 20, after catching the Astros' eyes with his sprite performance in the World Baseball Classic for Puerto Rico.

Lack of respect?

"Trust me," Rodriguez said, "I never pay attention to that sort of thing. There are things you can't control. The way I am ... I'm a very positive person.

"Now I'm with the Astros, still playing, still enjoying the game."

Still looking forward ...

"I love playing this game," he said, "and want to keep playing it. I have a lot of playing time left. As long as I'm in good shape, there's a lot of baseball left in me."

And when too much of the baseball gets on him, such as in the fifth inning on Sunday in Phoenix, well, a few minutes' pause and he's ready to go again.

Wednesday night in The Ballpark, Rodriguez will pause a little longer for reflection.

"It will be a great thing to do," he summed up. "And it will be a good day."

NEW YORK -- The Subway Series had never seen a game this lopsided, and it was just the convincing conclusion the Yankees needed, securing the first chapter of this year's crosstown Interleague series.

Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano homered in a nine-run fourth inning as the Bronx Bombers hammered Johan Santana on the worst afternoon of his career, coasting to a 15-0 laugher over the Mets on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

"It's just the Subway Series -- you're going to see some strange things," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "If someone would have told us that's how we were going to win two out of three, I never would have guessed it."

Santana allowed a career-high nine runs and exited to wild cheers with no outs in the fourth inning as the Yankees took two of three games in the weekend set, highlighting their 17-hit attack by sending 12 men to the plate in the biggest frame since the Subway Series began across the street in 1997.

"It shows you he's human," said Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett. "It happens to everybody. This is a very, very potent lineup. Our job is to keep them in the game as best we can, because they're going to score runs."

That they did. Providing quick support for Burnett, who won for the third time in four starts, the Yankees had put up four runs to take an early lead against Santana in the second inning. The left-hander's luck only soured in the fourth.

Matsui belted a two-run homer to right-center, his 10th and sixth off a left-hander this year, and Derek Jeter chased Santana with a single -- one of four hits for the Yankees' shortstop -- to score the seventh run.

Johnny Damon greeted reliever Brian Stokes with an RBI double off the left-field wall, and after an Alex Rodriguez double play brought in the ninth run, Cano put an exclamation point on the pounding with a two-run homer, part of a three-hit game for the second baseman.

"The team overall was able to stay compact with their swings and see clearly strikes and balls, especially in that inning when we scored nine runs," Matsui said through an interpreter.

Melky Cabrera completed the frame with a two-run double. The start tied Santana's shortest career outing, which came on Sept. 26, 2007, when Santana pitched for the Twins at Detroit.

"There's no doubt about how dominating he's been over the years," said Nick Swisher, who walked twice in the fourth inning. "The back of his baseball card definitely proves that. To do that against him, that doesn't happen very often. It's never happened."

With later scoring off Stokes and Jon Switzer, Cano and Damon each finished with three RBIs, while rookie catcher Francisco Cervelli and Cano logged three hits apiece.

"I just go up there and try to hit the ball -- move the runners," said Cervelli, for whom the three knocks were a career high. "Whatever sign they put up, I just try to do that. The first thing for me is catching and calling the game. If I get three hits every time, it's better."

Mets manager Jerry Manuel wasn't around to see the end, having been ejected in the sixth inning for arguing a called third strike on David Wright.

And maybe that was for the best -- the 15 runs were a season high for the Yankees and produced their largest shutout win since Game 1 of a doubleheader on Sept. 25, 1977, at Toronto, also a 15-0 victory. It was the club's largest shutout win at home since Aug. 4, 1953, against the Tigers.

"You should have heard us in there -- it was wild," Burnett said, gesturing toward an off-limits area of the clubhouse. "It was just a good all-around day. We came out swinging the bats and made a lot of defensive plays."

The series victory came days after the Yankees were swept in a three-game series at Fenway Park in Boston, falling to 0-8 this year against their blood rivals.

But after taking advantage of a lucky 9-8 win on Friday before getting shut down by the anonymous Fernando Nieve in Saturday's 6-2 loss, the Yankees said the page was completely turned on those defeats.

"I think we forgot about the Red Sox thing once it was over," Swisher said. "What are you going to do, turn back the hands of time and go play those games over again? You can't. What's done is done. You've got to look forward to tomorrow."

Burnett limited the Mets to four hits over seven innings, walking four and striking out eight before David Robertson and Phil Hughes finished up.

After the game, Burnett lauded the pitch-calling contributions of Cervelli, a 23-year-old from Venezuela who has been touted as a defensive standout but contributed surprising offense.

"I think it's just a matter of that we used everything today," Burnett said. "I don't know if it's the catcher, but we used curveballs and fastballs in good counts. They had no idea what was coming, and that's huge. If I'd miss with a hook, he'd call another one. We didn't stay in a pattern."

Burnett appeared poised to give a 4-0 lead back in the third inning, when he walked two and allowed a hit to the bottom of the order. But Burnett struck out both Alex Cora and Fernando Martinez swinging before getting Carlos Beltran to line to shortstop, stranding the bases loaded.

"You don't want to see someone put themselves in that kind of jam, where he walked a couple of guys and they had a base hit, but he went to work," Girardi said. "That seemed to be the difference in the game. If he doesn't get out of that inning, I'm not sure what happens."

ATLANTA -- As Tim Hudson watched Tommy Hanson throw his first bullpen session during Spring Training, he was convinced the big right-hander was talented enough to end this season as the ace of the Braves rotation.

In other words, Hudson was marveling at his first look at the product of the evolution that wowed the Braves and any scout who watched Hanson transform last year from the member of a Class A pitching staff into a man that many currently consider to be the game's best right-handed prospect.

"He's the real deal," said Braves manager Bobby Cox, whose long tenure in the game provided him the opportunity to spend more than a decade alongside the greatness possessed by Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine.

On their way to joining the exclusive club of 300-game winners, Maddux and Glavine weren't blessed with the physical gifts that were bestowed upon the likes of 6-foot-6 Hanson and Smoltz. Nor were they masked from the growing pains that have seemingly struck every heralded pitching prospect not named Dwight Gooden over the course of the past three decades.

But like Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, Maddux and Glavine quickly overcame their early stumbling blocks and began their march toward Cooperstown by showing the determination and resiliency that the likes of Hanson, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and David Price will seek to find while dealing with the incredible hype that didn't necessarily surround the stars of yesteryear when they introduced themselves to the Majors.

Thrown into the postseason fire last year, Price and Kershaw have already dealt with some of the bruises that are destined to dent the superhero figures of Hanson and Strasburg, this year's top overall Draft pick who has gained heralded status even before signing his first professional contract.

"There are very few guys that don't go through the growing pains, no matter how good you are," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "I think Doc Gooden is the closest thing in the recent time."

Taken two rounds behind Gooden in the 1982 First-Year Player Draft, Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell was with the Mets in 1985, when a 20-year-old Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA. The remarkable season prolonged the greatness that the hard-throwing right-hander had displayed one year earlier, while notching 17 wins and being named National League Rookie of the Year.

While winning at least 15 games during each of his first five seasons, Gooden seemingly avoided the early struggles incurred by Glavine, Maddux and Randy Johnson. Each of these future 300-game winners endured seasons that included 13 losses before they notched their first winning record.

But the baseball gods didn't completely forget to initiate Gooden. During his first six career starts at the ripe age of 19, he was 4-2 with a 4.85 ERA that at least provided some indication that he was mortal.

"You look at most of the good ones, they were pretty good from the start," said Hudson, who enjoyed the rarity of winning 31 of his first 39 career decisions. "There might have been a little bit of a learning process and some growing pains along the way. But their struggles usually weren't a two- or three-year deal."

Long before they became recognized as two of the greatest postseason pitchers of this generation, Smoltz and Curt Schilling were forced to learn some of the same lessons that await Strasburg, Hanson and any other power-armed hurler that hasn't yet been introduced to the fact that their previous ability to dominate can often be negated by the mistake-hungry hitters that exist at the Major League level.

Blessed with one of the greatest arms ever, Nolan Ryan obviously understands that a powerful fastball can counteract numerous weaknesses. But having seen numerous other flamethrowers flame out amid the pressures of the Major League setting, the all-time strikeout king understands the reality that Hanson's mindset is every bit as important as his heater and eye-opening slider.

"I think being a power pitcher he has more of a margin for error," Ryan said. "But obviously it depends on the makeup of the kid. If you take a control pitcher who has confidence in his ability to throw to spots and make pitches, if he's mature enough and confident enough, it's not as big of a transition. If the power pitcher is not accustomed to hitting spots and making pitches, he has a real chance of getting hit once hitters get adjusted to him."

After watching Hanson begin his career by needing just 31 pitches to complete three perfect innings at their expense on Sunday afternoon, the Brewers attempted to show more patience and in the process they took advantage of three misplaced fastballs that they turned into two-run homers.

While introducing himself to the Majors, Hanson was impressive with a fastball that touched 97 mph, but also showed that his margin of error wasn't as great as the one he had while posting 1.49 ERA earlier this year with Triple-A Gwinnett.

During his much-anticipated debut, the 22-year-old hurler allowed seven runs -- six earned -- and lasted six innings.

"That was a huge learning experience for me," Hanson said. "Maybe I was thinking too much, instead of keeping it simple and going with my normal game plan."

Selected in the 22nd round of the 2005 Draft, Hanson's professional career started much more quietly than the one experienced by Price, who has been in the spotlight since the Rays grabbed him with the first overall selection in 2007.

"I don't really think about that," Price said. "Everybody that gets drafted has the same chance. You've got to prove yourself wherever you get drafted. And when you get your chance, you've got to hold onto it. You can't let it slip away. I think that's what really separates you. Once you get that chance, you don't let it pass."

After going 12-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts at three Minor League levels last year, Price made his Major League debut in September and enjoyed five appearances (one start) during the season's final month. Even while posting a 1.59 ERA during five postseason appearances, he still found himself exiting this year's camp with the same Minor League assignment that awaited Hanson.

Now both find themselves back in the Majors searching for that same staying power that has eluded Luke Hochevar, the 2006 Draft's first overall selection who has made multiple returns to the Minors since debuting with the Royals on Sept. 8, 2007.

Through his first 27 career starts, Hochevar is 7-15 with a 3.81 ERA. While rocky, his path hasn't proven to be as troublesome as the one previously traveled by his teammate Zack Greinke, who struggled with the pressures that followed being the sixth overall selection in the 2002 Draft.

With a 1.55 ERA through his first 12 starts this year, Greinke has obviously righted himself and given Hochevar even more reason to believe his turnaround could be right around the corner.

"There are adjustments you have to make but certainly not anything that everybody else doesn't run into," Hochevar said.

When reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum went 2-2 with a 5.58 ERA during his first nine career starts in 2007, he quickly realized that the get-me-over curveball and two-pitch repertoire that he'd used in the Minors was a recipe for disaster at the Major League level.

But he quickly made the necessary adjustments and consequently evolved into the top-flight pitcher the Giants had envisioned.

"The transition was fairly simple," Lincecum said. "I always had high expectations for myself, whether it was Triple-A, high-A or whatever."

Currently standing as the newest pitching phenom introduced to the Major Leagues, Hanson seemingly possesses that same sense of confidence that allowed Lincecum to quickly evolve from being a prospect to one of the game's finest pitchers.

When Hanson surrendered a pair of two-run homers during the sixth inning of Sunday's game against the Brewers, he reacted in a manner that impressed McDowell every bit as much as the fastballs and sliders he'd witnessed throughout the afternoon.

"Obviously he was a little disappointed, but his demeanor was pretty much the same throughout," McDowell said. "That shows you that he's a special kid."

While there's no denying that the likes of Hanson and Price are special, their attempts to prove great will be based on their abilities to show more than simply the physical skills that have put them in position to gain this elite status.

"You have to have that dedication that it takes to sustain excellence," Hudson said. "The ones that throw their glove out there and think they can just live up to the hype, those are the ones that are checking out within a couple years. The good ones are the ones who want to come up here and compete for a Cy Young every year. Those are the ones that you want."

NEW YORK -- The race for the National League East championship has had its bags packed for some time now, ready to move out of Citi Field as soon as it can reserve a seat on a flight to Atlanta or maybe even Miami. It had begun packing when Carlos Delgado went down, locked its suitcases when Jose Reyes tore his hamstring and zipped up its garment bag when J.J. Putz was betrayed by his elbow. And the race may yet depart before September's arrival.

Not today, though, not after Tuesday night, not after the Mets applied the three R's -- resolve, resilience and resourcefulness -- and mixed them with an ingredient in abundant supply since Opening Day, relief. Not after they defeated the Phillies in the most rousing game in Citi Field's 28-game history. For now, the race is maintaining its New York apartment for at least another few days. Ultimately, these bruised and aching Mets may go nowhere. But for now, the race isn't going anywhere, either.

The Mets' 6-5 victory against the first-place Phillies prompted the change of travel plans and generated a degree of excitement in the stands, the home dugout and the comfy home clubhouse. This one resonated as much as a June 9 game can. And if the Phillies weren't damaged by it nearly as much as the Mets were bouyed by it, well, so be it. The Mets could do little more than gain a game in the standings and fortify their sense of self.

"A very good game for us to win," Johan Santana said. "We couldn't ask for more tonight."

Or, as manager Jerry Manuel said, "It's huge for us." The way the Mets went about their business was -- for this team in this spacious arena -- unusual, to say the least. The home run, an endangered species at Citi Field, made a rousing comeback in this engagement between the team that leads the NL in home runs, the Phillies, and the team that began the evening with the third fewest home runs in the game. And surprisingly -- no, remarkably, the Mets prevailed, though not in the slugging. The Phillies hit four home runs, each against Santana, no less. But the Mets made the most of the three hit by David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church.

The seven combined, the most in one game at Citi, increased the number surrendered by the new place to 45, the fifth fewest in the NL.

"All the talk about a pitchers' park," Manuel said. "The ball is supposed to stay in play here. I don't think that was the case tonight."

Church's home run, against Chad Durbin in the seventh inning, not only provided the decisive run, it also created another Citi first, landing, as it did, in the apple basket beyond center field. It made him an honorary member of the frequently-cited Core of the Mets.

"To drop it in their from that distance," Church said, "it ought to be worth three points."

Home runs are all well and good. But the Mets would be embarrassed by closer examination of their long ball prowess. Even with the three they hit Tuesday, they have one less than Ryan Howard and one more than Raul Ibanez since May 14. Moreover, the two Phillies, each of whom homered against Santana, have combined for 38 home runs, one more than the Mets team.

Anyway, there was more to the Mets' victory than power-hitting. Santana disobeyed a bunt sign with a two-strike count in the sixth and pulled a double down the right-field line against losing pitcher Clay Condrey (4-1). He also initiated a 1-3 double play that ended the Phils' seventh with a goalie-like stop against Shane Victorino. So, though Santana surrendered five runs in seven innings-plus of flawed pitching, he did offset some of that damage and did deserve his eighth victory.

"On the days he pitches, he wants to be one of us and do things a position player does," Wright said. "We love that about him."

"I was proud of what I did tonight," Santana said.

Handsome as it was, Santana's double play wasn't the one that stood out. That distinction came an inning later after Chase Utley's home run had moved the Phillies to within 6-5 and Bobby Parnell, Santana's successor, had allowed a single by Jayson Werth. Manuel summoned Pedro Feliciano to face Howard. Four pitches produced a ground-ball double play -- Howard now is 5-for-25 against Feliciano -- and a groundout by Ibanez and left three outs for Francisco Rodriguez.

They were achieved with minimal resistance, a leadoff single by Jimmy Rollins, and K-Rod emerged with his 16th save in 16 opportunities. The Mets emerged with a sense of turned tables. This year, they have the invincible closer. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Phillies had a closer, Brad Lidge, on the disabled list.

"To have Frankie come in like that," Wright said. "And he's got that look in his eye. We see it. I'm pretty sure they see it. That's a huge plus for us."

"I'll tell you this, Santana said. "That guy [Rodriguez] could have pitched for 10 straight days, and he would have come in tonight and shut them down. That's the way he is. You never worry when the game is in hands."

Not that Santana was pleased to see any reliever summoned. He wanted to pitch on, despite the four home runs -- he had allowed as many once previously -- and the eight hits. Utley's home run angered him, and he wasn't all that receptive to leaving with six outs remaining. Manuel motioned to the bullpen before he arrived at the mound, and Santana motioned to his manager. He held the ball aloft as Manuel approached, and, in an animated way, delivered a message.

"I told him 'I'm a man. I'm a man.' I wasn't showing him up," Santana said. "I told him I had enough stuff to battle through it. He thought different. He's my skipper, and I respect everything he does."

Manuel's version of the one-sided exchange was identical, so was Wright's.

"Johan gets that way. He's so competitive," Wright said. "He has little weird stuff he says. I have no idea what he's talking about. 'I'm a man?' I think we realize that. But he gets wound up and speaks in sentence fragments. He says things short and sweet and makes no sense. ... Fine with me. He wins."

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers are hopeful they'll be getting a healthy Josh Hamilton back for the second half.

The outfielder is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a partially torn abdominal muscle and is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks. The Rangers are hoping he can return after the All-Star break.

The Rangers could have used his bat on Monday night, as they lost to the Blue Jays, 6-3, in the opener of a home series.

The surgery will be done in Philadelphia by Dr. William Meyer, who examined Hamilton on Monday and confirmed the original diagnosis of a partial tear. The injury is not considered as serious as the sports hernia that sidelined second baseman Ian Kinsler for the final six weeks of the 2008 season.

"Given what it could have been, this is better than some of the alternatives," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said.

Hamilton, who missed two weeks at the start of May because of a bruised left ribcage, injured himself crashing into the wall while making a spectacular catch against the Angels on May 17. He hit .237 with one home run and five RBI in 11 games while trying to play through the pain before finally being put on the disabled list on Tuesday in Boston.

The Rangers open the second half at home on July 17 against the Twins.

"It's great in that we thought it might be longer," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We thought [Hamilton] might be out until September. Now we have a chance to get him back after the All-Star break. At least it won't be until September. At least we know what we're dealing with and we have a time frame."

With Hamilton out, Washington said Marlon Byrd will be his regular center fielder. He said there might be a chance that Andruw Jones could play out there as well. The Rangers are not expected to look outside the organization for outfield help, although they have talked to David Dellucci about a Triple-A contract.

"You can't go out there and replace what Josh brings us," Daniels said. "It's not a possibility. The reality is we haven't had 100 percent of Josh all year. This team has proved that they can win with the guys we have here. We're going to continue to stay with this group."

The injury ensures that Hamilton will be not be returning to the All-Star Game after last year's star turn in the Home Run Derby. He has been second in fan voting among American League outfielders in each of the past two updates and also expressed a desire to compete in the Derby again. But his injury will keep him out of the All-Star festivities all together.

Instead, the Rangers want Hamilton back to the All-Star level he played at in 2008, when he led the AL with 130 RBIs. He also hit .304 with 98 runs scored and 32 home runs. He has played in just 35 games this season and is hitting .240 with six home runs and 24 RBIs.

"Obviously, Josh is a massive part of our club," third baseman Michael Young said. "The bad news is he'll be out that long, good news is he'll be able to come back healthy and ready to go. Whenever you have an injury that requires surgery, the best hope is to make sure you get it taken care of as soon as possible."

SAN DIEGO -- For the first nine innings on Sunday, the D-backs' bullpen once again struggled.

For the second nine innings, it was dominant.

All of that added up to a 9-6 win over the Padres in an 18-inning affair that took five hours and 45 minutes to play at PETCO Park.

"I don't know how to describe that game," D-backs manager A.J. Hinch said. "Roller-coaster emotions of being in complete control with Dan Haren, to all of our bullpen pieces being active and ready and rested, to a demoralizing game-tying home run, to nine innings of test of will between two teams. It was an exhausting game, but a happy ending for us."

The 18 innings matched the longest game in Arizona franchise history. The D-backs also played, and won, 18-inning games against the Giants (1-0) on May 29, 2001, and the Rockies (2-1) on Aug. 15, 2006. The time of game was just eight minutes shy of the record set in the game against the Giants.

The D-backs looked to be on their way to making quick work of the Padres, as they built a 6-0 lead through six innings.

Haren was cruising, allowing just one run in seven innings and seemingly en route to a well-deserved win.

However, the bullpen, which has struggled mightily the last few weeks, imploded once again, allowing the Padres to score five runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie it.

The game marked the second time on this road trip that Haren left with what seemed a solid lead only to wind up with a no-decision. On Tuesday night against the Dodgers, he left up, 5-1, only to watch the bullpen allow five runs in the eighth as Los Angeles won, 6-5.

The most unlikeliest hit of the inning came when David Eckstein lined the first pitch he saw from closer Chad Qualls over the wall in left for a two-out, game-tying, three-run homer.

Qualls has pitched sparingly over the past week while dealing with right forearm stiffness, but Hinch said it did not limit Qualls' effectiveness.

"I thought his stuff was good," Hinch said. "He got the ground balls he needed to before the Eckstein at-bat. He left a pitch up that Eckstein drove. They didn't hit the ball hard until Eckstein. I thought his stuff was fine. He wasn't tentative, didn't back down, he just gave up a home run."

Once it gave up the lead, the bullpen was unhittable, literally.

Jon Rauch (one inning), Esmerling Vasquez (two), Clay Zavada (2 2/3) and Leo Rosales (3 1/3) combined to pitch nine innings without allowing a hit.

"On the one hand, we blew Danny's lead," Reynolds said. "On the other hand, the bullpen -- after they tied it up -- the bullpen did great. What did they give up, no hits? That's unbelievable. They did a great job and we were able to stay in there, play good defense and get a W."

As afternoon turned to evening, the Padres eventually ran out of pitchers and had to turn to shortstop Josh Wilson to start the 18th.

It was not Wilson's first crack at pitching during his career. In fact, of the two scoreless innings he had thrown prior to Sunday, one was for the D-backs earlier this season.

"It's two ways," Hinch said when asked if there was some relief on the D-backs' side when Wilson came into the game. "One, you feel better because they're not going to be sharp and they don't have as many offspeed pitches, but the second part is you get a little too comfortable and your swings can get a little bit big."

Wilson was one strike away from getting out of the 18th unscathed when he had a 3-2 count on Mark Reynolds with runners at first and second.

"It's tough, because, No. 1, he's a position player and you don't want him to get you out," Reynolds said. "No. 2, you don't know what he's going to throw. When he pitched for us, he threw all fastballs so you figure he's got some kind of wrinkle."

Not only did Wilson throw Reynolds a breaking ball, it also looked like he threw him a change. Wilson actually had Reynolds down 0-2 on a pair of fastballs before the count ran full. Reynolds then went the opposite way with a fastball and hit it into the first few rows of seats to give the D-backs a lead.

"I laid off some high fastballs and he left one out over and I was able to barrel it up," Reynolds said.

This time, it was a lead they would not relinquish, as Rosales retired the two through four hitters in the San Diego lineup in order in the bottom half of the inning to end things.

"We were just trying to give ourselves a chance to win," Rosales said of the bullpen's work.

The loud music played in the clubhouse following the game and there were relieved looks all the way around.

"I think if we lost that game it would have been pretty deflating for this club," Rosales said.

WASHINGTON -- Randy Johnson would have been excused Thursday night if he wanted to let down his guard a little, loosen or lighten up, or just plain relax.

Instead, he remained the quintessential Big Unit -- figuratively keep his foot on the competitive accelerator -- in the aftermath of securing his 300th career victory in the Giants' 5-1 decision over the Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader.

Johnson, who no-hit Washington for four innings and ultimately allowed an unearned run and two hits in six innings, flashed his sense of humor in a postgame news conference. But even his gags carried a hint of the fire that drove him to this point and still stokes him.

"It sounds funny, but I've played 21, 22 years, I'm 45 and I've come upon 300 wins, and I'm thinking, 'I only have 211 more to catch Cy Young,'" Johnson said, prompting laughter.

Unless Johnson finds a time machine that fits his 6-foot-10 frame and reclaims some of his youth, he's no threat to catch Young, baseball's all-time leading winner. Nevertheless, Johnson's list of accomplishments is enviable, and it grew longer with his latest triumph.

He not only became the 24th Major Leaguer to ascend to the 300-win level but also established himself as the sixth left-hander in that group.

He's the first pitcher to win his 300th game on his first try since Tom Seaver, then with the Chicago White Sox, did so in August 1985. The next six -- Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine -- needed multiple attempts.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson also became the second-oldest pitcher to reach the 300 mark -- behind only Niekro, who achieved the feat when he was 46 years and 188 days old on Oct. 6, 1985. Johnson is 45 years and 267 days old.

Johnson's the seventh pitcher in Giants history to win 300 games while pitching for the franchise at some point in his career. He's the fourth to hit that plateau as a Giant, joining Tim Keefe, Mickey Welch and Christy Mathewson.

Johnson secured his milestone victory against a fitting opponent -- the Nationals, who launched his professional career by drafting him in the second round in 1985 when they were known as the Montreal Expos. By coincidence, the Nationals also were San Francisco's opponent when Barry Bonds hit his record 756th home run.

"I think I'm satisfied, but I've never been content," said Johnson, who bruised his throwing shoulder as he fell while scrambling for a comebacker to open the sixth yet finished the inning. "That's probably why I never really got caught up in the ... personal things because I always tried to excel and continue to do that."

Still, the five-time Cy Young Award winner clearly appreciated the enormity of his feat. "I think I'm actually more nervous now than I was pitching," he said.

Johnson has been cited by numerous observers as possibly the last 300-game winner, due to the five-man rotation which reduces the number of appearances a starter can make and the scarcity of pitchers able or willing to play long enough to win an appreciable number of games.

But, having been dismissed by many experts as the next to win his 300th when Glavine did so two years ago, Johnson pointedly said, "Don't overlook Jamie Moyer" -- the Philadelphia left-hander who ranks second among active pitchers with 250 victories.

Johnson's latest triumph affirmed what baseball people have long known and what he has maintained about himself: He's all about winning.

Following a 36-minute rain delay -- a watery reminder of Wednesday's downpour that delayed his start overnight -- Johnson (5-4) retired the first 10 batters in a row while his teammates scored twice in the second inning to give him the requisite lead.

Fred Lewis singled and Travis Ishikawa doubled with one out off rookie right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (2-3) before Juan Uribe's groundout delivered a run. Emmanuel Burriss singled to center field on an 0-2 pitch, scoring Ishikawa.

The next 19 Giants hitters went down in order before they gave themselves and Johnson a cushion by adding three runs in the ninth. Aaron Rowand singled leading off against Joel Hanrahan and Edgar Renteria doubled before both scored on Randy Winn's double. Bengie Molina's single finished Hanrahan and moved Winn to third, from where he scored on pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval's sacrifice fly.

Performing under light rain and before a sparse crowd that included close to 20 of his relatives and friends, Johnson lost his no-hitter when Elijah Dukes led off the Nationals' fifth with a single up the middle. Johnson yielded just one other hit, Nick Johnson's sixth-inning RBI double.

Randy Johnson received ample support from his defense. Rowand robbed Nick Johnson, Washington's second batter of the game, by plunging to the turf to snare a sinking liner in left-center field. Second baseman Burriss made a glittering play in the fifth by making a diving stop of Ronnie Belliard's one-hopper up the middle and shoveling the ball from his glove to shortstop Renteria to start a double play.

Brian Wilson, who escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the eighth inning by retiring Adam Dunn on a disputed called third strike, pitched the ninth to notch his 13th save and preserve Johnson's triumph.

Johnson's triumph marked the culmination of what in some ways has been an unlikely ascent. He didn't record his first Major League victory until he was 25, and he had won only 64 games upon turning 30 in 1993. But, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson's 236 victories since turning 30 are the fifth-most in Major League history.

"I'd say anything's possible as long as you stay healthy and are driven and continue to succeed," Johnson said.

ATLANTA -- When Braves general manager Frank Wren began evaluating trade options to upgrade his outfield, he put All-Star Nate McLouth at the top of his wish list and hoped he might be able to acquire him by the end of July.

Utilizing the Braves' stockpile of strong pitching prospects, Wren was able to obtain McLouth, 27, much earlier than he'd expected and at a comfortable cost that didn't seem to impact the future of his organization.

When Wren announced Wednesday he had obtained McLouth from the Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton, left-handed pitcher Jeff Locke and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, he did so with a sense of excitement.

"McLouth gives us everything that we've been wanting," Wren said. "He gives us another bat in the outfield. He brings us Gold Glove defense, and he brings us speed. He brings a lot to the table."

On a day the Braves made two other major announcements, releasing 305-game winner Tom Glavine and scheduling Tommy Hanson for his Major League pitching debut on Saturday night, the news about McLouth could have the most immediate impact.

When McLouth arrives in Atlanta, he'll provide a significant upgrade to a center-field position that has provided minimal production, primarily due to the rookie struggles of Jordan Schafer.

Schafer was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, and it's unknown when he might return to the Majors. If he regains his promising form before the end of this season, the rookie could be moved to one of the corner outfield positions.

McLouth led all National League center fielders with a .997 fielding percentage last year, and he hasn't committed an error in 45 games this year.

"He's a solid part of a team," Wren said. "He's clearly an All-Star and a Gold Glover at a key position. He's one of those foundation players you love to have."

While earning his first National League All-Star selection and Gold Glove Award last year, McLouth established himself as one of the game's most underrated players. His five-tool skills were on display as he produced a career-high 26 homers and proved successful with 23 of his 26 stolen-base attempts.

Dating back to the start of the 2005 season, McLouth leads the Majors with a 92.8 percent successful stolen-base rate. He has been successful during each of his seven attempts this year.

"It's hard to find guys that can run and throw and field and hit and hit for power," Wren said. "They're tough to find and tough to acquire."

The three-year, $15.6 million contract that McLouth signed in February made him even more attractive to the Braves. The outfielder is making $2 million this year, and he's locked in to make $4.5 million in 2010. After providing a $6.5 million salary in 2011, the Braves will have the option of paying him $10.65 million in 2012.

"He's a guy we'll control for four years, this year and three more," Wren said. "We just felt like he was the ideal player for us."

When Pirates general manager Neal Huntington called McLouth about the trade, he said the outfielder reacted in a surprised manner.

"This is one of those decisions that is not an easy one, that you spend a lot of time contemplating, because Nate McLouth is the type of person and the type of player that we would ideally try to build around," Huntington said.

When the Braves nearly obtained Jason Bay before last year's non-waiver Trade Deadline, Huntington accepted a deal that included both Morton and Locke. Pirates ownership later blocked the deal because they were looking for Major League-ready talent.

With Morton, the Pirates gain an appealing right-hander, who has increased his stock while going 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 starts with Gwinnett this year. If he can gain a consistent level of confidence, the 25-year-old hurler has the potential to find success at the big league level.

There was some perception among talent evaluators that Locke and Hernandez have recently stalled during their development at the Minor League level.

While Hernandez has hit .316 with Double-A Mississippi this year, he has recorded a .387 slugging percentage and proven successful with just 10 of his 18 stolen-base attempts.

But the thin 21-year-old outfielder's power could increase as he matures and gets more comfortable.

Once regarded as one of top pitching prospects in the Braves' organization, Locke has gone 1-4 with a 5.56 ERA in 10 starts with advanced Class A Myrtle Beach. The 21-year-old left-hander has registered 43 strikeouts and issued 26 walks in 45 2/3 innings.

TORONTO -- All Angels shortstop Maicer Izturis could do was watch as Roy Halladay's devastating curveball dropped into the strike zone for a called third strike to end the ninth inning on Tuesday night.

With that, Izturis became the ninth different hitter to fall victim to a Halladay strikeout, capping off a game in which Los Angeles' offense looked helpless against an array of sinkers, cutters and curveballs from the Blue Jays' ace.

Halladay won his ninth game of the year -- the most in the Majors -- as the Jays took the series opener over the Angels at Rogers Centre with a 6-4 victory. The score flattered the Angels, as all of their runs came in the seventh inning -- an aberration in an otherwise astounding game by Halladay.

In his second complete game of the season, Halladay recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts -- the most by a Blue Jays pitcher since Roger Clemens fanned 15 Orioles on Sept. 21, 1998. That year, Clemens won his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award.

For Angels center fielder Torii Hunter -- who whiffed on a two-strike curveball in the second and was rung up twice after that -- Halladay's seven-hit, one-walk performance was one worthy of his nickname.

"Doc Halladay has surgery," Hunter said. "He was a doctor today. You have got to give it to him. He had surgery on all of us.

"He throws the ball in and out the zone, out and into the zone. He's one of the best at doing that. Some pitchers I own, and some pitchers own me, and he's definitely one of them."

All six swinging strikeouts Halladay recorded came on his curveball -- a hook with tremendous break that dove under the Angels' bats, flailing hopelessly in front of a pitch that clocked in a good 15 mph slower than Halladay's fastball.

"It was one of the best I've seen," Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas said of Halladay's curveball. "Doc, most of the time, he does have a good curveball. But, today, it was a little sharper. He was a little bit more consistent throwing it behind the count. Even there in the ninth inning, I'm calling it when he's behind in the count on 3-2 pitches, because I had confidence and I know he did, too."

Los Angeles did not do much better with Halladay's fastballs, which darted in and out of the strike zone. The Angels are known for being aggressive hitters, but were frozen at the plate, as Halladay punched out eight batters on called third strikes -- seven with heaters.

"A lot of guys, they're just kind of surprised," Barajas said. "The pitches that are coming in, they look like balls. I'm sure they go up and they look at the videos and the pitches aren't exactly where they thought they were going to end up, because he has so much late movement -- late life.

"What he's able to do with that baseball, it's like playing a video game for me. You put that target down and away, or you put that target in, and you know the man is going to go out there and execute his pitches. He's some kind of special."

Halladay dominated Los Angeles through the first six innings, allowing only two base hits, with eight strikeouts and five outs via ground ball during that span. The ball only made it to the outfield twice, as Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero flied to center field in the fourth inning and first baseman Kendry Morales lined out to left in the fifth.

At that point, the Jays (30-24) looked to be cruising to an easy victory. They opened the scoring in the third inning, when left fielder Jose Bautista lined a pitch from Joe Saunders, the starter for the Angels (25-25), into right-center field for a triple. That plated Barajas, who was able to score easily from first to put the Jays up, 1-0.

The Jays added a pair of runs in the fourth frame, which was highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of right fielder Alex Rios -- his second shot in as many games. Toronto tacked on another three runs in the sixth, pushing the club's advantage to 6-0.

After Halladay's lights-out performance in the first six frames, the seventh was a different story.

Halladay gave up two hits and issued a walk to load the bases to open the seventh. One single, wild pitch and two sacrifice flies later, the Angels had cut Toronto's lead down to 6-4. Halladay needed 26 pitches to get out of the inning -- four fewer than he threw in the first three innings combined.

"I just didn't make pitches," Halladay said. "I fell behind to start off the inning and got myself in some hitter counts. So it obviously wasn't ideal. It's tough to pitch from behind in the count, when you walk a guy to load the bases. Not a good situation."

Despite the rough inning, Halladay came out for the eighth as sharp as he had been all night, fanning the Angels for five of the last six outs and inducing a groundout off the bat of Angels third baseman Chone Figgins for the other.

"He went in the dugout and he was clearly bothered," Barajas said of Halladay after the seventh inning. "He wasn't satisfied with what he had done up to that point and he was really disappointed in how that inning went. When I saw that he was going back out there, I knew the Angels were going to be in trouble."

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston had similar faith in Halladay's ability to make a quick recovery from the seventh inning. As long as Halladay felt fine, Gaston would throw him back out for the eighth.

"Most guys wouldn't have got out of that inning," Gaston said. "But great pitchers seem to find a way to get out of it, or reach back and get a little bit more, make better pitches and get themselves out of it. So that's what he did."

It was unusual for a team to have so much trouble making contact with Halladay's pitches. The right-hander usually works by getting hitters to ground out, as they're unable to make solid contact with balls that flit away at the last second. That's how Halladay has managed to keep his pitch counts down over the years -- Tuesday's effort required Halladay to toss a career-high 133 pitches.

Still, Halladay will take the strikeouts.

"I think you still try and pitch to contact, you try and get ahead, but as soon as you get ahead you try and put them away," Halladay said. "I think that never changes."

CLEVELAND -- It was impossible for Joba Chamberlain to circle the mound at Progressive Field and not flash back to the game that will forever follow him. He could taste 2007 happening all over again.

Those pesky midges came back to spoil the party again, but this time Chamberlain and the Yankees prevailed. The right-hander hurled a career-high eight innings as New York defeated the Indians, 5-2, on Monday, completing a successful seven-game road trip.

"They've been everywhere this whole week, so you had to have an idea," Chamberlain said. "They were floating around and they started coming in a little bit more. One hit me in the back of the throat. I was just hoping it didn't get crazy."

Nick Swisher and Alex Rodriguez each drove in two runs to help lead the first-place Yankees to their 15th win in 19 games, as New York set a Major League record for consecutive games without making an error.

"It was just a big performance to close out the road trip," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Chamberlain's invincible rookie season melted down when a swarm of Lake Erie insects invaded Game 2 of the American League Division Series, creating memorable images of him swatting away the midges before throwing just 12 of 25 pitches for strikes.

That night, Chamberlain sat in the visiting clubhouse and accepted responsibility for his wildness, which changed the momentum of the postseason. He offered approval for a TV commercial that winter lampooning the incident, as part of an effort to turn the page, though he did turn down an endorsement deal for bug spray.

"There could be worse things that I'm famous for," Chamberlain said. "A few bugs aren't going to hurt anybody."

Now, Chamberlain (3-1) is beginning to pen a new chapter, and this one comes with greater composure and as a starting pitcher. He gave the Yankees the best of both worlds Monday, limiting the Indians (22-31) to two runs before handing the ball off to closer Mariano Rivera for the ninth inning -- just as had been intended two Octobers ago.

"You've got to find a way to battle through, and he's done that," Girardi said. "All the talk about him and his struggles, his ERA (3.71) is still pretty good. Sometimes because of the success that he had out of the bullpen in his career, I think we always expect him to be perfect every inning. But that's not reality."

Chamberlain was good enough on this night. He retired the first 11 Indians he faced before Victor Martinez homered in the fourth inning, showcasing much better velocity than his aborted four-inning start on Tuesday at Texas. Chamberlain's final fastball sizzled at 96 mph.

The Yankees (30-21) universally lauded Chamberlain's 106-pitch performance, proudly slinging the clubhouse's ceremonial wrestling belt over his left shoulder.

"I've faced him, I've watched him pitch this year, and this was hands down the best I've ever seen him," said Swisher, who gave the Yankees the lead with a two-run double off Greg Aquino in the seventh inning. "A pleasure to watch, a pleasure to play behind, and when you get outings like that, it's fun to play."

"I could tell early on, he was throwing his curveball for a strike," Derek Jeter said. "When he can throw his offspeed pitches for strikes, he's pretty tough. He had velocity on his fastball and was striking people out with his slider. He had it all working."

Even with the leather. With the Indians threatening in the fifth, Chamberlain made a spectacular diving catch on a Kelly Shoppach bunt popup, doubling off Ryan Garko at second base after thudding to the infield grass between third base and home plate.

Once Chamberlain landed, the Yankees laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more.

"It looked like he was going into a swimming pool," said Andy Pettitte, who led the guffaws from the Yankees' bench.

"I looked over and he was horse-laughing," Chamberlain said. "That's the last thing I needed. I'm trying to get another out, there's two outs. I looked over and that was the first thing I saw. He's just probably mad because he's not that athletic."

Chamberlain limited Cleveland to four hits while walking two and striking out five, avoiding the distraction of an errant swarm that descended upon him before Chamberlain started working to Jamey Carroll with six outs to go in the game.

The Yankees did not commit an error for the 18th consecutive game, surpassing a previous mark held by the 2006 Red Sox. New York took advantage of a leaky Cleveland bullpen to bat around for four runs in the seventh inning.

Swisher made Aquino (1-1) pay for walking the bases loaded by drilling a two-run double off the left-field wall, chasing home pinch-runner Ramiro Pena and Brett Gardner, and Rodriguez greeted former Yankees pitcher Luis Vizcaino with a two-run single to left.

"The pitches that I was getting tonight, I was putting in play," Swisher said. "I wasn't fouling them off. I think that I've been getting somewhat similar pitches, but I haven't been able to do the same things that I did tonight."

Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers allowed one run on three hits in five-plus innings, leaving the bases loaded before yielding to Aquino. The Indians escaped that situation by striking out A-Rod, inducing Jorge Posada to tap weakly back to the mound and getting Robinson Cano to line out to left field.

"We had our shot there to put ourselves ahead and we didn't do it, but what's great about that is our guys stayed in," Girardi said. "They didn't get down on themselves or get frustrated. They stayed at it."

Chamberlain said that he would savor the flavor of this game for a little while, but just as he did back in 2007 with the opposite result, the time for moving on would come as soon as the Yankees reach the airport runway.

"It's awesome that we won the game and we won the series, but now I've got to look five days down the road," Chamberlain said. "How am I going to get better? It's a never-ending battle."

PHILADELPHIA -- When Jamie Moyer arrived at his locker inside the Phillies' clubhouse, a table with champagne and glasses sat adjacent to his chair.

Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins walked to the table and proceeded to shake Moyer's hand and pour him a glass of champagne. Normally, champagne celebrations are reserved for division titles, league pennants or World Series championships.

This was clearly an exception.

The 46-year-old Moyer masterfully allowed three hits and one earned run in six strong innings as the Phillies swept the Nationals, 4-2, on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park. In his sixth try, Moyer secured his 250th career victory, joining 43 others -- including just 10 other left-handers -- in the exclusive club.

It certainly was fitting to revel in the accomplishment while sipping champagne from a bottle with "250" scripted on the front.

"It's hard to believe, because you just don't see it that often from guys so late in their career, post-30 or 35 [years old]," said closer Brad Lidge, who picked up his 12th save, including all three against the Nationals this weekend. "It's hard to imagine doing it. He's one of the guys that you really want to watch throw."

Moyer is the ultimate team player, and doesn't get caught up in individual achievements.

Still, Moyer reached the 250-win plateau while moving into 44th place, one behind Bob Gibson with 251 on the all-time wins list. Among active pitchers, Moyer ranks third, trailing San Francisco's Randy Johnson (299). Moyer is the oldest pitcher to win his 250th game at 46 years and 194 days.

"I really haven't thought about it," said Moyer, who is in his 23rd Major League season. "For me, it takes so much effort to prepare and to play. I've been taught to play the game as a team and not as an individual. That's really how I approach things."

In his sixth attempt at the milestone, Moyer stayed in control, allowing just three hits and no walks, which had been a problem. One of those hits, off the bat of Josh Willingham, traveled beyond the left-field wall for a solo home run, but otherwise, no runners advanced past first base. Moyer struck out four, throwing 62 of 102 pitches (60.8 percent) for strikes.

Backup catcher Chris Coste, who was given a rare start in place of Carlos Ruiz, said he didn't even know about Moyer's feat until after the game.

"I had really forgotten all about it until after the game," Coste said. "I haven't gotten to play a lot, so this was a chance to play. Maybe it was good, because I didn't feel any pressure."

Moyer had been through slumps before, like his previous five starts. How about the time he went 1-2 with a 9.60 ERA -- 16 earned runs in 15 innings -- from Aug. 12-24, 2007, and also the span from July 2-16, 2007, when he was 0-3 with a 10.06 ERA -- 19 earned runs in 17 innings?

There have been plenty of other tough times throughout his 23 years. Whenever Moyer would go through a rough patch, he would watch film of one of his best starts.

This was certainly one of those terrific outings and a testament to his endurance and inner strength.

"[Moyer's] 250 wins is ... I don't know that I have to tell you, that's quite a few," manager Charlie Manuel said.

Cole Hamels was the Most Valuable Player in last year's National League Championship Series and World Series. For him, watching Moyer reach 250 career wins was also a huge thrill.

"For me, just to be a part of it was special," Hamels said. "It was a great event to see how to pitch against a very good hitting team and how to approach it. It really does show his mental toughness."

Getting some offensive support doesn't hurt, either.

The Phillies produced runs in the first two innings. After Shane Victorino walked, Chase Utley smacked a double into the right-center-field gap. Victorino motored around the bases, but was originally ruled out at the plate -- until umpire Dana DeMuth, realizing that Nationals catcher Josh Bard did not hang onto the ball, reversed his call.

One inning later, Coste connected with a 2-0 fastball for his second home run of the season to put Philadelphia ahead by two.

Then, with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth, Pedro Feliz hit what could have been an inning-ending double play. But Jayson Werth slid hard into second base to break it up, allowing Raul Ibanez, who had tripled, to score the Phillies' third run.

Willingham homered again -- this time off right-handed reliever Clay Condrey to lead off the seventh and cut the lead to 3-2 -- but Washington could not pull even.

Not on this day, when Moyer etched his name into the record books. For the unassuming lefty, helping the Phils register the sweep and move a season-high eight games above .500 was more meaningful than his 250th career victory.

"I was looking for some consistency," Moyer said. "I wasn't concerned with the win beside my name as much as the win beside the Phillies' name."

PHOENIX -- Clay Zavada has no doubt why he has received so much national attention since making his Major League debut last week.

"It's the mustache, man, I'm telling you," the D-backs left-hander said. "Relief pitchers don't get this kind of attention."

That may be true, but Zavada also has a compelling personal story. The 24-year-old lost his father in December 2006 following his first year of pro ball, and he gave up baseball for a time to tend to the family farm in Streator, Ill., before returning to the organization in 2008.

It has been suggested to Zavada that his story might be the reason he gets so much attention these days.

"Nah," Zavada said. "Some people don't know my story, they just see the 'stache. That's the first thing people ask me about. Then maybe they get into the story, but it's the 'stache."

Zavada's debut was chronicled in the New York Times and he appeared on ESPN's First Take along with numerous local radio shows.

"First thing they asked me about?" Zavada said of the ESPN interview. "The 'stache. There's a fascination with it right now for whatever reason."

In four appearances since being called up from Double-A Mobile, Zavada has not allowed a run in three innings.

Zavada started growing the mustache last year at the urging of his then-roommate and fellow pitcher Josh Collmenter. Recently he's begun to twist the ends so that it has begun to look like Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers' handlebar mustache.

"It's amazing," Zavada said of the attention. "People either hate it or they love it. There's no in between. There's a fascination with it right now for whatever reason. If I had played back in the '70s, I would have been a normal dude. I would have been just another dude with a weird 'stache. Now I'm unique. Now, it's like, 'Wow this guy has a 'stache, what the heck is he thinking?'

"It's all good. If it brings a smile to people's face, I'm good with that."

CHICAGO -- At this rate, the Gatorade dispenser in the Cubs dugout will not last the entire season.

Carlos Zambrano attacked it with a bat on Wednesday after he was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a close play at the plate with home-plate umpire Mark Carlson in the Cubs' 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"That was pretty impressive," Chicago's Milton Bradley said of Zambrano's animated antics. "That was on a Bradley level."

Trailing, 2-1, in the Pittsburgh seventh, the Pirates' Nyjer Morgan reached third base after he singled and advanced on an error by left fielder Alfonso Soriano. One out later, during Nate McLouth's at-bat, Zambrano threw a wild pitch on an 0-1 count, and Morgan scampered home.

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto flipped the ball to Zambrano, covering at the plate, but Morgan appeared to sneak his left hand in. Carlson called Morgan safe, but Zambrano disagreed. The pitcher and umpire went nose to nose, and they briefly bumped. Carlson tossed Zambrano, and Zambrano did the same, signaling that the umpire was ejected.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild ran onto the field, but too late. Zambrano hurled the baseball into left-center field, and then threw his glove as he stalked off the field.

"I was kind of disappointed," Chicago's Reed Johnson said of Zambrano's heave to the outfield. "I thought it was going to go up into the stands, but the wind was blowing in today."

The game was then tied at 2, and Zambrano missed in his second bid for his 100th career win. He took a bat to the orange dispenser in the dugout that Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster had punched with his left hand on Monday.

"In Spring Training, [athletic trainer] Mark O'Neal told me he didn't know how long it was going to last," Bradley said. "I said I guarantee I'm not going to be the one to break it, and I was right."

It's been a wild season for the Cubs. Bradley was ejected April 16 after his first plate appearance at Wrigley Field when he was called out on strikes. Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly was tossed Monday after arguing with then home-plate umpire Bob Davidson about concentrating. That's when Dempster knocked the cover off the dispenser.

"That Gatorade thing keeps taking a beating," said Johnson, who hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth on Wednesday. "We'll get some bandaids on it tomorrow."

Piniella, who knows a thing or two about umpires, planned on talking to Zambrano on Thursday.

"I'm the only calm, cool and collected one around here, it seems -- I'm just kidding," Piniella said. "[Zambrano] cares, but, look, you can argue a little bit, get your point across to the umpire that he thought the runner was out, but get back there and pitch and finish the inning and give yourself a chance to get the win. It didn't happen. Now we'll see what the outcome is."

Zambrano, obviously, thought Morgan was out.

"I over-exaggerated after that play and threw the ball and did the other things," Zambrano said. "Hopefully, [Major League Baseball] reviews the play and we'll see what happens."

Did he make contact with Carlson?

"Like I said, hopefully, [Major League Baseball] sees the replay," Zambrano said. "I never saw the replay. After that play, I came in and put ice on my arm and kept watching the game."

What about his "ejection" of Carlson?

"I didn't say any bad words," Zambrano said. "Like I said, it's his call to call safe or out or to throw me out. There's nothing I can do after the call."

"They've got to review it," Piniella said. "If you look at the film, the umpire sort of walks in a little bit, but the league makes that determination. You've got to be more careful than that. You can argue the point that the baserunner was out, but go back and pitch."

Zambrano felt he had blocked the plate, saying Morgan never touched it. Morgan disagreed.

"I was safe," Morgan said. "I was in there way before the ball got there."

Zambrano has tried to keep his emotions in check.

"He's an animated guy," Soto said. "He wants to be the best and gives you 110 percent. He wants to win. Unfortunately, he got tossed out. It shows you how much he cares about winning and doing good and competing.

"You don't want to take his passion away and make him a different guy. You want him to be animated. That's the way he is. It happens. That's baseball."

Still, Piniella will sit down with the right-hander before Thursday's game. He'll have to try not to laugh. Zambrano, who turns 28 on June 1, can be entertaining, but the Cubs want him to focus his energy on the mound.

"He's got good stuff," Piniella said. "The last two starts, his command has been erratic but his stuff has been really good. There's no need for the other things, let's be perfectly clear. You can have your say and then go back out there and put your concentration cap back on and get two more hitters and give yourself a chance to win the baseball game."

This was Zambrano's second start since coming off the disabled list. He gave up seven hits, including a two-out RBI single by Ramon Vazquez in the Pirates' fourth. His next scheduled start is June 2 in Atlanta.

Zambrano has been suspended twice in his career. In August 2002, he served a five-game suspension for his actions during a bench-clearing incident in a June game that season with Triple-A Iowa. In 2004, he was suspended five games after hitting Jim Edmonds with a pitch when both benches had been warned. Nearly two years ago to the day, Zambrano and then Cubs catcher Michael Barrett fought in the dugout.

Zambrano had struck out six in Wednesday's game and escaped a bases-loaded one-out jam in the second and another mess in the fifth. He is passionate.

"I could tell before the game started he was focused and determined to put zeros on the board," Bradley said of Zambrano. "It was a close play. I'm surprised the guy even went, but the only guy who could score on that play was Nyjer Morgan."

KANSAS CITY -- Nothing like a strong dose of Zack Greinke to make the Royals feel better.

Greinke went the distance for his eighth victory as Kansas City knocked off the first-place Tigers, 6-1, with 16,366 fans up and cheering every pitch in the ninth inning Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

He pitched his fifth complete game in 10 starts and his Major League-leading ERA barely budged up to 0.84. With an 8-1 record, he joined Toronto's Roy Halladay as the Majors' biggest winner.

What better tonic for a team that had won just four of 16 games since a six-game winning streak ended May 8?

By Greinke's own estimation, he couldn't have been much better.

"It was one of those days you have when almost everything's working, and I was like, 'Just keep it right there. They can't do too much with you if you keep it like that,'" he said.

In fact, Greinke was a bit surprised that the Tigers even scored a run in the first inning. His first six pitches were strikes, he struck out leadoff batter Curtis Granderson and then Placido Polanco stuck his bat out on a 2-2 slider and punched a soft double just fair down the left-field line. On a 2-1 pitch to Magglio Ordonez, Greinke got a perfect fastball in but Ordonez brought his hands in and got a RBI single up the middle.

But Greinke induced Miguel Cabrera, the Majors' leading hitter, to roll into a double play. That was it for Detroit.

"You've got to grind your fanny off each at-bat," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He's too good. We fought, but he got us. He was better than we were tonight."

Greinke gave up six hits, was helped by three double plays and had eight strikeouts. Walks? Naw. Not one.

"I wasn't really worried about walking anybody at any time," he said.

So good was his control that he'd nonchalantly throw a called ball to run the count full with no thought that he'd might throw ball four. If Greinke was behind in the count, heck, he'd throw any ol' pitch. Didn't matter -- no walks were on his agenda.

"When you do that, it makes pitching a lot easier and hitting a lot harder, but it's not often when you can do that," Greinke said.

It's not often, either, that the Royals come up with six runs. They hadn't scored that many in a week.

After Edwin Jackson had thrown zeros for five innings, allowing just Mark Teahen's double, the Royals got busy in the sixth. Miguel Olivo led off with a single and Jackson obligingly helped by throwing away Luis Hernandez's sacrifice bunt.

Mitch Maier, in the game because Coco Crisp left with a sore shoulder, came up and smacked a two-run single to right field.

"It's always nice to help the team win," Maier said. "I try to stay ready down there in the tunnel all game, and you never know, days like this happen."

Maier also scored on Jose Guillen's single for a 3-1 lead.

In the seventh, Jackson made another wild throw on a pickoff try that contributed to another unearned run. Guillen also banged a home run, his fourth, to lead off the two-run eighth inning against reliever Brandon Lyon.

This victory came right after a 13-1 shellacking, and Greinke, watching from the dugout, had learned by watching Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.

"It helped me a lot today," Greinke said. "Because I thought you could throw an All-Star team up against him yesterday and they're not going to score a run on him because his plan is so good."

What Greinke saw Verlander do was just stick with his best stuff and not try anything fancy. So he resolved to follow suit.

"Do what you do and stop thinking so much," is the way Greinke put it.

Even after the Tigers scored their first-inning run, Greinke informed pitching coach Bob McClure that he was ready to go the distance, although there was one little shred of doubt.

"I told Mac, 'I think I should have at least a complete game today' the way I was throwing but they put up a run on the board the first inning," Greinke said. "I was like, 'Maybe these guys are really locked in.'"

He was thinking that because the Tigers had worked over Gil Meche pretty thoroughly on Monday.

But Greinke rolled along. His only other peril came in the fourth, when Polanco and Cabrera each singled around a strikeout of Ordonez. But Greinke got Jeff Larish to rap into a double play.

"He's one of the very few guys that I've ever seen that can manipulate the ball the way that he wants it. He can take anywhere from a cutter to a curveball and make it as big as he wants," the Tigers' Brandon Inge said.

  "If a guy gets ahead, he can use all of his pitches, and he makes a hitter start thinking a little bit more."

By the eighth inning, Greinke had used 102 pitches, but there was no action in the Royals' bullpen. Oh, Juan Cruz was spotted getting up long enough to throw a pitch or two, but he quickly sat down.

Manager Trey Hillman consulted with Greinke about pitching the ninth.

"I was like, 'I feel great, I feel as good as I could feel,'" Greinke said. "There really wasn't a question in my mind. I don't know if he was trying to make a decision or if he was just asking to be polite."

Hillman politely let Greinke pitch the ninth, and it went 1-2-3 and over. With the crowd on its feet and roaring, Greinke struck out Ordonez on a weak swing to end it.

"He's just so good that you have to fight, and we fought," Leyland said.

Fireworks are normally reserved for the Fourth of July, but Memorial Day's full slate of games in Major League Baseball saw some pyrotechnics of its own.

Maybe it was the red caps and maybe it was the warming weather, but seven clubs busted out offensively in a huge way Monday, putting at least 10 runs on the board. Here's a quick recap of all the runs, starting from the top:

Chicago White Sox: 17
Just how well-rounded was Chicago's offensive attack in its 17-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels? Consider this: Jim Thome hit his 549th career homer in this game, a three-run shot in the third inning, and that blast made it 11-3. In all, the Sox pounded out 24 hits, the most they've had in a road game since May 31, 1970, at Boston. Scott Podsednik and Alexei Ramirez each had four hits, Jermaine Dye and Thome each had four RBIs and Brian Anderson and A.J. Pierzynski each had three hits. Oh yeah, Paul Konerko homered, too.

"They took it to us," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, labeling it an ugly game. "Those guys came out swinging. Rough night for us on the mound."

Los Angeles Dodgers: 16
We've seen this type of run production in Colorado before, and the sizzling first-place Dodgers put a hurting on the hometown Rockies in the Mile High City on Monday, winning, 16-6. But oddly enough, they didn't hit a single home run. The Dodgers racked up 19 hits, however, including three-hit efforts by four players -- Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, James Loney and Juan Castro -- and two-knock days for Juan Pierre, Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake.

"When you look at our guys, the way they are lined up, we can score runs," manager Joe Torre said. "We're going to make contact for the most part and we're not going to swing and miss a whole lot. I think that's important for us to do. We're going to make pitchers work to beat us."

Detroit Tigers: 13
Not that the Tigers needed more than a few runs the way starter Justin Verlander has been pitching, but they got it anyway Monday in a 13-1 pasting of the division-rival Kansas City Royals. Not surprisingly, it was Miguel Cabrera who had the biggest statistical day for the 19-hit Tigers, going 4-for-6 with three RBIs. Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge each had three hits, and Gerald Laird hit the Tigers' only homer of the day.

New York Yankees: 11
The Bronx Bombers lived up to their name, even if they were in the homer-happy wind-blown bandbox known as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. In an 11-1 laugher in Texas, Alex Rodriguez led the party with the fifth 5-for-5 day of his career and drove in four runs, although he didn't homer. In fact, of the 19 Yankees hits -- Kevin Cash had three while Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira had two -- none were long balls.

"He's just taking his walks and doing what he's supposed to, and if he does get something to hit, he's crushing it," Teixeira said of A-Rod.

Cleveland Indians: 11
Here's your most dramatic result of Monday's bigs-wide batting barrage, with Cleveland saving the best -- as in nine of its 11 runs -- for the last two innings, including a game-winning seven-spot in the ninth to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 11-10, after the Rays led, 10-0, in the fourth inning. You got all that? Well, so did Ryan Garko (two homers, five RBIs), Grady Sizemore, Mark DeRosa and Ben Francisco (two hits apiece). Victor Martinez smacked the game-winning two-run single.

"It was a strange game," Garko said. "We were as low as you can get there [early on]. We felt as bad as you can feel as a team. And then we got to the highest of highs."

Pittsburgh Pirates: 10
Mr. T sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during this one at Wrigley Field and the Pirates' offense became the A-Team, lighting up the antiquated scoreboard to send the Friendly Confines crowd home unhappy in a 10-8 Pirates win. One-time National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez had that kind of night, going 6-for-6 with a homer, four runs scored and three RBIs. Nate McLouth added a long ball, and Andy LaRoche and Jason Jaramillo tallied three hits each.

Tampa Bay Rays: 10
The defending American League champs were the only team to score 10 or more runs on Monday and end up losing, but they'll take this kind of offense to support their pitching staff. Gabe Gross continued his hot hitting with a homer, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist and Dioner Navarro had two hits apiece and B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and Reid Brignac got in on the action with hits in the Rays' 10-hit attack. Too bad they didn't do any scoring after the third inning, though.

World Series games this October will start approximately 40 minutes earlier, a concerted response by FOX Sports and Major League Baseball to concerns about late broadcasts inconveniencing East Coast and young fans.

First pitches will be scheduled for shortly before 8 p.m. ET, following the conclusion of pregame shows now scheduled to go on the air at 7:30.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who recommended the change in starting times to FOX Sports, called it "a terrific announcement, something I have waited a long time for."

"I really feel good about where we are," said Selig, who indicated the American League Championship Series games on FOX also will follow suit and start prior to 8 o'clock. "Our goal is to schedule games so the largest number of people can watch, and FOX has gone to an enormous amount of effort to make this happen. It's been a great joint effort between the two us."

Seconding the sentiment, FOX Sports president Ed Goren said: "This is a very special relationship between FOX and the Commissioner and his staff. It's the gold standard. We've worked very well together through the years, and this is just another example of why we've been able to accomplish so much."

According to Major League Baseball's records, the change will mark the first time a regularly scheduled weekday World Series game will start before 8 p.m. ET in over 30 years.

Of course, the advanced start time really is more about when World Series games end than it is about when they begin.

In last fall's World Series, featuring the Philadelphia Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays, the start of games ranged from 8:30 p.m. to 8:38 p.m. ET. With an average duration of three hours and 16 minutes, final outs consistently pushed midnight on the East Coast.

"World Series games have been running longer," Goren said, "and we made the adjustments with the acknowledgement that young kids can only stay up until a certain hour.

"In all fairness, I haven't seen that as an issue in other sports, but that aside, there is a potential benefit in this with regard to young fans -- as well as a possible ratings benefit with games not running till midnight."

Selig also introduced a more dramatic, retro idea: weekend afternoon World Series games. The network ultimately deemed that impractical.

"It certainly was considered," Goren said, "and the Commissioner has certainly expressed his interest in it. But it gets back to economics: What I do know, from our research people, is that if we played Saturday afternoon, viewership would be 30 percent lower. And there would be an economic impact to that."

"It's not going to happen in 2009, but we'll certainly continue to talk about it," Selig said. "But, as I said, our goal is to have the largest number of people watching, and the truth is the potential audience is 30 percent greater in primetime at night.

"This really is a reasonable hour. Young fans were one of the reasons we wanted to do it, but, again, our goal was to have the largest possible audience. This is a real change for us, in a very positive way -- something I have had very strong feelings about for a long time."

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

ANAHEIM -- This was a great escape.

The Angels claimed a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Red Sox on Thursday on Jeff Mathis' walk-off RBI single in the 12th inning in front of 35,124 at Angel Stadium, but it had been saved time and again before it finally was snatched from the frustrated Boston crew.

"Our guys made big pitches and big plays all day," Mathis said, his drive to left-center against Manny Delcarmen having delivered pinch-runner Reggie Willits from second after Juan Rivera's single and Erick Aybar's sacrifice bunt opened the inning.

After Ervin Santana made it through five innings in his season debut, showing he had recovered from a sprained right elbow with 92 pitches, the Angels needed five relievers to finally nail it down. They combined to yield one earned run across seven innings, striking out nine.

"A great win for the team, in every respect," said Jason Bulger, who pitched out of serious trouble in the top of the 12th to pick up his first win of the season and second of his career.

With the bases loaded and one out, Bulger struck out Dustin Pedroia with a 95-mph heater at the knees and retired David Ortiz on a slow roller that Mathis scooped up and fired to first.

Losing for the fourth time in six meetings with the Angels, the Red Sox got five hits from Julio Lugo and 15 overall but left eight runners stranded in the final five innings and 17 for the game.

"We were dodging bullets all afternoon," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "They were 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position. That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself."

The Red Sox could have won it in 10th if not for another Herculean play in center field by the great Torii Hunter, who stole a home run from the Royals' Miguel Olivo to save Sunday's win.

Off with the crack of the bat from right-center, Hunter made a backhanded catch running full-tilt as he approached the warning track. Calling to mind Willie Mays' memorable catch-and-throw on Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series, Hunter whirled and fired it back into the infield, keeping Jacoby Ellsbury stationed at second base.

"That was a great play," Pedroia said. "That's why he's got a truckload of Gold Gloves [eight]. He saved the game for them and kept them going. That's why he's the best."

Hunter drove in the first three Angels runs against Brad Penny. After Bobby Abreu's two-out single in the first, Hunter sent one against the wall in left-center, beyond Ellsbury's grasp, for a triple to give Santana a lead.

In the third, Hunter raked a two-run double down the left-field line to cash in Mathis and Chone Figgins after they singled. Figgins was flying around the bases.

Santana, for his first time out against a dangerous lineup, fared well enough to satisfy the boss. The 2008 American League All-Star had his fastball consistently in the 91 to 93-mph range and buried his slider in good spots when he needed to, notably on Ortiz to leave the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

"This is what we wanted from Ervin -- about 90 pitches [92] in a Major League environment," Scioscia said after his club's ninth win in its past 11 games. "He pitched well. As his mechanics come together, he'll be more efficient with his pitches."

It was 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh when Penny's final pitch was slashed into the right-field corner by Aybar, who turned on the jets -- only Figgins among the Angels is as fast -- for a triple. Mathis' sacrifice fly cashed him in with the go-ahead run.

Mathis has been phenomenal this season with runners in scoring position, hitting .471 in 17 at-bats after his game-winning hit against Delcarmen.

"It's not like I'm going up with a different approach with runners in scoring position," Mathis said. "You bear down a little more. I got some pitches I could handle and was lucky some balls fell in."

The Red Sox tied it against Scot Shields in the eighth with a run on consecutive two-out singles by Lugo, Ellsbury and Pedroia.

Abreu, after banging a triple off the center-field wall, was thrown out at home to end the eighth by right fielder J.D. Drew on Hunter's fly ball.

In trouble throughout, runners on base in each inning with the leadoff man getting on four times, Santana set the tone by making big pitches when he needed them, finishing with five strikeouts against three walks.

Mike Lowell's leadoff double in the second led to a tying run on Lugo's two-out hit, and Pedroia doubled leading off the third and scored on Jason Bay's groundout. A leadoff walk by Drew produced a run in the fourth on Ellsbury's two-out single, but Santana left the bases loaded in striking out Ortiz, who went 0-for-7.

"We got a game plan going into it [against Ortiz] and our guys executed it well," Mathis said. "He's a great hitter, and to hold him down is an accomplishment.

"On that last at-bat [against Bulger], he checked his swing and didn't get out of the box great, so I knew I had time to get around it and make the play. Jason threw a great breaking ball there after he'd been throwing some mid-90s heat to him."

Darren Oliver was dominant in the sixth and seventh, striking out five hitters while allowing a double to Pedroia. After Shields, Brian Fuentes worked a scoreless ninth, stranding two runners, and Jose Arredondo got through the 10th (with Hunter's assistance) and 11th before turning it over to Bulger with one out in the 12th and a runner aboard.

"Our bullpen did the job today," Hunter said. "Those guys were dealing."

And Hunter, as usual, was stealing.

Taking the mound wasn't exactly Paul Janish's dream assignment, at least not once he'd reached the Major Leagues as a shortstop. While it wasn't Dusty Baker's greatest baseball nightmare, it's in the same ballpark.

Position players like to play positions. Managers like their pitchers to pitch. It's that simple.

But occasionally -- or as has been the case so far this season, frequently -- the two worlds collide, and a position player takes to the mound. It has happened five times this season, which is well on its way to more times than any season in decades.

The Reds' Janish was one of those making the strange walk up the hill recently, joining the Yankees' Nick Swisher, the Marlins' Cody Ross, the Red Sox's Jonathan Van Every and the D-backs' Josh Wilson as mound interlopers. None of the five came to the ballpark the day they pitched thinking they'd end up on the mound, that much is certain.

Janish was called upon in the ninth inning of the Reds' May 7 game against the Brewers. He gave up five runs in a 15-3 loss, but Baker said later that his outing was key to the Reds being able to get through a tough stretch of long games behind and no days off ahead.

"Believe it or not, Janish helped put us in sync that game. I didn't have to use more bullpen guys," Baker said. "It put us in stronger position to play St. Louis and (Arizona). I thanked him. I said 'Hey, man, you saved us.'"

That's generally the idea: The game's out of reach, so even if a reliever is available, why use him? Go with Janish -- or whoever.

That doesn't mean Baker wants to hurry up and try pitching Janish -- or any other position player -- any time soon.

"Hopefully not," Baker said. "I don't like taking that risk of injury. Plus, that means we're getting killed and way, way behind."

Janish, who was recruited to attend Rice as a pitcher, became the first Reds position player to pitch since Lenny Harris did it on June 1, 1998, at San Francisco. Baker didn't realize Janish's pitching past until his former Braves teammate and current scout Ralph Garr told him last month, and it didn't take long to give it a try.

Sticking mainly with fastballs between 88-91 mph, and topping out at 92 mph, Janish struck out the first batter he faced, J.J. Hardy, before the Brewers wound up reeling off the hits.

"I tried to run it across the plate. Unfortunately, that's what they were looking for," Janish said.

It's lines like that that are expected when a position player takes the ball and tries to make others miss what he usually tries to hit.

Swisher, who led off the recent fad with a shutout inning against the Rays on April 13, didn't allow a run while throwing 22 pitches, maxing out at 80 mph on the last pitch he threw.

"I'm walking out of my professional career with a 0.00 ERA," Swisher said.

A total of 107 position players have taken the mound since 1979, and roughly half of them (55) can boast the same thing. Then there's Janish's 45.00 ERA, among many that were more as expected.

The list of position players who have taken the mound includes Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, current managers Terry Francona of Boston and John Russell of Pittsburgh, and a host of names otherwise with otherwise unremarkable accomplishments. The current leader in appearances is Aaron Miles, infielder for the Cubs who got in three outings with the Cardinals the last two seasons.

With five instances already, this season's first six weeks have seen more position players pitching than most full seasons. While versatility is big these days, this isn't exactly what players or managers have in mind.

"I think it's just coincidental," Ross said this week, reflecting on his April 27 outing against the Phillies. "I don't think any manager wants to be put in that situation to have his position players have to go out there."

To Baker's point about injury, there's always the Jose Canseco example. In 1993, after asking Rangers manager Kevin Kennedy for months to pitch, he did -- and was out the remaining three months of the season with an elbow injury.

Recalls Rangers president Nolan Ryan, who was on that club: "I just remember how he had been politicking to pitch since Spring Training. He threw in the bullpen a few times and for some reason they wanted to get him on the hill. When he got out there, I think he was trying to overthrow. He was out there in front of everybody trying to show off his arm. He wanted to resemble a pitcher rather than do what we needed him to do and that was get us through the game."

And that's exactly the mission: Just get the team through the game. Damage most likely already has been done. Take one for the team.

"Bullpens are putting up a lot of innings. You have to save your bullets when you can. Those relief innings are precious," said new D-backs manager A.J. Hinch, who might have set some sort of record by going to the position player in his sixth game as manager.

Not that he intended to do it. And he admits it did have the added benefit of taking a little sting off a big loss. Wilson, who incidentally was designated for assignment after regular shortstop Stephen Drew returned from the DL two days later, had pitched an inning two years earlier for Tampa Bay and gave the D-backs a scoreless inning and a few chuckles at the end of a long game Monday.

"[It] is nothing to be proud of," Hinch said. "But it does get the bench to relax a little, have some fun. I guess there were a few more smiles at the end of the game."

Ross, for one, had fun. It was something he'd been targeting for some time now.

"I always said that I wanted to try it, just to see what I could do," Ross said. "I pitched in high school, but after (pitching in the Major League game) was over, I was like, 'All right, I'm good.' If the team needed me to do it, I would sacrifice and step up and do it, but maybe we could see if we could run someone else out there."

And how did his "fellow relievers" for the day feel about him working their side of the street?

"They were impressed," Ross said. "I was spotting my fastball a little bit (in the bullpen), threw some pretty good curveballs, a few good changeups. We were just having fun with it."

SAN DIEGO -- He seems like any conscientious junior in college reaching the end of a semester, trying to pay attention in his government class at 9 a.m. on a Friday. He discusses his term paper on National Security Advisor James Jones with his professor. It all seems fairly typical, really, until a student sitting across from him makes a simple request.

"Hey, Stephen," he asks quietly. "After class, would you sign my ball?"

Welcome to the world of Stephen Strasburg, a well-meaning San Diego State University student, an almost certain No. 1 First-Year Player Draft pick and the young man some feel might be the greatest pitching prospect of all time.

Strasburg's pitching exploits have been well-documented by now. He was the lone amateur on the U.S. Olympic Team last summer after a dominant sophomore season, shutting out the Dutch Olympic squad and not allowing a hit until the seventh. The numbers this season are video-game quality: 11-0, 1.24 ERA, 164 strikeouts, 17 walks, 48 hits in 87 1/3 innings. He's struck out 16.9 per nine innings, on a pace to break the Division I record held by Ryan Wagner. He's reportedly hit triple digits on the radar gun with some regularity. The icing on the cake came on Friday when he tossed his first no-hitter, striking out 17 against Air Force with most of the Washington Nationals' brain trust in attendance at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

He's been the consensus No. 1 Draft pick for some time and with Scott Boras as his advisor, it's likely he's going to set another record, for the largest contract given to a Draft pick.

None of this seems to faze the 20-year-old at all, with his impending future taking a back burner to his college team and even to President Obama's choice for NSA.

"Yeah, it's great, but I'm not pitching for them," Strasburg said about the scouts who attended his no-hitter. "I'm pitching for this program right now. I'm hoping to help this team get to a regional and win a conference tournament.

"[The Draft] is going to take care of itself. Right now, I'm pitching in the moment. Each inning is extremely important for this program. We need to win as many games as possible. Bottom line, you have to ask if you're playing the game for the right reasons. I'm playing the game because this is the game that I love and I'm playing it for the guys behind me."

Strasburg, himself, might not want to talk about the Draft, but there are probably enough other people out there buzzing about Strasburg and the June 9 Draft to more than make up for the pitcher's reluctance to think that far ahead. There's been no question since the start of the season that he was the top talent in this Draft class and that he has quickly separated himself from the rest of the field.

The combination of size, stuff -- particularly the velocity -- and command have put Strasburg into another league completely. There are some scouts who feel he's the greatest pitching prospect to come around since the advent of the Draft in 1965. Others don't go that far, pointing to the cautionary tales of Mark Prior and Ben McDonald, other so-called great prospects who didn't quite live up to the billing for a variety of reasons.

"I've enjoyed watching him," one scouting director said. "He's the best guy in this Draft, but who knows how good he's going to be? There aren't any guarantees ... The last thing they're going to have to find out about him -- and with all pitchers in this Draft -- can he do what he does when the guys he's facing have the ability to hit him 450 feet."

Rusty Filter has seen many arms come through the Aztecs' program over the years. In his 16th season as the school's pitching coach, the San Diego State alum has shepherded many through to pro ball and the Majors, including Aaron Harang, Justin Masterson, Royce Ring and Alex Hinshaw. What Strasburg may become as a Major Leaguer remains to be seen, but whoever saw him when he first entered the program might be amazed to see what he is right now.

Strasburg went undrafted out of high school. It's not completely because he was without skills. He was labeled as "soft" and a guy who didn't seem so eager to compete on the mound. Even San Diego State head coach and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn admits that he had to be convinced to bring the right-hander into the program. It was Filter who did the convincing.

"It's been so rewarding to see a guy transform in front of your eyes," Filter said. "He was very talented out of high school. He was throwing 90-91 [mph], a ton of strikeouts in high school. But he was in a bigger, softer body. His mannerisms on the mound would make people think he was a little softer mentally. We found out right away it was his competitive nature. He came in and what you see now is definitely a transformation over the past three years."

The immediate sign of his fire came during the first workouts. Filter has his pitchers run 10 100-yard sprints to get going. After two of them, Strasburg moved to a corner to throw up. After six, his teammates had to help him finish. That pretty much happened daily for about two weeks. A "soft" pitcher would have likely picked up and quit after such an inauspicious start to his college career. But Strasburg stuck it out and the payoff has been a 6-foot-4, 220-pound pitcher's body, a big increase in velocity and stamina and an exciting professional future.

"It just goes to show if you really put your mind to something and work as hard as you possibly can, in the long run, you're going to be successful," Strasburg said. "That goes pretty much for anything you can do. That's the real thing I learned here at San Diego State. That's what the players and coaches, the strength and conditioning coaches, they all taught me that.

"I learned the hard way from the beginning, but I'm very thankful for everybody I've known here. I can say a lot of them are my friends. I really love this program."

It's a mutual admiration society, for sure. Gwynn has gone from not overly interested, to reluctant, to full-on supportive over the past three years. He's been sure to handle Strasburg carefully, knowing he has a bright future ahead of him. But he's not quite ready to let him go just yet.

"At this point, he's still a student-athlete and he's having fun," Gwynn said. "And he's still dealing. Let's focus on that and the rest will take care of itself.

"Come June, that's going to change. Whoever decides to take Stephen No. 1, they're going to be pretty happy with what they get, you're getting a competitive guy, a guy who wants to get better, who wants to achieve. For a 20-year-old, he understands it, he gets it."

His government professor would wholeheartedly agree. Discussing a student's grade is not allowed, but he was willing to divulge that it was "somewhere near the top of the alphabet."

SAN FRANCISCO -- Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman didn't wait long to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, drilling a single to center field in his first at-bat in Monday night's game against the Giants.

With Nick Johnson on first base, Zimmerman lined a 1-1 slider from Randy Johnson to center field. The streak is the longest in baseball this season, and he is now more than halfway to Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak.

"Obviously a tremendous hitter," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said before the game. "Twenty-eight games is impressive. I know it's halfway to the record, and that shows you how impressive what DiMaggio did."

Not only did Zimmerman extend his hitting streak, he also went 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs on the night. Zimmerman drilled a solo shot in the sixth inning off Johnson and then knocked another one out in the ninth off reliever Osiris Matos.

"I'm just trying to do the same stuff I've been doing all season," said Zimmerman after the Nationals' 11-7 loss to the Giants. "I'm keeping the same routine before the game and trying to keep the same approach at the plate."

Nationals manager Manny Acta couldn't say enough about his slugger. Acta continued to praise Zimmerman's relaxed approach even as the streak is beginning to gain nationwide coverage.

"He's been pretty amazing for us throughout this streak," Acta said. "He's the same today as he was 28 days ago. Nothing really bothers him or excites him. He knows what's going on, but he just keeps the same approach."

Even with Johnson, a future Hall of Famer, on the mound, Zimmerman took the same approach to the plate as he would against anybody else.

"I was just looking for something good to hit, a ball I could handle and put a good swing on it," Zimmerman said. "[Johnson] is a large guy and you got arms and legs coming at you, so it's tough to hit him. I just brought the same approach out there."

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Baseball will suspend Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez for 50 games for use of performance enhancing drugs, sources told MLB.com on Thursday.

Major League Baseball has not yet made an official announcement.

Ramirez, who turns 37 on May 30, would be eligible to return July 3 if the suspension starts with Thursday night's Dodgers-Nationals game.

Ramirez -- an 12-time All-Star who immediately became the face of the Dodgers franchise upon his acquisition last summer -- is the biggest name player to be issued such a suspension under the MLB's stringent drug policy that was adopted in 2006.

According to the drug policy, a player receives a 50-game suspension for a first positive drug test, a 100-game suspension for a second positive test and a lifetime ban for a third positive test. The suspensions are without pay.

Ramirez re-signed with the Dodgers as a free agent this spring to a two-year contract that was to pay him $25 million.

Ramirez has been a key component in leading the Dodgers to the best record in baseball this year. In 27 games, he is batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. He is among league leaders in slugging and on-base percentage and has become the biggest drawing card the Dodgers have had since Fernando Valenzuela, even recently having a portion of the left-field box seats rechristened "Mannywood."

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

NEW YORK -- If the Mets can meet their objectives, if they can be what they aspire to be in this 2009 season, they undoubtedly will play games that are more critical, gripping and rousing than the one they played against the Phillies on Wednesday night. They probably will play at a higher level and with greater intensity then what they demonstrated in the 26th game. Clearly, games in late summer will have greater consequence and warrant more attention.

For now, though, with their season not yet one-sixth gone, their 1-0 victory Wednesday will suffice quite nicely. It pushed all the right buttons.

The Mets' accomplishments were many, so too their rewards. They handled the Phillies behind the exquisite work of Johan Santana. They exploited the shortcomings of a team that must be regarded as their superior. If three successive victories, a modest achievement for a team aiming high, constitute a winning streak, than they created their longest streak of the season while ending the Phillies' winning streak at three. And they put their winning percentage precisely at the point of mediocrity, .500, for the first time since their 12th game.

Not all of those are baby steps.

"Very rewarding for us," manager Jerry Manuel said. "Just winning, but the manner, too."

Games that carry the 1-0 label are, of course, no closer than other decided by one run. But they seem to be. This one was as tight as Rickey Henderson's hamstrings. The teams that began Wednesday with the second- and fifth-highest on-base percentages in the National League put 13 runners on base, produced a game without an RBI or an earned run and went hitless in 10 at-bats, seven by the Phillies, with runners in scoring position. Five runners reached third base.

Given Santana's splendid pitching in his first five starts, the 0-3-3 totals the Phillies amassed were surprising only because they had committed merely five errors in their first 24 games. Santana was brilliant, pitching seven innings, allowing two hits and three walks -- two to opposing starter Chan Ho Park -- and striking out 10. The starter in five of the six shutouts the Mets have pitched in their past 64 games, Santana gained his fourth victory in five decisions this season. Two have been by 1-0 scores.

"With Johan, one run gives you a real good shot at winning," David Wright said. "He's been just dominant. You run out of good things to say."

This might work: He was Tom Seaver-esque.

Santana threw 101 pitches, 73 for strikes. He pushed the radar gun to 95 mph in the first inning. Even if the gun is generous, 95 was higher than any reading he had seven days earlier against the Marlins in the final game of the preceding homestand.

The Mets took full advantage of the third of the Phillies' three errors in the seventh after Santana had retired three straight batters with a runner on second; Raul Ibanez had led off with a double. Carlos Delgado walked, leading off against left-hander Scott Eyre (0-1), who started the inning. But the Phils reliever retired Wright and Daniel Murphy on fly balls before right-hander Chad Durbin was summoned to face Fernando Tatis, pinch-hitting.

Tatis hit a soft ground ball that third baseman Pedro Feliz had to charge.

"Did you see how hard I hit that?" Tatis said.

Feliz made an ill-conceived and wide throw that Ryan Howard had no chance to handle. The ball bounced to the base of the stands behind Howard as Delgado rounded third. Right fielder Jayson Werth retrieved the ball and, with a chance to throw out Delgado at the plate, momentarily held it. Even then, Delgado barely beat the throw.

"Any type of flinch in a game like this can decide it," Manuel said. "They happened to flinch on that play."

"Speed kills," Delgado said, presumably speaking of his 90-yard run that included deceleration at second base.

And even though Santana would be removed for a pinch-hitter two batters later, the Mets said they had a sense of confidence.

"I had a feeling at that point," Santana said, "that one run would be enough to win."

It turned out to be because Pedro Feliciano, pitching because J.J. Putz -- five innings in five days -- was unavailable, produced a relatively quiet eighth, striking out Howard with Shane Victorino on third for the third out, and because Francisco Rodriguez (eighth save) pitched a silent ninth.

The Mets had promising scoring chances in the fifth and sixth innings. Delgado was hit by Park, leading off the fifth, but he was eliminated in a 5-4-3 double play before Murphy produced their first hit, a double to right-center. With two out in the sixth, Jose Reyes reached on an error by Park and advanced to third on his seventh stolen base and a throwing error by Carlos Ruiz. Alex Cora walked, but Carlos Beltran, who had hit safely in 16 consecutive games, flied out to left. His hitting streak ended in the eighth.

Then Rodriguez bore through Werth, Ibanez and punch-hitter Matt Stairs, and Citi Field imagined September.

"It felt like a 1-0 game," K-Rod said.

To the Phillies, too. When it was over, they had won nothing.

Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

LOS ANGELES -- With a dreadlocked left fielder hustling on the bases, a second baseman who channels Jackie Robinson and a starting pitcher who leaves tickets for a 1970s rock star, the Dodgers Tuesday night reached a milestone even an old-school Ty Cobb could appreciate.

A 3-1 win over the D-backs gave the Dodgers their 12th consecutive victory at home to start a season, matching the modern-day record of Cobb's 1911 Detroit Tigers. It was the Dodgers' six consecutive win overall.

The tone of the game was pretty well set in the first inning, when Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson made the first of two spectacular diving catches to prevent Arizona from scoring in the top of the first, then triggered the rally for all of the Dodgers' runs in the bottom of the inning with a flare double.

"I closed my eyes and Jackie Robinson carried me to the ball," the three-time Gold Glove winner said.

Makes sense to Jeff Weaver, who took another step on his comeback-of-the-year journey with a triumphant return to the Dodgers' starting rotation. Making his first Major League start since 2007 and first for the Dodgers since 2005, he allowed one run on a wild pitch, lasted five innings while striking out six and walking only one.

"He gave us everything we could have expected or wanted," manager Joe Torre said. "We gave them a couple extra outs and he pitched around that. He couldn't have been better than he was."

It was like old times for Weaver, who won 27 games for the Dodgers from 2004-05.

"I finally had a pass list again," said Weaver, the Southern California native who spent all last year and the beginning of this year in the Minor Leagues. "I had a handful of people show up and share it with me. My parents, a couple buddies, my wife and Gary Wright. You know who he is?"

Wright sang the 1976 hit "Dream Weaver," not only on the platinum album but at Weaver's wedding.

"We met when I was pitching in Detroit, we kept in touch and he sang at my wedding," Weaver said. "He came to show support."

Weaver had just enough support in the field. There was Hudson's first catch racing out to right field on Mark Reynolds' popup to end the first inning with a runner on second base, another diving web gem toward shallow center field off the bat of opposing pitcher Max Scherzer with runners on the corners to end the fourth inning.

"I didn't think he had a prayer on either one," Torre said.

And there was barely enough offense in the bottom of the first inning, in which the Dodgers scored for the third consecutive game. Andre Ethier had a one-out RBI single on which Manny Ramirez went from first to third, so Ramirez was able to score on James Loney's groundout to second. Shortstop Josh Wilson's throwing error allowed a third run to score.

That was it for the Dodgers, who then relied on pitching. Weaver had to work out of repeated jams, having allowed hits to the leadoff hitter in the first three innings. The D-backs went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

"He said he didn't do a good job with the leadoff hitters, but that's pretty much why we felt good about sending him out there," said Torre, who replaced rookie James McDonald with Weaver. "He's done this. He's never been one to rattle."

But Weaver said he appreciated the historical significance of the record win.

"I'm happy for the team -- 12-0 and I hope we get 13," he said. "You never know exactly how the road is going to turn. I'm fortunate to be part of something like this, it's really special. I'd like to stick around and keep it rolling and get the team to the postseason."

Torre received four scoreless innings from his bullpen, using four relievers. Ramon Troncoso ran his scoreless innings streak to 14 1/3 with 1 2/3 innings; Will Ohman got a key out by retiring Chad Tracy to end the seventh inning; Ronald Belisario struck out the side in the eighth and Jonathan Broxton fanned a pair in a scoreless ninth inning for his eighth save.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

KANSAS CITY -- Just when you think Zack Greinke can't possibly pitch any better, he does.

Greinke, the Royals' unsinkable right-hander, floated over the White Sox, 3-0, on a six-hitter Monday night to become the first six-game winner in the Major Leagues. He also leads the Majors in ERA at 0.40 and strikeouts at 54 after adding 10 more. This was his second shutout and third complete game this year.

And it was something else.

"Definitely my favorite game of the year so far, if not ever," Greinke said. "That was a lot of fun."

The 21,843 fans who tramped into Kauffman Stadium on a 68-degree evening certainly thought so. They roared and gave Greinke a standing ovation as he finished off the White Sox.

Why was this game his favorite?

"The biggest difference was probably the fans; they were great today," Greinke said. "And the White Sox were probably the second-biggest reason. It was really a lot of fun."

Yeah, those White Sox have given Greinke some hard times in the past. However, he's won his last three games against them after once standing 2-8. And they were impressed.

"That's the best performance I've seen in a long time by any Major League pitcher," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It reminds me when we came here one day and we faced [Bret] Saberhagen and he threw a no-hitter. I think this kid's got better stuff than Bret in that particular time."

Guillen was one of the hitless White Sox in that 1991 no-hitter.

Royals catcher Miguel Olivo has been behind the plate for each of Greinke's victories this season.

"He's got great stuff, man. I think that's the best I've seen Zack throw," Olivo said. "Everything was like perfect. Everywhere I put the glove, he'd hit it."

Greinke started out by retiring the first seven batters, looking like he had no-hit stuff. Then Scott Podsednik got a sharp single just past second baseman Alberto Callaspo. The no-hitter would have to wait.

"I think one day we're going to do it," Olivo said.

However, Greinke did join Saberhagen (1987) and Jose Lima (2003) as the only Royals pitchers to be 6-0 in their first six decisions of a season. Lima won seven before losing.

When David DeJesus drilled a solo home run into the right-field bullpen in the third inning for a 2-0 lead, he already was feeling secure.

"When you see Zack Greinke is pitching, you're like, 'All right, all we have to do is get one or two runs because he's going to be on top of his game right now,'" DeJesus said.

The Royals added a run that inning against Bartolo Colon, as Mark Teahen singled and scored on Billy Butler's single. They had notched an unearned run in the second inning when Jose Guillen singled and came home as Podsednik bobbled Callaspo's single in right field.

The way Greinke was pitching, that was plenty.

A.J. Pierzynski hit a bloop single in the fifth and Podsednik got a double on a bounder that skipped off Butler's glove in the sixth -- nothing very stirring.

Finally, the White Sox stirred in the eighth, when Pierzynski lined a single off Teahen's glove at third and Alexei Ramirez hit a soft single to center. Two on, no outs -- a potential crisis loomed.

"That thought crossed my mind as soon as the next guy came up," Greinke said. "But the next thing I work on is, 'No, it's not going to be big. Just make your pitches. You'll be fine.'"

He made his pitches. Podsednik rolled to shortstop Mike Aviles, who started a double play, although it was not without peril. At first base, Butler had to pluck up Callaspo's low relay throw.

"Billy made the best play of his life," Greinke said. "As soon as Callaspo threw it, it was in the worst spot possible for you to catch it at first, and I was like, 'Dang it, no chance.' But that was a fantastic play."

And then, of course, Greinke struck out pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit to end the inning. And Kansas City manager Trey Hillman sent him back out for the ninth on a night he really didn't want to use closer Joakim Soria anyway.

A fine play by Callaspo started the ninth. Jayson Nix dropped a double inside the left-field line, but Carlos Quentin broke his bat and flied out and Jim Thome popped out.

A shutout was in the books. Greinke has allowed just two earned runs in 45 innings.

"The shutout was not important at all. It was important, though, to let Soria have a day off," he said.

With the crowd roaring, though, Hillman really wasn't thinking about taking out Greinke anyhow.

"I'd like to stick around here for a while," Hillman said. "I figured if I took him out, they'd run me out."

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

As we leave the Month of Fools and flip the calendar, baseball's recent downtrodden clubs are chortling hopefully, "May-be ..." and some of last season's biggest winners are wailing, "Mayday! Mayday!"

Want to see the Major League standings the way you expected them to be a month into the season? Stand on your head.

Snapshot: Two 2008 last-place teams (Seattle and Detroit) now sit at or very near the top their divisions, and three of the eight postseason clubs are at or below the .500 level.

Indeed, it has already been an unusual yet compelling season. Performance oddities have been popping up all over. New names have rushed the forefront, while some familiar ones have been quiet.

This baseball season is proving to be as unpredictable as one of Forrest Gump's boxes of chocolates. Or, should we simply have paid better attention in March? Because, topping a list of What Have We Learned is ...

Spring Training does matter: Ol' ST has been getting a bum rap for a long time, dismissed as a meaningless exercise that has little bearing on goings-on after the bell rings.

Oh, really?

A dozen clubs had winning spring records; all but three of them sported winning records in April.

Proof of Spring Training being the new harbinger of regular-season fortunes is Kansas City. Yes, the Royals, the recent marshmallows of the AL Central. They attracted notice by going 18-14 in Arizona and now lead their division.

(Flashback note: This was exactly how the Tampa Bay Rays tried to warn the establishment last spring, when their year began with an 18-12 exhibition record and ended in the World Series.)

Phoenix Mountain High: As in, high ERA. The top 12 teams in most runs allowed during the preseason were all based in Arizona (the only exceptions were the Brewers and the Angels).

So, one month into the season, seven of the top 12 in that category are teams that trained in Florida.

Just one reason the Arizona clique -- which will grow to 15 clubs next spring when the Cincinnati Reds take up residence with the Indians in Goodyear -- should consider adding a pitchers' therapist to its list of coaches.

However, it really doesn't matter where you train: Humid air? Dry heat? As far as helping you prepare for the season, it really doesn't matter.

Through April, the head-to-head competition between Arizona- and Florida-trained teams is a virtual wash. Okay, if you have the have the exact breakdown: Through games of Thursday, Florida teams were up 65-59.

Go green and recycle: And then do it again. Last season saw five players hit for the cycle, that baseball full house comprised of a single, double, triple and homer in the same game. That was an unusually high incidence for a feat that had been performed a total of 128 times prior to 2008.

If you think that was a spike on the cycle meter, we had three cycles within the span of five days this mid-April:

• The Dodgers' Orlando Hudson against the Giants on April 13

• The Rangers' Ian Kinsler against the Orioles on April 15

• The Twins' Jason Kubel against the Angels on April 17

Those three, incidentally, brought the cycle total to 41 since the start of the 2000 season -- another spike. The old decade-high for cycles had been 29, in the '70s.

No-hitter, come hither: No-hitters have trended in the opposite direction (only 13 of them since the start of the 2000 season), but Chicken Little appears to be handling the no-hit alert button early this season.

One of these days, the sky is sure to fall.

Matt Garza's six perfect innings against Boston on Thursday night marked the eighth time this season a pitcher sustained a no-hit bid into at least the seventh inning. There were only three such threats all of last April.

The closest calls belonged to Boston's Tim Wakefield and the Brewers' Dave Bush, who each came within five outs of a no-no. Kurt Suzuki's single broke up Wakefield's bid on April 15 in Oakland, and Matt Stairs' pinch-homer ended Bush's dream on April 23 in Philadelphia.

Free agents vs. agents of change: Emerging reports about how the offseason's highest-profile free agents are faring somewhat miss the mark. It's not about how the free agents are doing with their new clubs, but how their old clubs' more affordable replacements are doing.

We take a look at five random such changeovers:

• Mark Teixeira ($20 million, Yankees) is batting .200 with three homers and 10 RBIs; his replacement as Angels first baseman, Kendry Morales ($600,000), is batting .273 with three homers and 14 RBIs.

• Raul Ibanez ($6.5 million, Phillies) is batting .359, with seven homers and 17 RBIs; his replacement in left field for the Mariners, Endy Chavez ($2,005,000), is batting .305, with one homer and seven RBIs.

• Trevor Hoffman ($6 million, Brewers) recently came off the disabled list and converted his first two save opportunities while not yet allowing a run in three innings; his replacement as the Padres closer, Heath Bell ($1,255,000), leads the Majors with eight saves and has yet to allow a run in nine games and 8 2/3 innings.

• Edgar Renteria ($7 million, Giants) is batting .275 with two homers and 11 RBIs; his replacement at short for Detroit, Adam Everett ($1 million), is batting .233 without a homer and with five RBIs.

•: Orlando Cabrera ($4 million, A's) is batting .250 with no homers and four RBIs; his replacement as White Sox shortstop, Alexei Ramirez ($1.1 million), is batting .214 with a homer and nine RBIs.

It takes a village to raise a child ... and to pitch a shutout: Shutouts are being put up at a record pace, but goose eggs apparently are like a big bag of M&Ms in the office. You've got to share them.

To date, there have been 16 shutouts in the AL and 22 in the NL. Of the 39 total blankings, only four were one-man jobs. We salute you, Zack Greinke, Kyle Lohse, Aaron Harang and Zach Duke.

Don't know why, but we've got this strange compulsion to keep our eyes on Zach Jackson (Indians) and Zach Miner (Tigers).

You can't make potato salad without taters: And some unlikely people have had to settle for cole slaw as a side dish.

Among the players who went through April without hitting a home run were Bobby Abreu (20-plus eight of the past 10 seasons), David Ortiz (231 in his first six Boston seasons), Miguel Tejada (271 career), B.J. Upton (seven homers in the first two rounds of '08 postseason), Brian Giles (285 career bombs), Adrian Beltre (20-plus six of the past seven seasons), Russell Martin (32 in his first two seasons as regular) and Jhonny Peralta (23 last season).

And the best is yet to come: Don't know about May flowers, but the new month will definitely bring us defending two-time AL batting champ Joe Mauer and defensive three-time AL MVP Alex Rodriguez, possibly iconic pitchers Tom Glavine, still in Atlanta, and John Smoltz, now in Boston, Angels aces John Lackey and Ervin Santana, and Paul Byrd.

All have yet to make an appearance this season due to injury, with the exception of Byrd, who essentially chose to sleep in and remain a free agent until the season was well under way.

CLEVELAND -- Nearly 200 pitches were thrown, about eight dozen balls were used and two hours elapsed.

But enough about the first three innings.

What transpired on a cold and misty Tuesday night at Progressive Field was a four-hour, 19-minute affair between the Indians and Red Sox. And the longest nine-inning game in the ballpark's 15-year history ended in fittingly bizarre fashion -- with Javier Lopez dropping a routine flip from Kevin Youkilis, Asdrubal Cabrera reaching on the error and Mark DeRosa scoring on the play to give the Indians a 9-8 walk-off victory.

It was hardly your typical ending -- in fact, the Indians hadn't ended a game with a player reaching on an error in six seasons -- but it was an ending that satisfied a Tribe team hungry to even up this series.

"We needed a win like this," DeRosa said. "It was a long night. We were able to keep grinding."

The Indians had to grind after a rough start from Anthony Reyes, who was beaten up for seven runs on nine hits in just two-plus innings. In fact, the efforts from Reyes and Red Sox starter Brad Penny stood in stark contrast to the dominant displays of Cliff Lee and Tim Wakefield a night earlier. Neither right-hander made it out of the third inning Tuesday, with Penny foiled not only by his own mistakes but also by a Boston defense that committed two costly errors behind him.

The second of those errors opened the door to the Indians erasing a 7-3 deficit in the third. DeRosa, en route to a 4-for-5 night, reached on Julio Lugo's fielding error, and Shin-Soo Choo scored from second on the play. With two runners now on, Ben Francisco stepped to the plate and hammered a 3-2 fastball from Penny over the left-field wall for a three-run shot to even the score.

"Benny hit a big home run for us," DeRosa said. "I know that was huge for him."

Francisco came in with a .212 average that had him demoted to the No. 9 hole. And DeRosa came in with a .200 average that had him dropped to the No. 8 spot.

This, then, was a night of redemption for that pair of position players. But it also turned out to be a battle of the bullpens, and both relief units were up to the challenge.

For the Indians, a key to the game was the performance they received from Vinnie Chulk in long relief. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to bail out Reyes, and Chulk set the tone for what followed.

Manager Eric Wedge turned to struggling left-hander Rafael Perez, and he also came through, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings of work. In the seventh, Joe Smith surrendered a tie-breaking RBI single to Lugo, but Tony Sipp came on to get the final out of the inning, and Sipp went on to work a scoreless eighth in which he retired the heart of Boston's order -- David Ortiz, Youkilis and J.D. Drew.

"I do like being in those situations," said Sipp, whose first three big league appearances have all been in nail-biters. "I didn't think I'd be in so many so quick."

The Indians answered quickly after the Red Sox took that 8-7 lead in the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, DeRosa smacked Takashi Saito's 2-0 offering out to left for a solo shot to even the score.

Is this a sign that DeRosa's dreadful April is behind him?

"I sure hope so," DeRosa said with a smile. "Good God. I don't like going 2-for-20 then having to get four hits to salvage the week."

Closer Kerry Wood salvaged his week with a scoreless ninth, but he had to work for it. Wood had come on in a tie game in the ninth inning a night earlier and served up the game-winning three-run homer to Bay. This time, he allowed a leadoff single to Bay, who moved to third on Jason Varitek's one-out single.

With runners on the corners and less than two out, Wood had no room for error. So he unleashed three upper-90s fastballs on Nick Green for a quick strikeout, then got Jacoby Ellsbury to line out to second to end the inning.

"Kerry Wood really bowed his neck and stepped up for us," Wedge said. "That was good to see."

The few people who remained from the announced crowd of 19,613 appeared destined to see extra. Until Lopez's ninth-inning error, that is.

DeRosa got the ninth going for the Tribe with a leadoff single to center, and he moved to second when Francisco put down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Grady Sizemore struck out swinging, and Cabrera seemingly ended the threat when he grounded to first and Youkilis made a nice back-handed stab.

But when Youkilis flipped to Lopez for the easy out, Lopez unexpectedly dropped the ball. And DeRosa, who never broke stride on his way from second, scored easily to give the Indians their first lead at a perfect time. The last time the Indians won in such a manner was on Sept. 28, 2002, when Ellis Burks reached on an error by Royals' pitcher Mike MacDougal to send the Tribe to a 6-5 victory.

"Both infielders were really playing back, and I was able to get a good secondary lead," DeRosa said. "Then it's just trusting [third-base coach] Joel Skinner to tell me what to do. The play was behind me, he was on top of it and he told me to just keep going."

The Indians, who might have to tweak their bullpen after the relievers logged seven innings, obviously, want to keep the good mojo from this wild win going.

"It was a total team win," DeRosa said. "Anthony didn't have his best stuff, but we were able to battle back."

Almost three weeks of baseball have gone by in the 2009 season and already the injuries are piling up.

To name just a few, Vladimir Guerrero is out for what could be two months, Brian McCann has an eye problem, and the significant list of pitchers on the sidelines includes Brandon Webb, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Chris Carpenter, Jeremy Bonderman and Chien-Ming Wang.

And then there are the free agents.

Even though the huge list from the offseason was whittled down before and during Spring Training, Opening Day has come and gone and, believe it or not, some big names are still out there.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the players who could help teams in a hurry if signed right now:

1. Pedro Martinez, RHP: After the veteran's good-looking showcase stint at the World Baseball Classic, where he pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball, Martinez has waited for the phone to ring, and rumors are swirling that it might be ringing soon. Will it be the Dodgers, Mets, Pirates, Indians, Nationals, Angels or Rangers? It's tough to say, especially when Martinez has made it known that he's looking for $5 million this year. But even at the age of 37, it's hard to believe a healthy Pedro hasn't thrown a Major League pitch in 2009.

2. Ben Sheets, RHP: This one isn't much of a surprise considering the former Brewers horse had February surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow. If Sheets, a Type A free agent, can come back by August, and that seems to be a best-case scenario, everyone wins. Sheets wins by being healthy again and pitching, and the team that signs him won't be required to give up a draft pick because it will take place after the June First-Year Player Draft. The Rangers, who had him signed before he failed a physical, will probably be involved again, but don't count out the Angels, Mets or Cardinals.

3. Paul Byrd, RHP: After taking time off to be with his family, Byrd now says he's ready to pitch, and as a guy who's tallied double-digit victory totals in each of the last six years in which he's made at least 30 starts, he can help a lot of teams. Byrd has said he wouldn't mind going back to the Angels, for whom he won 12 games in 2005, but right now that team appears to be dealing with its pitching issues from within.

4. Jim Edmonds, OF: The fact that Edmonds hasn't been signed is a head-scratcher. After arriving in Chicago to play for the Cubs last year, Edmonds hit 18 home runs and put up more-than-respectable numbers in on-base percentage (.365) and slugging (.568). Even though he's pushing 40, he's still a solid defensive outfielder, too.

5. Frank Thomas, DH: The Big Hurt was exactly that in 2008 and never got a chance to get hot, but the last time he had a full season of at-bats, with Toronto in 2007, he hit 26 home runs and drove in 95 runs. He has said he still wants to play. It's hard to imagine a team wouldn't give this legendary right-handed hitter one more shot with an incentive-laden deal.

6. Geoff Jenkins, OF: Jenkins hit nine homers in 293 at-bats for the Phillies and then delivered a monumental hit for the franchise after the resumption of the deciding Game 5 in the World Series. Jenkins offers pop off the bench from the left side and, at 34, is one of the younger available bats on the market.

7. Luis Gonzalez, OF: The power numbers have declined over the last three years, and at age 41, there are plenty of better defensive options in the outfield, but this veteran can teach young players a lot from a career with over 2,500 hits. The Reds and Pirates have reportedly expressed interest while the Marlins were reported to have declined to offer Gonzalez a contract.

8. Mark Mulder, LHP: Mulder's agent, Gregg Clifton, was quoted this week as saying that his client could be ready to pitch in a Major League game in two weeks. The A's, Nationals and Dodgers have discussed deals for Mulder, who has had serious shoulder injuries that have forced him to make only four total starts in the last two seasons. If he's healthy again, teams might want to consider he's a left-handed former 20-game winner who is 31 years old.

Also available: Mark Grudzielanek, IF; Jay Payton, OF; Frank Catalanotto, OF; Shannon Stewart, OF; Ray Durham, IF; Damion Easley, IF; Chuck James, LHP; Brendan Donnelly; RHP; Rudy Seanez, RHP

Zero was a big number Wednesday in Major League Baseball, and the early returns suggest nothing really could become something in 2009.

There were a lot of those zeroes lighting up scoreboards across America, that's for sure -- five shutouts in all, and that's after there were six just last Saturday.

So on Earth Day, when there were zero-waste initiatives, the zeroes did not go to waste. When being carbon-neutral was a laudable goal, many offenses were just plain neutral.

In several cities, it just wasn't a good day to have a bat in your hand.

"When you shut out a Major League ballclub, you're doing a lot of good things," Indians manager Eric Wedge said after his club was on the wrong end of a 2-0 score against the Royals.

The Indians don't have to feel lonely in Blanktown. With Wednesday's five shutouts, the season total is up to 29 now. Only four -- and none of Wednesday's -- have been of the complete-game variety, which stands to reason this early in the season.

Through Wednesday, shutouts account for 13.3 percent of the 218 outcomes thus far. It might be a little early to suggest trends -- or so the Yankees hope after their homer-heavy homestand -- but the percentage of shutouts early on is higher compared to last year's 11.2 percent for the entire season (271 in 2,428 outcomes, with three games left unplayed and a 163rd game between the Rays and White Sox).

Days like Wednesday and Saturday certainly don't hurt that percentage.

The all-time record for shutouts in a day is eight, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That big zero day was June 4, 1972, and half of the 16 games were shutouts. Among the pitchers throwing shutouts that day: Hall of Famers Bob Gibson of the Cardinals and Catfish Hunter of the A's, along with the Tigers' Tom Timmermann, the Red Sox's John Curtis and the Astros' Don Wilson.

The most since then was seven on Sept. 5, 2006, and that was the eighth time seven had been accomplished. Doug Davis, then with the Brewers, and Bronson Arroyo of the Reds spun complete-game jobs that day.

On Wednesday, the Giants' Barry Zito, the Reds' Johnny Cueto, the D-backs' Dan Haren, the Braves' Jair Jurrjens and the Royals' Brian Bannister did the honors. While none of them went the distance, they all certainly did their part: Jurrjens led the way with 7 2/3 innings, while Zito, Cueto and Haren went for seven innings and Bannister went six.

There obviously was some good relief work going on as well, including saves from the Reds' Francisco Cordero, the D-backs' Chad Qualls, the Braves' Rafael Soriano and the Royals' Joakim Soria and a two-inning effort for the victory in extras by Brian Wilson of the Giants.

For the Giants, it was the third shutout of their five-game homestand. Zito says it's no mistake that he got on a roll Wednesday after watching the performances of the rest of the rotation this turn, including Tim Lincecum's five-hit, 13-strikeout performance in a loss and Randy Johnson's seven one-hit innings Sunday. Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain also dealt stellar starts.

"We have a little friendly competition," Zito said. "We want to help the team more than the last guy did."

Saturday was an even bigger day for our friend, Mr. Zero.

And Mr. Zero 2009 led the way, as the Royals' Zack Greinke registered his first career shutout against the Rangers. In fact, when Greinke makes his next start Friday, he will bring in 34 of those zeroes into his meeting with the Tigers, 20 of them coming this season as he's off to a 3-0 start and ... well, you know the ERA.

Also on Saturday, the D-backs' Davis went eight innings, the Tigers' Edwin Jackson went 7 2/3, the Mets' Johan Santana and the Astros' Wandy Rodriguez and the Pirates' Ian Snell went seven each without allowing a run.

This year's shutouts have been twirled by Greinke, the Reds' Aaron Harang (April 12 vs. Pirates) and the Cardinals' Kyle Lohse (April 12 vs. Astros) and the Pirates' Zach Duke (April 13 vs. Astros). The Pirates have the most as a team with four, followed by the Royals with three.

John Schlegel is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

NEW YORK -- Hideki Matsui is encouraged that the treatment of his left knee is yielding results and will allow him to remain in the Yankees' lineup as a designated hitter for the foreseeable future.

Matsui went 2-for-3 with a second-inning double, a run scored and a walk in the Yankees' 5-3 victory over the A's on Tuesday. He said that he has experienced more flexibility in the knee at the plate and on the bases.

"Little by little, it's getting better," Matsui said. "Every game is really important, so in terms of yesterday, I got a hit and I got a run. I was able to contribute to help to the team winning the game, so that was the important part."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi said that Matsui had his surgically repaired knee drained on April 16, the Opening Day at the new Yankee Stadium.

But Matsui disputed that on Wednesday, telling MLB.com that he never had the knee drained. Instead, Matsui said he had a cortisone shot administered.

"I had the cortisone shot, I didn't have it drained," Matsui said. "There's no doubt that my knee felt better after the shot."

Girardi said Wednesday that Matsui's situation is one that he must continue to monitor, and the process will continue on a day-to-day basis likely for the entire season.

"It's still something I'm monitoring daily," Girardi said. "I check with him every day to see how he is. I've been very happy with the way he's swung the bat. Last night, he had to jump out of the way a bunch of times and he's been running the bases for us. I've been very pleased with what I saw since we got rid of the fluid."

Matsui is batting .235 (8-for-34) with one home run and three RBIs in 12 games for New York this season. He said that he was never concerned that the knee might require a stint on the disabled list.

"In my mind, I didn't think it was that bad," Matsui said. "Whether they'll put me on the DL, that's the team's decision. For me, I didn't feel it was that bad that I would have to go on the DL."

"Hey dad. You wanna have a catch ...?"

Simple words asked 20 years ago by Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella to the ghost of his late father, John, in the film "Field of Dreams" has made more men cry than possibly any film in history.

By now, most everyone knows the story of the film, based on writer W.P. Kinsella's novella, "Shoeless Joe," about Ray, an Iowa farmer, who hears a voice that tells him, "If you build it, he will come," and proceeds to build a baseball field in the middle of his farm. Out of the cornfield comes the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by actor Ray Liotta, and other long-dead ballplayers, who play on the field.

Ray is sent on a mission to bring writer Terence Mann, played by James Earl Jones, and another player, Archie "Moonlight" Graham, played by Burt Lancaster, back to the field. During that mission the audience finds out that Ray had been estranged from his father, John, a former Minor League player, and never had the opportunity to make things right before he died. John shows up at the field at the end and the reunion between father and son is complete.

"Never has a movie lived on the edge for one line," said Costner five years ago for a DVD retrospective about the film produced by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "'Field of Dreams' could have been very dopey. People hearing voices, the corn ... and it winds itself all the way down -- and the movie doesn't work unless this one line, 'You wanna have a catch?' is said."

"When I was watching it I couldn't believe what an impact it was when I finally appear as the father," said actor Dwyer Brown, who played John in the film. "That film has been the highlight of my career, thus far. I'm from Ohio and I felt right at home among those cornfields in Iowa and I had lost my father, so I understood the sentiment that scene represents."

Costner believed the film's theme was much deeper than audiences first imagined it would be.

"Even though it's considered a baseball movie, it's about things gone unsaid in your life," said Costner, who would go on to win two Academy Awards for producing and directing "Dances With Wolves" the following year in 1990. "What do we wish we could have said to our dad? How do we wish we could have talked to our son differently?"

"It was certainly our hope that it would speak to things, more than just the love of baseball," said the film's writer-director, Phil Alden Robinson. "One of my theories is that it holds up because we don't answer the mystery. We don't try to explain who the voice is or where it comes from or why it's speaking to Ray. We let people decide on their own."

It took a couple of years and many drafts for Robinson to adapt Kinsella's novella for the screen. Costner, who had just become a major star in such films as "The Untouchables" and "No Way Out," was Robinson's first choice to play Ray, but there was a problem. The actor had just finished making a baseball-themed film called "Bull Durham," and Hollywood logic dictated that no one would star in two baseball films in a row.

"One of the great things about Kevin is when the conventional wisdom says, 'Kevin, you must not go do this,' he'll go do it," said a very grateful Robinson. "He really believes in himself and his own judgment. Kevin I'm sure was being advised by everyone not to do this, but he and I have this in common, that we can be sort of contrarians, when people tell us to do something, we will do the opposite."

The film not only became a hit, but it also garnered critical acclaim, something rarely done for sports movies, and an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. It would lose out to "Driving Miss Daisy," but Robinson has no regrets.

"I love 'Driving Miss Daisy,'" said Robinson, who was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. "You lose to a film that was that good, you think 'OK, we gave it our best shot, we gave it a great ride.' You can't be greedy about these things."

Different aspects from the film still resonate today. James Horner's music score from the film is played in baseball stadiums big and small and the field that was built for the film in Dyersville, Iowa, is still up and has become a major tourist attraction where thousands of people come to reconnect with their love ones or just have a catch in what many consider a sacred baseball place.

"It's nice that it means different things to us," said Costner. "The two hours in the dark with 'Field of Dreams,' it takes you for an emotional ride. It takes you somewhere and it's simple as fathers being with sons. It's kind of our game and our movie. I like to think of it as our generation's 'It's a Wonderful Life,'"

"Field of Dreams" is available on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Ben Platt is a national correspondent for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Asked the standard question about whether teammates ignored him as his no-hit bid lengthened Sunday, Randy Johnson prompted laughter from reporters by saying, "I think they ignore me anyway."

Actually, nobody could overlook Johnson during his seven scintillating innings.

Continuing to belie his age, the 45-year-old no-hit the Arizona Diamondbacks for six innings before allowing Augie Ojeda's seventh-inning leadoff double, helping the Giants prevail, 2-0. It marked the 14th time that Johnson had taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Johnson (1-2) collected the 296th victory of his 22-year career on his third attempt and moved a step closer toward becoming the 24th pitcher to win 300 games.

Johnson's latest conquest was unlike any of his others, since he defeated his former teammates in his first regular-season appearance against them. He compiled a 118-62 record in eight seasons with the D-backs (1999-2004, 2007-08), won four of his five Cy Young Awards with them and played on a World Series-winning club in 2001.

Despite his rich history with the D-backs, Johnson denied feeling extra motivation to beat them.

"I kind of put blinders on when it comes to certain teams," he said. "Me, I just wanted to win."

Others sensed extra intensity from Johnson.

"He had that little scowl going after strikeouts, so it was kind of nice to see that," Giants utility man Rich Aurilia said. "I'm sure he had a little added incentive today."

"He was obviously fired up," Arizona left fielder Eric Byrnes said. "His velocity was up and he didn't miss too many locations."

Johnson didn't deny feeling motivated, but said that he wanted to offset his last outing -- a 3 2/3-inning, seven-run performance at Los Angeles last Monday.

"Knowing how poorly I pitched in L.A., I wanted to pitch well today," said Johnson, who walked two and struck out seven. "I executed my pitches a lot better."

Johnson threw slightly harder than he had this year, as his fastball often exceeded 90 mph according to AT&T Park's velocity readings. So he relied almost exclusivly on his fastball and slider, much as he did during his glory years.

With two no-hitters -- including a perfect game -- to his credit, Johnson insisted that he didn't dwell on achieving another historic feat as he sat alone at the far end of the Giants' dugout during San Francisco's at-bats.

"I've been fortunate to do a lot of those kind of things. Those are all bonuses," Johnson said. "When you go out there as a starting pitcher, it's so easy to lose. Winning is extremely difficult. That's the main priority."

Johnson did acknowledge that maintaining the pattern established in this series by Jonathan Sanchez and Tim Lincecum was on his mind. Sanchez pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings in Friday night's series opener, followed by Lincecum's eight on Saturday. Overall, Giants starters blanked Arizona for 21 2/3 innings while surrendering eight hits, walking six and striking out 24.

"Nobody wants to be the weak link of the rotation," Johnson said.

Pitching in a close game also helped Johnson sustain his concentration. Arizona and San Francisco entered Sunday ranked 13th and 15th, respectively, in scoring among National League clubs. So it was no surprise that the game remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Giants loaded the bases with nobody out before settling for Travis Ishikawa's sacrifice fly off Arizona starter Max Scherzer (0-1). San Francisco didn't score again until the eighth, one inning after Johnson departed.

"I think you tend to be a little more focused and realize that every pitch has to be with conviction and is meaningful," Johnson said. "... Despite the no-hitter, I had no latitude to give up any runs."

Johnson, who retired the first 12 D-backs he confronted, faced the minimum of 18 batters through six innings. He walked Tony Clark on a full-count pitch to christen the fifth inning before inducing Chris Young's fielder's-choice grounder. Johnson then trapped Young off first base with a pickoff throw.

Johnson issued another leadoff walk in the sixth, this one to Ryan Roberts. But pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds grounded into an inning-ending double play after Chris Snyder struck out.

Johnson received ample defensive support. Right fielder Randy Winn slid to snare Byrnes' slicing line drive for the second out in the first inning.

"Randy kind of started it off with that catch and it kind of dictated the way the defense played," Johnson said.

Said Winn, "There are times to try to dive and make a catch and there are times to play it smart. I felt I had a good chance to get it."

Two innings later, catcher Bengie Molina pounced on Snyder's bunt up the third-base line and threw hard to first base for the out.

Johnson himself made an entertaining play after fielding Byrnes' fourth-inning comebacker, toppling to the turf after tossing the ball to first.

The no-hit drama dissolved with Johnson's first pitch in the seventh, a slider that Ojeda lined cleanly to left field. But Johnson still had a 1-0 lead to protect. After Byrnes sacrificed Ojeda to third base, Felipe Lopez grounded out to shortstop with the infield playing shallow. Johnson fanned Clark to end the threat. With Johnson having thrown 73 pitches on a warm day, manager Bruce Bochy excused the future Hall of Famer for the rest of the afternoon.

"You lose a no-hitter and a lot of times there's a letdown," Bochy said. "There wasn't with him."

Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Schilling revealed the end of his 20-year Major League career via his blog, 38pitches.weei.com.

"This party has officially ended," wrote Schilling. "After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world's best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.

"To say I've been blessed would be like calling Refrigerator Perry 'a bit overweight.' The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime."

The 42-year-old Schilling last pitched in 2007. As it turns out, his last performance was a win for the Red Sox in Game 2 of the World Series, helping pave the way for Boston's four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

Shoulder problems prevented Schilling from pitching a single inning in 2008, during which he was under a one-year contract with the Red Sox.

A free agent this winter, Schilling continually hinted he might retire, though he kept open the possibility of pitching a partial season for someone, like Roger Clemens did the last couple of years of his career.

Schilling compiled a record of 216-146, notching 3,116 strikeouts. In the postseason, Schilling went 10-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 starts.

He was part of three World Series championship teams -- the 2001 Diamondbacks and the Red Sox of 2004 and '07.

Schilling also pitched for the pennant-winning Phillies of 1993, and is the only pitcher to win a World Series start for three different teams.

"Hey, teammate," Rodriguez said to Oswalt.

"I guess I was one of the first to find out," Oswalt laughed.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez is expected to sign with the Astros, pending a physical exam that will be taken upon the completion of Puerto Rico's participation in the World Baseball Classic.

"Houston's team needs a catcher," Rodriguez told reporters at Dolphin Stadium. "I'm ready to play."

General manager Ed Wade would only confirm that he has re-engaged agent Scott Boras, approximately two months since the last time the two had talked about the free-agent catcher.

"He reached out to us a few days ago and he and I had a discussion," Wade said. "We're still in the discussion phase. The fact of the matter is that where we were with the economic situation two months ago, we couldn't get a deal done. But in the last few days, we see there is a possibility to get something done."

In essence, playing time is an important part of the negotiations. The Astros are likely not offering the most money, but they can offer a No. 1 catching job, which other teams have apparently been hesitant to do.

The contract will be for one year at $1.5 million with another $1.5 million possible in incentive bonuses.

Oswalt, the staff ace and one of the longest-tenured Astros, is thrilled that the All-Star catcher is moving behind the plate at Minute Maid Park.

"I think it's good," Oswalt said. "He has a lot of experience, he's been about the league and he knows the hitters. It'll be a big boost to the pitching staff."

Rodriguez's offensive numbers dropped last year after he was traded from Detroit to the Yankees, batting just .219 over that two-month stretch, but to Oswalt, a catcher's most important contributions are made while crouching behind the plate, not standing in against an opposing pitcher. For that reason, Oswalt enthusiastically welcomes Rodriguez to the team.

"That's the No. 1 job for a catcher -- defense," he said. "Offensive numbers are a plus, but the main thing is how well you work with pitchers. But it's going to help us, having another bat in the lineup, and it'll also some of the younger pitchers."

Humberto Quintero is currently considered the incumbent No. 1 catcher, but the Astros privately have not been sold on having him fill that role.

Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star in 18 Major League seasons, is 9-for-15 with two homers in four Classic games, and was named Most Valuable Player of Pool D, part of the first round played in San Juan. Puerto Rico, which takes on Venezuela tonight in Miami, is 4-0 in the tournament.

Rodriguez finished last season with the Yankees after 4 1/2 seasons with the Tigers, one with the Marlins and 12 with the Rangers.

Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. Additional reporting by Andrew Mauro. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

But whatever it is, it has been persistent, which is why Hamels will fly to Philadelphia on Monday night so team physician Michael Ciccotti can examine him Tuesday morning.

"We do not think it is serious, at least at this time," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We thought it was important for Dr. Ciccotti to check him out and see if there is anything more serious than what we think it is."

Amaro said Hamels feels no pain when he throws, but that the elbow tightens up between innings.

Hamels threw four innings in a Minor League scrimmage on Sunday afternoon at the Carpenter Complex. The Phillies afterward reported no problems and said he remained on schedule to start Opening Day on April 5 against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.

Is that Opening Day start in danger?

"It's a possibility, I guess," Amaro said. "But again, we won't know anything until the doctor sees him. Right now he's still on course to do that. We'll see if there are any further issues. ... We don't feel that it's serious, but again, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't look inside his elbow. We just want to be cautious, and we thought it was important that he sees our doctor in Philly."

Hamels was placed on the 15-day disabled list from Aug. 22-Sept. 18, 2007, with a mild left elbow strain. Amaro said this soreness is in a different part of the elbow, more in the back of his elbow with the soreness on the ulnar side.

The Phillies signed Hamels to a three-year, $20.5 million contract extension in January. Amaro said the Phillies completed a thorough exam of his elbow and shoulder before they agreed to the deal, and that they felt comfortable with the health of Hamels' arm.

Amaro said Hamels had his normal soreness once he began his throwing program at the beginning of Spring Training last month.

"It hasn't totally gotten out of there," Amaro said. "He's got better arm speed and arm strength and that's encouraging because he's progressing as far as that's concerned. But all the soreness isn't out. ... We're trying to be cautious with it. This is a pretty important piece to the puzzle for us.

"I'm sure you will make a lot more out of this than there really there is, but for us he's an important piece for us. We're just trying to be as cautious as possible with our No. 1 starter."

Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The original 16 is down to an all-Earth eight, and two sparkling coastal cities representing both sides of the United States will showcase this now-international pastime in Round 2.

There isn't much time to prognosticate, either.

Pool 1 begins Sunday in PETCO Park in San Diego, home of Major League Baseball's Padres and the site of the inaugural World Baseball Classic finale won by Japan in 2006.

This time around, the Japanese club, again headed by pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, heads into Round 2 as the runner-up in its first-round pool after losing a 1-0 decision to Korea in the final game of the Tokyo Dome series.

Meanwhile, Cuba and Mexico come off strong showings in Pool B of the first round, which was contested in Mexico City. The Cubans, who finished second to Japan in the '06 Classic, will look for revenge in San Diego and come in undefeated after a 16-4 rout of Mexico to win Pool B.

The Cubans will get a chance for that revenge right away in their first game of the second round at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, a rematch of the 2006 Classic final that Matsuzaka and the Japanese team won, 10-6.

"It is the repeat game," Cuban manager Higinio Velez said. "It's a chance for us to get back at them, and this might be an anticipated final. Japan is not the only team that has good players. There are many teams with great quality. We're thinking in each game, we're thinking about Japan and then the day after whoever we're up against. We're not worried. We know what their quality is. We respect them. We're going to just be ready."

Mexico will be ready, too, because it is well aware of the Cubans' balanced, slugger-packed lineup and stable of power pitchers. And, as infielder Jorge Cantu said, the Mexicans will have to beat Japan and Korea in other ways to advance to the semifinals in Los Angeles.

"Well, I mean, Korea and Japan are pretty much both the same teams; they play the little game," Cantu said. "They play the bunt, they play the moving-the-runners-over. They sacrifice themselves. They hit the ball the other way with authority. That's their strength. We're just going to try to match them."

The possible Cinderella story of this pool is a tough call considering how well all four teams have fared at the international level in recent years, but we'll still go with Korea, which has to get out of the shadow of Japan to prove there's another major Classic championship contender coming out of Asia.

Korea won the 2008 Olympic gold medal against a field with a lot less Major League talent across the board than we're seeing in this tournament, not to mention the fact that the other three teams in this pool have more big league stars on their rosters than Korea.

Pool 2 begins Saturday in Dolphin Stadium in Miami, where the Florida Marlins play their home games but will surrender their field to Venezuela and the United States from first-round Pool C and Puerto Rico and the miracle Netherlands squad from Pool D.

The Americans get a tough assignment in their first game, having to play 3-0 Puerto Rico, and the Venezuelans will have to meet the darlings of the tournament, the Dutch team that knocked the championship-contending Dominican Republic out in stunning fashion.

Team USA will want to make up for 2006, when it went 1-2 in Round 2, losing to Korea and Mexico and being eliminated from the tournament. Shortstop Derek Jeter says the team will have to perform better.

"I don't think you necessarily learn a lesson (from what happened in 2006)," Jeter said. "I think you just understand that it's a short tournament, and ... every game is important. So you have to come out with intensity every game. Not saying we didn't do that the first time around. We just didn't play very well."

In the other opening-round game, Pool C winner Venezuela, with its Major League murderers' row of sluggers Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, Ramon Hernandez, Melvin Mora and Carlos Guillen, has to face the biggest Cinderella of this year's Classic and one of the most amazing international baseball stories of all time.

Who else? The Netherlands.

The Dutch team did beat the Dominican Republic twice to end that championship contender's Classic in stunning fashion, but The Netherlands also lost to Puerto Rico twice and is batting a Classic-low .151 as a team with three RBIs in four games. The "honkbal" hitters will have to step up big-time to make it to the semis, no matter how well the team is pitching and playing defense.

With what his players have already accomplished and with the challenge the Dutchmen face to continue their astonishing ascension to baseball's international elite, perhaps it was wise for Netherlands manager Rod Delmonico to say what he said when asked about how Round 2 looks for his club.

"After the wars that we've been through," he said, "I don't think I'll worry about who we tee it up against."

Doug Miller is reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The Web site cited "a source close to the team," and added that the pact is pending a physical, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

"I heard the rumors swirling," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "When it's appropriate to comment on whatever is appropriate, I'll be happy to. It's just probably not appropriate [right now]. I think he's a really good pitcher, though."

Boston has a team policy of not commenting on any contract agreements until they are official.

"I think it's in the process of hopefully at some point getting done," Lester told The Boston Globe as he left City of Palms Park on Sunday afternoon. "I couldn't tell you when or what day. Nothing that I know of has been finalized. I'm sure when it does become final, if it does, we'll announce it."

Lester is pitching for the Red Sox in Monday's exhibition game at Bradenton, Fla., against the Pirates.

During the offseason, reigning American League Most Valuable Award winner Pedroia signed a six-year, $40.5 million extension that includes an option for 2015. Youkilis, who finished third to Pedroia in the MVP race, signed for four years at $41.1 million a few weeks later.

In Lester, the Red Sox have a 25-year-old who is developing into one of the best left-handed starters in the game.

"Wow," said Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo. "If he did [sign a new deal], that would be good for the Red Sox and good for him. He's a good young guy, very respectful. He belongs here. I think that would be good for him, just make him relax and enjoy his family. That would be great."

Last year was a breakthrough season for Lester, who went 16-6 with a 3.21 ERA over 210 1/3 innings. He kicked it up another notch in the postseason, particularly in the AL Division Series, when he fired 14 innings and didn't allow an earned run against the Angels.

The individual highlight of 2008 for Lester came on May 19, when he fired a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals.

Lauded as a top prospect from the moment the Red Sox drafted him out of high school in 2002, Lester's development was slowed when he was diagnosed with a form of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma in August 2006.

After six chemotherapy treatments, Lester was declared cancer-free four months later.

The Red Sox brought him along slowly in 2007, but the lefty came back in time to go 4-0 with a 4.57 ERA. Lester capped that season by starting and winning the clinching Game 4 of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies.

In his career, Lester is 27-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 60 starts.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein passed through the clubhouse after Boston's 8-2 Grapefruit League victory over the Rays on Sunday, but said that he had no comment.

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on Thursday that Rodriguez had a cyst drained in the hip, but the labrum tear is a new concern. The injury will eventually put Rodriguez under the knife, which would set off a recovery process that Cashman believes will take four months.

Having discussed the issue with Rodriguez via conference call, the Yankees are gambling that the slugger will be able to contribute for the full 2009 season. Cashman cautioned that surgery remains in play if the approach does not work.

"I think we're collectively trying to figure out what's best to do for everybody involved," Cashman said. "If surgery is what has to happen, that's what you have to do.

"If surgery is not something that has to happen at this point in time, then it's something that's manageable. We're all trying to be open-minded."

After consulting with noted specialist Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colo., Rodriguez had the cyst aspirated on Thursday. He has been removed from the Dominican Republic roster for the World Baseball Classic and will not return to Yankees camp until this weekend, at the earliest.

Once Rodriguez comes back to Tampa, it is unclear what baseball activities he will be permitted to perform and how the club will manage his situation.

"You hope that the aspiration does the trick and he's able to be the productive player he always is," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Girardi suggested that Rodriguez could serve as a designated hitter or leave some games early in Spring Training, and that the Yankees would also give him days off when necessary.

"We are going to take this day by day, week by week, month by month," Cashman said. "That does not mean that surgery is off the table. That's a handful."

Cashman said that Rodriguez has not felt pain in the right hip, though an MRI examination taken last season during Rodriguez's stint on the disabled list with a strained right quadriceps revealed an irregularity that was tucked into Rodriguez's medical file.

Because the irregularity was asymptomatic and there was no pain, Rodriguez was permitted to continue playing. He had taken measures over the offseason and during the Grapefruit League season to relieve stiffness and restriction in the hip, including increased stretching.

That led the Yankees to have team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad examine Rodriguez on Saturday in Tampa. When changes from the 2008 MRI were spotted, Ahmad's recommendation was that Rodriguez visit a specialist, which he did by flying to Colorado on Wednesday.

Believing that the club would just be handling a cyst, Cashman said that Rodriguez's diagnosis and the accompanying flood of information had caught the team off guard.

"To be honest, it's like drinking from a fire hose," Cashman said.

The conservative approach to treating Rodriguez's injury, Cashman said, will include rest, exercise and treatment. That program will be coordinated by the Yankees' medical and training staff.

"You watch him closely to make sure that there's nothing wrong," Girardi said. "I know Alex will be honest with his body, and he works very hard. He'll do all the stretching necessary and possible to get on the field."

Rodriguez has played regularly this spring, including a 1-for-3 effort with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's Dominican Republic exhibition game against the Marlins. Girardi said that if Rodriguez's condition does not worsen, he should be able to complete the season.

"I think he'd be productive, too," Girardi said. "He was productive down here. We saw the way he swung the bat down here -- he was pretty good. He was running fine, making plays. That's why I wasn't really that concerned."

Rodriguez left the Yankees