THT Daily: Reds Close In

Major League News for August 21

Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances
Player News
Stats

Yesterday’s Results

American League
BAL     6  MIN     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Markakis: 3 HR
TB      5  TEX     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
TOR     4  OAK     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
DET     4  CHA     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      5  CLE     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAA     4  BOS     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
SEA     6  NYA     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Beltre: GW HR in 9th

National League
PIT     5  ATL     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
FLA     7  WAS     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYN     8  STL     7    (Recap and Boxscore)
PHI     6  CHN     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
CIN    14  HOU     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     4  COL     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
SD      1  LAN     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Peavy over Hendrickson
SF      7  ARI     6    (Recap and Boxscore) Bullpens stink: 9 R in last 2 innings

Today’s Games

Visitors                         Home                               Starts
HOU - Oswalt R. (9-8, 3.24)      CIN - Michalak C.* (1-1, 5.91)     12:35
ARI - Gonzalez E. (3-5, 5.14)    SF - Schmidt J. (10-7, 3.03)        3:35
WAS - Armas T. (8-8, 4.73)       FLA - Olsen S.* (9-7, 4.49)         7:05
MIN - Garza M. (0-2, 11.74)      BAL - Lopez R. (9-12, 6.03)         7:05
CWS - Garcia F. (11-8, 4.87)     DET - Miner Z. (7-4, 4.15)          7:05
OAK - Loaiza E. (6-7, 5.58)      TOR - Chacin G.* (6-2, 5.61)        7:07
STL - Mulder M.* (6-5, 6.09)     NYM - Trachsel S. (12-5, 4.79)      7:10
TEX - Millwood K. (12-8, 4.58)   TB - Fossum C.* (6-5, 5.06)         7:15
PIT - Snell I. (11-8, 4.51)      ATL - Hudson T. (10-10, 4.77)       7:35
PHI - Myers B. (8-6, 4.40)       CHC - Guzman A. (0-3, 6.68)         8:05
COL - Kim B. (7-8, 4.94)         MIL - Sheets B. (3-5, 5.54)         8:05
CLE - Byrd P. (8-6, 4.55)        KC - De La Rosa J.* (1-1, 5.89)     8:10
BOS - Lester J.* (6-2, 4.72)     LAA - Escobar K. (9-10, 3.77)      10:05
LAD - Penny B. (13-6, 3.70)      SD - Williams W. (6-4, 3.67)       10:05
NYY - Wang C. (14-5, 3.86)       SEA - Hernandez F. (10-11, 4.50)   10:05

Standings

The graphics next to each team are called “sparklines.” They depict each team’s performance over the last month. Each “up” bar is a victory and a “down” bar is a loss. There are horizontal lines for home games and red bars represent games decided by two runs or less. “PWins” is short for Projected Wins, based on each team’s Run Differential, and is often a better measure of a team’s true strength. Other team graphs and stats can be found on our Team Page.

American League East        Pwins  Diff
NYA     75  49 .605    0.0   73      2      
BOS     69  56 .552    6.5   66      3      
TOR     67  59 .532    9.0   66      1      
BAL     56  69 .448   19.5   56      0      
TB      51  75 .405   25.0   51      0      
American League Central
DET     81  45 .643    0.0   78      3      
CHA     73  52 .584    7.5   71      2      
MIN     72  52 .581    8.0   69      3      
CLE     56  68 .452   24.0   67     -11     
KC      46  81 .362   35.5   47     -1      
American League West
OAK     71  55 .563    0.0   65      6      
LAA     67  59 .532    4.0   65      2      
TEX     65  62 .512    6.5   68     -3      
SEA     57  68 .456   13.5   59     -2      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     76  48 .613    0.0   71      5      
PHI     63  62 .504   13.5   65     -2      
FLA     59  66 .472   17.5   61     -2      
ATL     59  66 .472   17.5   64     -5      
WAS     54  72 .429   23.0   55     -1      
National League Central
STL     66  58 .532    0.0   63      3      
CIN     66  60 .524    1.0   62      4      
MIL     60  65 .480    6.5   55      5      
HOU     59  67 .468    8.0   61     -2      
CHN     53  72 .424   13.5   51      2      
PIT     48  78 .381   19.0   54     -6      
National League West
LAN     66  60 .524    0.0   68     -2      
SD      64  62 .508    2.0   64      0      
ARI     62  64 .492    4.0   62      0      
SF      61  65 .484    5.0   63     -2      
COL     59  66 .472    6.5   64     -5      

Wildcard Standings
American League
CHA     73  52 .584    0.0
MIN     72  52 .581    0.5
BOS     69  56 .552    4.0
TOR     67  59 .532    6.5
LAA     67  59 .532    6.5
National League
CIN     66  60 .524    0.0
SD      64  62 .508    2.0
PHI     63  62 .504    2.5
ARI     62  64 .492    4.0
SF      61  65 .484    5.0

Game of the Day

Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer off Jason Isringhausen in the bottom of the ninth to give the New York Mets a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Before the ninth, the game had been dominated by the two teams’ star first basemen, Albert Pujols and Carlos Delgado, who both hit two home runs, including a grand slam each.

Pujols hit his 37th and 38th home runs, Beltran hit his 36th and Delgado hit his 30th and 31st. According to Elias, it’s the first time in major league history that a game before Sept. 1 featured as many as five home runs that were at least the 30th of the season for the batter.

Coupled with Cincinnati’s 14-0 win over Houston, the Cardinals’ N.L. Central lead is down to one game.

ST LOUIS (7) VS NY METS (8) - FINAL

ST LOUIS               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
A Miles ss              3  2  1  0   2  0   0  .262
C Duncan lf             2  2  1  0   2  0   0  .347
A Pujols 1b             4  2  2  7   0  1   2  .327
S Rolen 3b              4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .313
J Encarnacion cf-rf     4  0  2  0   0  1   0  .283
P Wilson rf             3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .266
 A Wainwright p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .400
 R Flores p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 a-T Perez ph           0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .194
 T Johnson p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 B Looper p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .500
 J Isringhausen p       0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
R Belliard 2b           4  0  1  0   0  1   3  .250
Y Molina c              4  1  1  0   0  2   2  .217
J Weaver p              2  0  0  0   0  1   1  .071
 S Taguchi cf           2  0  0  0   0  1   0  .268

Totals                 32  7  8  7   5  9   9

a-intentionally walked for R Flores in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - C Duncan (8, J Maine); Y Molina (24, J Maine); J Encarnacion (21, 
C Bradford). HR - A Pujols 2 (38, 4th inning off J Maine 2 on, 0 Out, 5th 
inning off J Maine 3 on, 2 Out). RBI - A Pujols 7 (105). 2-out RBI - A Pujols 
4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Y Molina 1. GIDP - A Pujols, R 
Belliard. Team LOB - 3. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - J Encarnacion (5, 2nd base off G Mota/P Lo Duca). 
 
FIELDING: E - R Belliard (2, ground ball); C Duncan (3, fly ball). PB - Y 
Molina. 
 
NY METS                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Reyes ss              5  1  0  1   0  0   1  .290
P Lo Duca c             5  2  3  0   0  0   1  .311
C Beltran cf            5  2  1  2   0  0   2  .288
C Delgado 1b            4  2  2  5   0  0   0  .258
D Wright 3b             4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .299
M Tucker lf             2  0  1  0   1  1   0  .269
E Chavez rf             3  1  1  0   0  0   3  .296
C Woodward 2b           3  0  0  0   1  1   3  .219
J Maine p               1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .000
 a-R Ledee ph           0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .206
 G Mota p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-J Valentin ph        0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .285
 P Feliciano p          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 C Bradford p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-J Franco ph          1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .272
 A Heilman p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000

Totals                 33  8  8  8   3  5  12

a-walked for J Maine in the 5th;  b-sacrificed to third for G Mota in the 6th;  
c-struck out looking for C Bradford in the 8th.

BATTING: HR - C Delgado 2 (31, 2nd inning off J Weaver 0 on, 0 Out, 5th inning 
off J Weaver 3 on, 1 Out), C Beltran (36, 9th inning off J Isringhausen 1 on, 1 
Out). S - E Chavez , J Valentin. RBI - C Delgado 5 (85), J Reyes (62), C 
Beltran 2 (103). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P Lo Duca 1, C 
Woodward 1, J Franco 1. Team LOB - 6. 
 
FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Tucker (R Belliard at Home). DP: 2 (J Reyes-C 
Woodward-C Delgado, D Wright-C Woodward-C Delgado). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    ST LOUIS        - 000 340 000   --   7
    NY METS         - 010 041 002   --   8

One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS                     ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Weaver                      5       5   5   4   2   4   2   5.74
A Wainwright (H, 13)          1       1   1   1   1   0   0   3.14
R Flores (H, 17)              1       0   0   0   0   0   0   4.93
T Johnson (H, 9)                1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   5.06
B Looper (H, 14)                2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   3.77
J Isringhausen (L, 4-7; B, 9)   1/3   2   2   2   0   0   1   3.54

NY METS                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Maine                       5       6   7   7   2   5   2   3.58
G Mota                        1       1   0   0   0   2   0   0.00
P Feliciano                     1/3   0   0   0   2   0   0   2.02
C Bradford                    1 2/3   1   0   0   1   0   0   2.83
A Heilman (W, 3-4)            1       0   0   0   0   2   0   3.87

IBB - T Perez (by C Bradford). HBP - M Tucker (by T Johnson). 
Pitches-strikes: J Weaver 94-56; A Wainwright 15-9; R Flores 10-7; T Johnson 
2-1; B Looper 4-4; J Isringhausen 7-5; J Maine 82-57; G Mota 21-13; P Feliciano 
14-6; C Bradford 13-8; A Heilman 13-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J Weaver 7-4; A 
Wainwright 3-0; R Flores 1-2; T Johnson 1-0; B Looper 1-0; J Isringhausen 1-0; 
J Maine 5-4; G Mota 1-0; P Feliciano 1-0; C Bradford 4-1; A Heilman 1-0. 
Batters faced: J Weaver 24; A Wainwright 5; R Flores 3; T Johnson 2; B Looper 
2; J Isringhausen 3; J Maine 22; G Mota 4; P Feliciano 3; C Bradford 5; A 
Heilman 3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--James Hoye. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Tony Randazzo. 

T--2:36. Att--49,661. 
Weather: 78 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 13 mph, right to left.

The following graph tracks the game’s Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs.

Yesterday’s Home Runs

The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its “standard” distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. You can read their daily updates at the Hit Tracker Blog.

A total of four players had multi-homer games: the Mets’ Carlos Delgado and Cards’ Albert Pujols each hit two home runs in the same game at Shea Stadium, Mariner Adrian Beltre hit home runs in the first and ninth inning (the last a walkoff) against the Yankees at Safeco Field, and the Orioles’ Nick Markakis went deep three times at Camden Yards against the Twins.

Hitter                  Pitcher                      True Dist. Std. Dist.  HR #
Wells, Vernon    TOR    Halsey, Brad        OAK          444        436      29
Delgado, Carlos  NYM    Weaver, Jeff        STL          424        435      31
Johnson, Nick    WAS    Tankersley, Taylor  FLA          436        428      19
Markakis, Nick   BAL    Silva, Carlos       MIN          432        423       9
Pujols, Albert   STL    Maine, John         NYM          429        419      37
Thames, Marcus   DET    Buehrle, Mark       CWS          420        418      22
Pena, Tony       ATL    Chacon, Shawn       PIT          417        416       1
Rodriguez, Alex  NYY    O'Flaherty, Eric    SEA          421        413      26
Markakis, Nick   BAL    Silva, Carlos       MIN          411        410      10
Holliday, Matt   COL    Turnbow, Derrick    MIL          402        406      23
Beltran, Carlos  NYM    Isringhausen, Jason STL          395        406      36
Dunn, Adam       CIN    Borkowski, Dave     HOU          428        405      38
Abreu, Bobby     NYY    Baek, Cha Seung     SEA          412        405      10
Estrada, Johnny  ARI    Stanton, Mike       SF           399        403      10
Sexson, Richie   SEA    Karstens, Jeff      NYY          406        397      27
Beltre, Adrian   SEA    Karstens, Jeff      NYY          403        397      14
Hatteberg, Scott CIN    Hirsh, Jason        HOU          413        396      13
Pujols, Albert   STL    Maine, John         NYM          404        396      38
Patterson, Corey BAL    Silva, Carlos       MIN          393        396      13
Markakis, Nick   BAL    Silva, Carlos       MIN          397        394      11
Ramirez, Hanley  FLA    Bergmann, Jason     WAS          392        389      12
Jacobs, Mike     FLA    Bergmann, Jason     WAS          397        386      16
Kearns, Austin   WAS    Johnson, Josh       FLA          387        383      18
Phillips, BrandonCIN    Hirsh, Jason        HOU          399        381      13
Roberts, Brian   BAL    Silva, Carlos       MIN          382        377       7
Norton, Greg     TB     Padilla, Vicente    TEX          373        372      11
Beltre, Adrian   SEA    Villone, Ron        NYY          369        369      15
Delgado, Carlos  NYM    Weaver, Jeff        STL          356        368      30
Teahen, Mark     KC     Lee, Cliff          CLE          375        367      16
Lee, Travis      TB     Mahay, Ron          TEX          365        365      11
Rivera, Juan     LAA    Snyder, Kyle        BOS          400        362      21
Ross, David      CIN    Borkowski, Dave     HOU          381        361      16

Top Minor League Games

The following list, provided by First Inning, includes the top minor league batting (based on Runs Created) and pitching (based on Game Score) performances from yesterday.

ORG LVL PLAYER            POS AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  Notes
ARI A+  Emilio Bonifacio   2B  4  3  0  0  1  0  0   
BAL AA  Carlos Duran       LF  4  3  0  0  1  0  0  5 RBI
BOS A+  Jeffrey Corsaletti LF  5  3  1  0  2  0  0  4 RBI
CHW AA  Cory Aldridge      LF  4  4  1  0  0  1  0   
CLE A+  Argenis Reyes      2B  4  4  1  0  0  0  0   
CLE AAA Jonathan Van Every CF  4  3  0  0  1  0  1   
DET AAA Ryan Ludwick       RF  5  3  1  0  2  0  2  .581 OBP during past week
FLA A   Agustin Septimo    SS  5  4  2  1  0  0  0   
HOU A+  Billy Hart         DH  3  2  1  0  1  1  0   
KC  AAA Shane Costa        RF  3  3  0  0  1  1  0   
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
BOS AA  Devern Hansack     7.0  4  0  0  7  0  0   
DET A+  Eddie Bonine       8.0  5  2  2  6  1  2   
FLA AA  Daniel Barone      8.0  4  0  0  5  0  0   
KC  AAA Andy Van Hekken    8.0  3  1  1  3  0  1   
MIL A+  Derek Miller       6.0  1  0  0 10  2  0  17 K over last 12 IP
NYY A+  Chase Wright       7.0  5  0  0  5  3  0  0.89 ERA over past month
PHI A+  Kyle Kendrick      7.0  5  0  0  2  0  0   
PIT A+  Luis Munoz         7.0  3  1  1  7  3  0   
PIT AAA Marty McLeary      7.0  6  0  0  7  2  0   
SD  AA  Sean Thompson      7.0  5  0  0  7  1  0   

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

The Diamondbacks traded the 33-year-old Shawn Green and slightly more than $6.3 million to the Mets for Triple-A pitcher Evan MacLane, a 23-year-old left-hander.

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded utility infielder Jose Hernandez to the Philadelphia Phillies for cash Tuesday. The 37-year-old Hernandez hit .267 with two homers and 12 RBI in 67 games with the Pirates. He made 10 starts at first base and six at shortstop while also starting at second base, third base and right field.

Nick Markakis had just hit his third home run, and the crowd at Camden Yards stood in appreciation, demanding a curtain call. Markakis was in the process of putting his helmet in the rack when hitting coach Terry Crowley shoved the rookie toward the top of the dugout stairs. Markakis waved his helmet to the fans, who yelled even louder before sitting down in anticipation of his next at-bat. There would be no fourth home run, but Markakis did more than enough to carry the Baltimore Orioles past the Minnesota Twins 6-3 Tuesday night. Markakis homered in the first, third and fifth innings off Carlos Silva (8-11). Seeking to become the 16th player in major league history to hit four in a game, he hit a short fly ball to left in the sixth against Willie Eyre.

Kenny Rogers is proving his 41-year-old arm can still win games late in the summer. Rogers shut down the slumping Chicago White Sox, giving the Detroit Tigers their biggest lead in the AL Central in almost two weeks and guaranteeing their first .500 season in more than a decade. He dominated for seven innings and was backed by Marcus Thames’ solo homer and RBI triple in Detroit’s 4-0 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night, its second straight victory in a possibly pivotal four-game series against the World Series champions.

Mark Buehrle lost again Tuesday, dropping him to 1-7 with an 8.10 ERA over his last 10 starts. That’s the most losses and the second-highest ERA (minimum: 40 innings) for any pitcher since the start of July. (Making things worse for the White Sox: Jose Contreras is one of three players with six losses during that span.) The only pitcher with a higher ERA since July 1 is Joel Pineiro (8.50).

Seattle’s Cha Seung Baek, called up from Triple-A Tacoma before the game, allowed three hits and three runs in five innings on Tuesday against the Yankees. He struck out six and walked three in the no-decision.

Bobby Abreu hit his 200th career home run in Tuesday’s game at Seattle, his second since the Yankees acquired him from Philadelphia on July 30 and his second since June 13. Derek Jeter’s single in the ninth was his 1,532nd, moving him past Lou Gehrig and Bernie Williams into the Yankees career lead.

Anaheim’s Francisco Rodriguez got the last three outs in Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox for his 35th save, retiring Kevin Youkilis on a flyball to the warning track in right field after an intentional walk to David Ortiz.

Kansas City’s Odalis Perez (1-1) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings on Tuesday against the Indians for his first victory as a starter since April 21 when he beat Arizona while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mark Teahen was 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles in Tuesday’s game against the Indians.

Travis Hafner was 3-for-4 with two doubles in Tuesday’s game at Kansas City to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.

Making his Phillies debut, Jamie Moyer got his first victory in five starts, leading Philadelphia to a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. He became the oldest Phillies pitcher to record a victory in franchise history. “He throws under the speed limit, which is as effective sometimes as throwing over the speed limit,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.

Chicago surprise Ryan O’Malley (1-1) left Tuesday’s game in the fifth inning due to a strained left elbow, and will be re-evaluated Wednesday. “I don’t know, bad luck,” Baker said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Chris Capuano (11-8) gave up three hits in six scoreless innings in Tuesday’s start at Colorado. He escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the fourth when Yorvit Torrealba popped out, Ryan Spilborghs lined to third baseman David Bell and Luis Gonzalez hit a roller back to mound. “He got himself in trouble. He got himself out of trouble,” Hurdle said. “We weren’t able to capitalize.”

Milwaukee’s Laynce Nix, making his second start in center since being recalled Aug. 18 from Triple-A Nashville, had two hits and three RBI in Tuesday’s game at Colorado.

Pittsburgh’s Shawn Chacon allowed only one run on three hits but walked five in a no-decision on Tuesday at Atlanta. Oscar Villarreal, making his second start for Atlanta after pitching 47 games out of the bullpen, gave up one run and four hits in five innings in a no-decision on Tuesday against the Pirates

Jake Peavy allowed three hits and a walk in seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers in Tuesday’s start, as he picked up the win and improve to 7-12. Peavy struck out seven and walking one. Mark Hendrickson (1-6) gave up one run and five hits in six innings against the Padres on Tuesday, as he was a hard luck loser to San Diego’s Jake Peavy. He struck out four and walked one.

Johnny Estrada homered, doubled twice and singled for Arizona, which lost its third straight game and fifth in six. Estrada’s double to deep right in the sixth gave the Diamondbacks their first run.

Matt Cain allowed just one run, seven hits and a walk in seven strong innings on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. The bullpen allowed five runs in two innings and blew the win for Cain, who was able to post a quality start and record seven strikeouts.

A.J. Burnett won his fourth straight start to a 4-3 victory Tuesday night against Oakland. Burnett (6-5) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. “This was a good win for us after last night,” Burnett said

Adam Loewen (4-4) gave up singles to four of the first six batters, then got 21 straight outs before being removed after eight innings and 108 pitches in a win on Tuesday against Minnesota. The rookie left-hander struck out seven and walked none.

Cincinnati right-hander Kyle Lohse gave up four hits in eight innings and had three of his own on Tuesday against Houston, getting his first victory and his biggest ovations since arriving in a July 31 trade with the Twins. Lohse had only four career hits heading into the game. “Everything’s looking up, looking good,” said Lohse, who has a 1.65 ERA in four starts for Cincinnati. “I like it here.”

Outfielder Willy Taveras extended his hitting streak to 25 games on Tuesday, matching the Houston Astros’ record set by Jeff Kent. Taveras hit a grounder to the hole and easily beat shortstop Rich Aurilia’s throw to first base in the third inning against Cincinnati. Kent also hit in 25 games from May 14 to June 11, 2004. It’s the second-longest hitting streak in the NL this season, trailing Chase Utley’s 35 games for Philadelphia. Boston’s Manny Ramirez had a 27-game streak in the AL.

Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand might miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken ankle in a nasty collision in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Cubs. Rowand was put on the 15-day DL on Tuesday, but is expected to miss four to six weeks, team officials said. Rowand has been outstanding defensively for the Phillies, who are locked in a tight race for the wild card. David Dellucci and Shane Victorino will both be everyday outfielders now, along with veteran Pat Burrell.

Tom Glavine does not need surgery on his troublesome left shoulder and will be able to rejoin the Mets’ rotation in seven to 10 days. Glavine felt coldness in his left ring finger after a start last week, triggering fears that a blood clot might have developed that could end his season — or possibly, his career. An angiogram Monday showed no invasive procedure is needed. “The test showed that the symptoms are caused by an old injury to an artery probably caused by pitching,” the Mets said in a statement Tuesday. “The scar tissue from that old injury occasionally causes blood clots to form in Tom’s finger. The condition is not serious and will be treated with baby aspirin and other medication to help his circulation.”

The Boston Red Sox called up Kason Gabbard from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays reinstated infielder Luis Ordaz from his rehab assignment Tuesday and then designated him for assignment. Ordaz hurt his left knee during spring training and was placed on the 60-day disabled list. He appeared in eight games with Triple-A Durham, going 9-for-26 (.348) with one RBI.

The Philadelphia Phillies optioned Michael Bourn to Triple-A Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday following the acquisition of Jose Hernandez.

The Astros called up right-handed reliever Chris Sampson from Triple-A Round Rock, expecting him to arrive for the final game of the series on Wednesday afternoon. Sampson was optioned to the minors on Aug. 2.

The Houston Astros put right-hander Fernando Nieve on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday following their 14-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Nieve strained his right elbow during his relief appearance Saturday at Milwaukee and hasn’t pitched since. The Astros were hoping he would recover in less than two weeks, but needed immediate help in their bullpen. Nieve went 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts and 17 relief appearances.

Mike Thompson was promoted from Triple-A Portland for the fifth time this season on Tuesday. Thompson was recalled on Saturday to start after Clay Hensley was injured. He was optioned back to Portland on Sunday, but remained in San Diego.

Padres right-hander Chan Ho Park received two more units of blood as doctors worked to narrow down the cause of intestinal bleeding that put him back on the 15-day disabled list for the second time in less than a month. “They think they have found the source of the bleeding,” trainer Todd Hutcheson said about an hour before Tuesday night’s game against the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Worrell will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder Wednesday. Worrell, on the 60-day disabled list since July 22 and out since July 1 with a bulging disc in his neck, will have a cleanup procedure in his labrum performed by team doctor Ken Akizuki, trainer Stan Conte said.

The struggling Seattle Mariners juggled their roster again, sending center fielder Adam Jones to Triple-A Tacoma and calling up right-handed pitcher Cha Seung Baek to start Tuesday night against the New York Yankees. Outfielder T.J. Bohn was called up from Tacoma to take Adam Jones’ roster spot on Tuesday.

Nationals purchased the contract of 2B Henry Mateo from Triple-A New Orleans of the PCL. and designated RHP Travis Hughes for assignment. They have 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minor leagues.

The Phillies recalled OF Michael Bourn from Triple-A Scranton of the IL. Also, they purchased the contract of 2B Joe Thurston from Scranton.

The Athletics optioned LHP Ron Flores to Triple-A Sacramento of the PCL and recalled LHP Brad Halsey from Sacramento.

Cubs placed SS Cesar Izturis (hamstring) on the 15-day DL and purchased the contract of OF Buck Coats from Iowa of the PCL.

3B Miguel Cabrera has been Mr. Clutch for the Marlins all season, but he has turned it up in the second half. Cabrera had batted .395 with runners in scoring position since the All-Star break going into Monday, fourth in the NL.

The Rockies recalled 2B Kazuo Matsui from Triple-A Colorado Springs and designated UTL Jason Smith for assignment.

Javier Lopez was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket. The southpaw specialist faced just one batter in his two-day stint in the big leagues, walking the only batter he faced. In his place, the team is expected to recall LHP Kason Gabbard from Triple-A. Gabbard can serve as a long man if the team should fail to get innings out of Tuesday’s Red Sox starter, RHP Kyle Snyder.

The Padres optioned RHP Jon Adkins to Triple-A Portland.

Oakland’s Randy Flores was sent to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday. The A’s needed to make room for Brad Halsey, who was recalled to start Tuesday’s game.

Boston’s Alex Gonzalez, who has missed each of the last three games with discomfort in his back, has a grade-one oblique strain that could force him to the disabled list. 2B/SS Dustin Pedroia, who is hitting .306 for Triple-A Pawtucket, was called up in Gonzalez’s place.

2B Dan Uggla, with 19 home runs entering Monday, has the second highest home run total by a rookie second baseman. Joe Gordon hit 24 home runs as a second baseman as a rookie with the New York Yankees in 1938. Gordon finished the season with 25 homers.

RF Moises Alou is expected to miss a few days with a left leg injury. He has a knot behind his knee that is affecting both his calf and hamstring. “I feel better,” he said. The 40-year-old Alou, who believes he can pinch-hit, said it is “embarrassing” to spend so much time on the sidelines but won’t let this season’s frustrations affect his future and whether he plays in 2007. “This is ridiculous the way it’s going for me this year,” he said.

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