THT Daily: Two Three-HR Games

Major League News for September 4

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

Yesterday’s Results

American League
TOR     6  BOS     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Chacin: 6 IP, 0 R; Molina: 4-5, 2 2B
NYA    10  MIN     1    (Recap and Boxscore) A-Rod: 2 HR, 5 RBI; Abreu: 3 2B
TB      7  SEA     6    (Recap and Boxscore) Witt: GW 3-HR in 8th off Hernandez
LAA     2  DET     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Escobar: 8 IP, 1 R, 0 ER; Ledezma: 6 IP, 2 R
KC      7  CHA     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Redman: 7 IP, 1 R; KC W 5 of last 8 vs. CHA
OAK    10  BAL     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Loziza: 8 IP, 1 R; OAK: 9 R in 1st inning
TEX     5  CLE     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Millwood: 8 IP, 1 R, 10 K

National League
PHI     8  ATL     7    (Recap and Boxscore) Howard: 3 HR
ATL     3  PHI     1    (Recap and Boxscore) 11 innings
WAS     5  ARI     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
SF      7  CHN     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Bonds: 729th HR; Vizquel: 2 3B
HOU     2  NYN     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Oswalt: perfect through first 6; HOU: 1 H
FLA    10  MIL     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Ramirez: 3 2B; Olsen: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R
STL     6  PIT     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Pujols: 3 HR; Reyes: 6.1 IP, 0 R
COL    12  LAN     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Tulowitzki: 4 for 4
SD      2  CIN     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Wells/Milton each 6 IP, 1 R

Today’s Games

Visitors                         Home                               Starts
ARI - Gonzalez E. (3-6, 5.42)    FLA - Moehler B. (7-8, 6.04)         1:05
STL - Marquis J. (14-12, 5.86)   WAS - Ortiz R. (9-12, 5.34)          1:05
SEA - Washburn J.* (8-12, 4.35)  DET - Robertson N.* (11-11, 4.04)    1:05
CLE - Sabathia C.* (10-8, 3.22)  TOR - Marcum S. (2-3, 5.37)          1:07
MIN - Bonser B. (3-5, 5.17)      TB - Corcoran T. (4-6, 3.97)         1:15
LAD - Maddux G. (12-11, 4.18)    MIL - Bush D. (9-10, 4.70)           2:05
PIT - Maholm P.* (6-10, 4.84)    CHC - Zambrano C. (14-5, 3.33)       2:20
HOU - Clemens R. (6-4, 2.29)     PHI - Hamels C.* (7-7, 4.50)         3:05
TEX - Tejeda R. (3-3, 6.87)      OAK - Zito B.* (15-8, 3.57)          4:05
SF - Hennessey B. (5-4, 3.70)    CIN - Harang A. (13-10, 3.75)        5:10
CWS - Garland J. (16-4, 4.47)    BOS - Tavarez J. (2-4, 4.90)         7:05
ATL - James C.* (7-3, 4.02)      NYM - Trachsel S. (14-5, 4.98)       7:10
NYY - Wang C. (16-5, 3.66)       KC - Hudson L. (7-5, 5.60)           8:10
COL - Fogg J. (9-9, 5.36)        SD - Williams W. (7-5, 3.85)         9:05
BAL - Lopez R. (9-14, 6.17)      LAA - Weaver J. (9-2, 2.33)         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     81  54 .600    0.0   79      2      
BOS     73  64 .533    9.0   69      4      
TOR     71  66 .518   11.0   72     -1      
BAL     61  75 .449   20.5   59      2      
TB      55  82 .401   27.0   56     -1      
American League Central
DET     84  53 .613    0.0   83      1      
CHA     79  57 .581    4.5   77      2      
MIN     78  57 .578    5.0   74      4      
CLE     65  70 .481   18.0   74     -9      
KC      51  87 .370   33.5   52     -1      
American League West
OAK     79  57 .581    0.0   74      5      
LAA     72  65 .526    7.5   70      2      
TEX     70  68 .507   10.0   72     -2      
SEA     64  72 .471   15.0   65     -1      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     84  51 .622    0.0   79      5      
PHI     69  68 .504   16.0   70     -1      
FLA     68  68 .500   16.5   68      0      
ATL     65  71 .478   19.5   70     -5      
WAS     59  77 .434   25.5   58      1      
National League Central
STL     73  62 .541    0.0   69      4      
CIN     68  69 .496    6.0   65      3      
HOU     67  70 .489    7.0   69     -2      
MIL     62  75 .453   12.0   59      3      
CHN     55  81 .404   18.5   55      0      
PIT     54  83 .394   20.0   59     -5      
National League West
LAN     73  63 .537    0.0   74     -1      
SD      70  66 .515    3.0   69      1      
SF      68  69 .496    5.5   69     -1      
ARI     64  72 .471    9.0   65     -1      
COL     63  73 .463   10.0   67     -4      

Wildcard Standings
American League
CHA     79  57 .581    0.0
MIN     78  57 .578    0.5
BOS     73  64 .533    6.5
LAA     72  65 .526    7.5
TOR     71  66 .518    8.5
National League
SD      70  66 .515    0.0
PHI     69  68 .504    1.5
FLA     68  68 .500    2.0
CIN     68  69 .496    2.5
SF      68  69 .496    2.5

Game of the Day

The Phillies beat the Braves in the first game of a doubleheader, 8-7. Ryan Howard hit three home runs (now at 52 for the season) but the game was won by two run-scoring singles (by Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino) in the bottom of the ninth.

During the game, Howard approached, equaled and then broke Ralph Kiner’s major-league record for most home runs in a sophomore season. Kiner hit 51 homers as a second-year player for the 1947 Pirates.

Atlanta had fought back from a 6-1 deficit to score two in the eighth and four in the ninth and take a 7-6 lead. The biggest blow was Matt Diaz’s three-run homer in the ninth. Unfortunately, the Phillies lost the second game of the doubleheader and now trail the Padres (who won in David Wells’ debut) by a game and a half.

ATLANTA (7) VS PHILADELPHIA (8) - FINAL (1ST GAME)

ATLANTA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
M Prado 2b              4  0  2  0   0  0   0  .261
 b-D Ward ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .308
 P Orr 2b               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .238
E Renteria ss           4  1  1  1   0  0   2  .299
W Aybar 3b              4  1  1  0   0  0   0  .254
A Jones cf              3  1  1  0   1  1   0  .265
J Francoeur rf          4  1  2  0   0  0   1  .266
A LaRoche 1b            3  0  0  1   1  1   1  .294
M Diaz lf               4  2  2  3   0  0   1  .346
 R Langerhans lf        0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .241
T Pratt c               3  1  1  2   1  1   1  .192
 T Pena Jr pr           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .120
 B Wickman p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
T Hudson p              2  0  0  0   0  0   0  .094
 a-B Pena ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .300
 M McBride p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 P Moylan p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-B Jordan ph          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .221
 d-B McCann ph-c        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .335

Totals                 34  7 10  7   3  3   8

a-grounded to shortstop for T Hudson in the 8th;  b-grounded to shortstop for M 
Prado in the 9th;  c-hit for T Hudson in the 9th;  d-flied out to center for B 
Jordan in the 9th.

BATTING: HR - E Renteria (12, 1st inning off J Moyer 0 on, 1 Out), T Pratt (4, 
8th inning off J Moyer 1 on, 0 Out), M Diaz (6, 9th inning off F Castro 2 on, 1 
Out). RBI - E Renteria (56), T Pratt 2 (19), A LaRoche (83), M Diaz 3 (27). 
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Pratt 1. GIDP - M Diaz, E Renteria. 
Team LOB - 3. 
 
PHILADELPHIA           ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Rollins ss            4  1  2  2   1  0   0  .280
S Victorino cf          5  1  2  2   0  1   1  .297
C Utley 2b              4  0  0  0   0  0   1  .310
R Howard 1b             4  3  4  4   0  0   0  .306
J Conine rf             4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .333
D Dellucci lf           3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .295
 a-P Burrell ph         1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .260
 C Roberson lf          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .200
C Coste c               4  0  2  0   0  0   0  .338
 J Thurston pr          0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .308
A Nunez 3b              2  1  0  0   1  1   1  .199
J Moyer p               2  0  0  0   0  0   1  .000
 R Madson p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .182
 F Castro p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 G Geary p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .250
 b-R Simon ph           0  0  0  0   1  0   0 1.000
 C Ruiz pr              0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .200

Totals                 33  8 10  8   3  5   6

a-struck out swinging for D Dellucci in the 8th;  b-walked for G Geary in the 
9th.

BATTING: 3B - J Rollins (6, T Hudson). HR - R Howard 3 (52, 2nd inning off T 
Hudson 0 on, 0 Out, 3rd inning off T Hudson 1 on, 2 Out, 6th inning off T 
Hudson 0 on, 0 Out). S - J Moyer , A Nunez. RBI - R Howard 4 (133), J Rollins 2 
(65), S Victorino 2 (40). 2-out RBI - R Howard 2. Runners left in scoring 
position, 2 out - S Victorino 1. Team LOB - 5. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - J Rollins (32, 2nd base off T Hudson/T Pratt). 
 
FIELDING: Outfield assists - S Victorino (M Prado at 1st base). DP: 3 (J 
Rollins-C Utley-R Howard, S Victorino-R Howard, C Utley-J Rollins-R Howard). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    ATLANTA         - 100 000 024   --   7
    PHILADELPHIA    - 014 001 002   --   8

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

ATLANTA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
T Hudson                      7       6   6   6   2   4   3   4.95
M McBride                       2/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   3.56
P Moylan                        1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   6.75
B Wickman (L, 0-1; B, 1)        1/3   3   2   2   1   0   0   1.72

PHILADELPHIA                 ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Moyer                       7 1/3   6   3   3   2   3   2   5.12
R Madson (H, 6)                 2/3   3   3   3   0   0   0   5.81
F Castro (B, 1)                 1/3   1   1   1   1   0   1   0.87
G Geary (W, 7-0)                2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   3.01

R Madson pitched to 3 batters in the 9th.

Pitches-strikes: T Hudson 101-65; M McBride 11-7; P Moylan 5-3; B Wickman 
12-7; J Moyer 103-60; R Madson 15-9; F Castro 15-10; G Geary 8-3. Ground 
balls-fly balls: T Hudson 12-5; M McBride 2-0; P Moylan 0-0; B Wickman 1-0; J 
Moyer 13-5; R Madson 2-0; F Castro 1-0; G Geary 1-1. Batters faced: T Hudson 
29; M McBride 3; P Moylan 1; B Wickman 5; J Moyer 28; R Madson 4; F Castro 3; G 
Geary 2. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Mike Everitt. 1B--Jeff Kellogg. 2B--Larry Young. 3B--Tom 
Hallion. 

T--2:44.
Weather: 72 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, left to right.

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

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+  Cyle Hankerd       LF  3  3  0  0  2  1  0  4 RBI
BAL A-  Ryan Adams         2B  2  2  1  0  1  1  0  4 RBI
BOS A+  Andrew Pinckney    3B  4  3  0  0  2  0  0   
CHC AAA Felix Pie          CF  3  2  0  1  1  2  0   
CLE A-  Joshua Rodriguez   SS  3  3  1  0  1  0  0   
MIN AA  Garrett Guzman     LF  4  3  0  0  3  0  0  6 RBI
NYY AA  Matt Carson        DH  4  3  1  0  2  0  0  3 runs scored
OAK A-  Jermaine Mitchell  CF  5  3  0  0  2  1  0  5 runs scored
OAK A+  Eduardo Cornejo    2B  4  3  1  0  1  1  0   
OAK A+  Luis Perez         LF  5  4  0  0  1  0  0   
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
BAL A-  Pedro Beato        8.0  3  1  1  8  0  1   
CIN AAA Tom Shearn         6.0  1  0  0  8  3  0   
COL A-  Aneury Rodriguez   9.0  5  1  1  9  1  0   
LAA A   Brok Butcher       9.0  7  0  0  6  1  0   
NYM AAA Jose Lima          8.0  6  0  0  4  0  0   
NYM A   Jeramy Simmons     7.0  1  1  1  6  2  0   
PHI AAA Jeremy Cummings    9.0  0  0  0  9  4  0   
TOR A-  Wilfreddy Aguirre  7.0  4  0  0  8  0  0   

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Albert Pujols homered in his first three at-bats to end a prolonged slump, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 Sunday. Pujols connected with the bases empty in the first, and hit two-run drives in the third and fifth, all off Ian Snell (12-9). He is 4-for-6 with four homers and seven RBI against Snell, and with 42 homers reached the 40-mark for the fourth straight season. It was his third three-homer game, his second of the season. Pujols, who also homered three times against Cincinnati on April 16, entered in an 8-for-38 slump with only two-extra base hits in 10 games since homering twice and driving in a career-best seven runs on Aug. 22 at New York. He has been hampered somewhat by elbow soreness, although he has not missed any games.

Barry Bonds homered for the second straight game, giving him 729 for his career, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 7-4 on Sunday. Bonds, 26 home runs shy of Hank Aaron’s record of 755, has five in his last 11 games and is hitting .500 (16-for-32) during that span to raise his average from .235 to .263. Amid a chorus of boos, Bonds led off the eighth with his 21st homer, a drive to left-center off Les Walrond, making the Cubs reliever the 431st pitcher to surrender a homer to the Giants left fielder.

Rookie Scott Olsen allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings, and the Florida Marlins scored seven runs in the eighth to beat Milwaukee 10-3 on Sunday and extend the Brewers’ losing streak to 10 games. Olsen (12-7) struck out seven and walked two as Florida (68-68) completed the three-game sweep and became the first team since 1899 to return to .500 after falling 20 games below, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Marlins were 11-31 on May 21. The 1899 Louisville Colonels were 16-38 before climbing back to reach .500 at 72-72-3. Olsen allowed a soft single in the first to Jeff Cirillo, who also reached against the Marlins left-hander in the fourth on a walk. The rest of the Brewers went 0-for-21 with a walk against Olsen.

The Nationals, who swept three games from the Diamondbacks this weekend, have won their last four games despite trailing by at least two runs in the eighth inning or later in each game. According to Elias, that’s the longest winning streak of its kind in major-league history. No other National League team has ever won even three straight games in that fashion; a trio of AL teams won three in a row under those circumstances (1966 Orioles, 1971 Tigers and 1995 Indians).

David Wells pitched well in his return to his hometown and the San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Sunday to retain the NL wild-card lead. The 43-year-old Wells was obtained Thursday from the Boston Red Sox for minor league prospect George Kottaras. Wells didn’t get the decision, although he held Cincinnati to one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Roy Oswalt took a perfect-game bid into the seventh inning and struck out a season-high nine as the Houston Astros beat the New York Mets 2-1 Sunday despite getting just one hit. Oswalt (11-8), who signed a $73 million, five-year contract extension on Tuesday, didn’t allow a baserunner until Jose Reyes beat out a bouncer to shortstop Adam Everett leading off the seventh. Everett tried for a bare-handed pickup but couldn’t come up with the ball. Oswalt struck out the side in the third and ended the fourth and fifth innings with strikeouts. He allowed three hits in 7 2/3 innings. It was the first Houston victory with just one hit in the franchise’s history.

Brad Penny became the NL’s first 15-game winner Saturday. Penny (15-7) eclipsed his previous career high for wins after being staked to a 7-0 lead. The right-hander allowed five runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out two and did not walk a batter, after giving up nine walks over his previous two outings. Penny was 5-0 against the Rockies this season with a 1.93 ERA — becoming the first pitcher ever to beat them five times in one year. The last Dodgers pitcher to beat any team five times in a season was Orel Hershiser, who was 5-0 against Atlanta during his 1988 Cy Young campaign.

Nomar Garciaparra was the offensive spark Saturday night in the Dodgers’ 14-5 rout. His three-run homer and a three-run double helped Brad Penny become the NL’s first 15-game winner.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his 38th save in 41 chances, extending his scoreless streak to 24 1/3 innings over 24 outings, on Sunday at Detroit.

Alex Rodriguez hit two more homers and drove in five runs to lead the Yankees past the Twins on Sunday. Rodriguez hit a solo shot off Matt Garza (1-4) in the fifth inning and a three-run drive off Pat Neshek in the seventh, reaching 30 homers and 100 RBI for the ninth straight season. Rodriguez added an RBI single in a two-run eighth, leaving him with 31 homers and 104 RBI. He has 44 career multihomer games, including four this season.

Darrell Rasner pitched six impressive innings for his first major league win to lead the New York Yankees past the Minnesota Twins 10-1 on Sunday. Recalled from Triple-A Columbus before the game, the 25-year-old Rasner (1-0) allowed four hits and walked none in his second big league start — and first for the Yankees.

Texas pitching coach Mark Connor told Kevin Millwood he needed to throw his curveball more in games. The right-hander took Connor’s advice Sunday, and the results were obvious. Millwood allowed two hits and struck out a season-high 10 over eight innings as the Rangers beat Cleveland 5-2 on Sunday and ended the Indians’ five-game winning streak.

Kevin Witt led minor leaguers with 36 homers at Triple-A Durham this season. The 30-year old journeyman proved Sunday he can go deep in the big leagues, too. Witt hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning, leading the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners. “Maybe it’s a sign of good things to come,” said Witt, who has two homers in 24 at-bats with the Devil Rays. Witt signed as a minor league free agent during the offseason after playing in Japan last year. He last played in the majors with Detroit in 2003 before being called up from Durham on Aug, 24.

The Braves activated OF Brian Jordan and RHP Kyle Davies from the 60-day DL and INF Willy Aybar from the 15-day DL. Also, they recalled C Brayan Pena and 1B-OF Scott Thorman from Richmond of the IL and RHP Joey Devine from Mississippi of the Southern League.

The Nationals purchase the contracts of 2B Melvin Dorta, OF George Lombard, RHP Chris Booker and RHP Brett Campbell from Triple-A New Orleans of the PCL on Saturday.

Brewers RHP Matt Wise will have season-ending elbow surgery next week, assistant general manager Gord Ash said. Ash said Wise should be ready for spring training.

The Detroit Tigers purchased the contract of infielder Kevin Hooper from Triple-A Toledo before their game against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday night, adding depth because they don’t know how long Carlos Guillen will be out of the lineup. To make room for Hooper on the 40-man roster, Detroit designated infielder Don Kelly for assignment.

The Boston Red Sox activated catcher Jason Varitek, outfielder Trot Nixon and shortstop Alex Gonzalez from the disabled list Sunday, bringing back three regulars who were sidelined while the team’s playoff chances plummeted. Gonzalez was gone since Aug. 22 with a strained side muscle.

The Phillies put RHP Scott Mathieson on the 15-day DL with a sprained right elbow. He was injured in his start Saturday. They also recalled RHP Brian Sanches and RHP Clay Condrey from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Michael Barrett might miss the rest of the season after he was hit in the groin with a foul tip and underwent surgery. He will miss at least two to three weeks, trainer Mark O’Neal said. “We have to see how he responds with the swelling and then we have to re-evaluate him,” O’Neal said. Sunday. The Cubs placed Barrett on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and called up Buck Coats from Triple-A. Barrett was injured by Matt Cain’s foul tip in the fifth inning Saturday. He left the game after batting the next half-inning. Barrett went to the emergency room and an ultrasound showed bleeding inside his scrotum. Surgery took less than an hour, O’Neal said. The Cubs started Geovany Soto at catcher. Henry Blanco, the backup catcher, had to play first base for the first time since he was with the Dodgers in 1997.

Braves were without second baseman Marcus Giles, who returned to Atlanta to undergo medical tests, Sunday in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Philadelphia. Giles missed Saturday’s doubleheader and visited a Philadelphia hospital where he said he was told he may have a heart defect. Young reserve infielder Martin Prado started in Giles’ place in Game 1 on Sunday.

Shane Costa was recalled Sunday by the Royals and started in right field against the Chicago White Sox after batting .342 in 52 games at Triple-A Omaha.

The Rangers recalled pitcher John Rheinecker from Oklahoma on Sunday and purchased the contract of catcher Miguel Ojeda from the Triple-A farm team. Texas also transferred outfielder Brad Wilkerson to the 60-day DL. Wilkerson was placed on the 15-day DL Aug. 16 and had season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Ojeda started the season with the Rockies and was loaned to the Mexico City Reds before Texas acquired him on July 30. He hit .230 with two homers and 11 RBI in 25 games with the Rockies.

The Dodgers recalled LHP Hong-Chih Kuo from Triple-A Las Vegas of the PCL.

The Cardinals recalled C Mike Rose from Triple-A Memphis of the PCL.

Astros recalled RHP Matt Albers and OF Charlton Jimerson from Triple-A Round Rock of the PCL on Friday.

The Nats sent RHP Kevin Gryboski outright to Triple-A New Orleans of the PCL.

The Twins purchased the contract of 2B Alex Casilla from Double-A New Britain of the Eastern League.

The Brewers tranferred 2B Rickie Weeks (wrist) to the 60-day DL.

Astros recalled RHP Matt Albers and OF Charlton Jimerson from Triple-A Round Rock of the PCL on Friday.

RHP Armando Benitez was unavailable Sunday because of soreness in his arthritic knees, trainer Stan Conte said, and will likely be sidelined the next few days. The Giants closer gave up three hits, including a home run to Derrek Lee, in the ninth inning Saturday. “His knees are barking again,” Giants manager Felipe Alou said. “We’ll see what two or three days off will do for him.” His right knee was worse than his left, Conte said. LHP Mike Stanton got his fifth save Sunday, working 1 1/3 innings.

The Braves transferred RHP Phil Stockman (hamstring) from the 15-day to the 60-day DL on Saturday.

C Miguel Montero and LHP Doug Slaten were recalled Saturday by the Diamondbacks from Triple-A Tucson. Also, LHP Randy Choate’s contract was purchased from Tucson and RHP Greg Aquino and IF Andy Green were activated from the 15-day DL.

The Padres activated SS Khalil Greene off the 15-day DL on Sunday. Greene, on the DL since Aug. 18 with a sprained left middle finger, took some swings Friday but felt uncomfortable, manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s discouraging news,” Bochy said.

Manager Joe Torre told the New York Post he might try to let Mariano Rivera (elbow) rest until next weekend in Baltimore. Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor or perhaps Octavio Dotel could share closing duties until then.

Mike Mussina, who is on the 15-day DL with a groin injury, will start Tuesday in Kansas City. Chien-Ming Wang will start Monday and Randy Johnson will pitch Wednesday. With an off day Thursday, manager Joe Torre will decide between Cory Lidle and Jaret Wright for Friday’s start in Baltimore.

Hideki Matsui is expected to play in the Double-A playoff opener Wednesday, according to the New York Post. He will open as the DH. “I won’t have any doubts in terms of playing in the field,” he told the paper. “That is what I have been preparing for anyway. I feel comfortable.”

Top Ranger shortstop prospect Joaquin Arias will be called up soon in a reserve capacity, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Arias, who will turn 22 on Sept. 21, is hitting .262 with 48 RBI and 25 steals in 121 games.

Closer Tom Gordon was activated off the DL on Sunday and ready to rejoin a bullpen that has struggled during the Phillies’ wild-card push.

Carlos Beltran says his bruised left knee fees “a lot better” the morning after he crashed into the fence in left-center field at Minute Maid Park making a leaping catch.

RHP Chan Ho Park was back at the ballpark. He had surgery Aug. 23 to stop intestinal bleeding. He’s still a few days away from resuming physical activity.

RHP Scott Williamson, on the DL since Aug. 26, has a bone chip in his throwing elbow and might need surgery.

The Reds recalled OF Norris Hopper from Triple-A Louisville, where he was hitting .347 with 25 stolen bases. He was leading the IL and ranked second in Triple-A in hitting. He also was with the Reds from Aug. 20-22, making his big league debut on Aug. 20.

Aubrey Huff’s 23 RBI in August were the most for a left-handed hitter for Houston since Luis Gonzalez drove in the same amount in May 1991, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Cubs Trainer Mark O’Neal said the plan is to have RHP Kerry Wood throwing off a mound by mid-October and be ready by spring training. Wood decided to rehab a torn rotator cuff instead of having surgery. He made only four starts this season. The Cubs must make a decision Wood’s future. The club holds a $13.5 million contract option on Wood for next season. The deal includes a $3 million buyout.

THT Stats

Access all of THT’s stats here…