Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 21

SportsBaseball Sunday July 6 2003 Johnson City Press 5C clutch single saves Cubs stats speak volumes Cardinals star producing some impressive numbers combined with Eric Gagne on a four-hitter as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a seven-game losing streak Shea HiUenbrand blooped a single to right field leading off the eighth on 94th pitch making it four times in two seasons the left-hander has flirted with a nohitter and fallen short He threw a pair of one-hitters last year giving up a seventh-inning infield single at Chicago on April 26 and a leadoff single in the sixth against Colorado on June 25 He also took a perfect game into the seventh against the Mets on Aug 17 Perez who pitched in his first All-Star game last season was 0-5 in his previous seven starts Pirates 4 Astros 3 PITTSBURGH Jeff Suppan overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings in his second consecutive strong outing and also hit a run-scoring double The Pirates overcame the two-run first inning by scoring three runs on four straight hits to start their half of the first against spot starter Kirk Saarloos (2-1) and Suppan took over from there After losing seven of eight against Houston earlier this season the Pirates have won two straight in the three-game weekend series They also have won three in a row since the Reds beat them Tuesday and Wednesday with consecutive late-inning comebacks Mets 6 Reds 2 CINCINNATI Jeromy RBI double ended Danny no-hit bid in the seventh inning and started a four-run rally that swept the New York Mets Steve TYachsel (8-5) pitched six innings on a humid 90-degree evening keeping it scoreless until Graves faltered The heat got to Ken Griffey Jr who felt dizzy during pregame warmups and was a late scratch from the Reds lineup The Associated Prss Albert consistency has helped hit near 400 this season CHICAGO Alex infield single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning gave the Chicago Cubs a 6-S win over the St Louis Cardinals on Saturday Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou homered for the Cubs who pulled within one game of the NL Centralleading Cardinals St Albert Pujols and Jim NATIONAL Edmonds connected the second day in LEAGUE a row at Wrigley Field With ou" out Gonzalez hit a slow grounder pat a diving Scott Rolen that just snucK the third baseman Shortstop Edgar Renteria failed to field the ball cleanly and attempt a throw as Corey Patterson raced home and was mobbed by teammates It was the first time since May 25 2000 that the Cubs rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win For Gonzalez it was the ninth time won a game for the Cubs in his last at-bat Patterson a last-minute scratch from the lineup because of an illness led off the ninth with a pinch-hit single that bounced high off the plate After Tom Goodwin struck out trying to bunt Patterson went to third on Mark double down the left-field line brining Sosa to the plate Esteban Yan came on to relieve Jeff Fassero (1-4) and struck out Sosa Yan then intentionally walked Alou who had four homers in his last eight at-bats to get to Gonzalez Dodgers 2 Diamondbacks 0 LOS ANGELES Odalis Perez held Arizona hitless through seven innings and Red Sox Yankees From The Assoaated Press blow away Clemens sure how his pitchers held Pujols hitless in 12 straight at-bats before he singled in the eighth inning Wednesday night He hit a three-run homer the next day in the final game of the four-game series no one pattern for pitching to that guy to get him Alou said hope he At first La Russa used Pujols at first base third base left field and right field constantly shuttling him about but now settled in at left field La Russa said the fact Pujols was so productive while moving around only enhances his resume the only player in major league history to hit 300 with 30 homers 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in each of his first two seasons and he is well on his way to making it three in a row people would tell you they like to play one defensive position because it kind of helps their La Russa said think part of why I call him the best been The lack of a long-term contract appear to have affected mind-set The Cardinals signed him to a $900000 deal this year and eligible for arbitration next spring but the really big money is still a ways away Worried? Nope Pujols batted 429 in June with eight homers and 29 RBIs and always been a team-first player gotten clutch hit after clutch hit and after clutch hit and made clutch plays and doing it for the right La Russa said a guy without money and starting to make a little money and he Pujols who is married with two children also look too bad in his uniform his manager added think absolutely beautiful If I was a woman go for him so fast it would make his head he said All of this and Pujols was fourth in the NL outfield balloting behind Bonds Sammy Sosa and Gary Sheffield as the voting ended The reserves will be added Sunday and La Russa was hoping Pujols would get a start as the designated hitter as a consolation prize Again Pujols says all the right things I get picked to go as a backup be excited to be Pujols said had a great time when I went there my first year and if I go this year going to be just as From The Associated Press Kevin Brawn will skip his scheduled start on Tuesday because of a lower abdominal strain the latest setback for the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander impossible to try and say never had it so I Brown said when asked how long this injury would sideline him after 2-0 win over Arizona Brown was injured Thursday night in the fourth inning of a 7-4 loss to San Diego while running from first to third on a double by Wilkin Ruan He scored on an infield hic then pitched one more inning before taking himself out An MRI on Friday confirmed the diagnosis Dodgers manager Jim Tracy is hopeful that Brown will not have to miss more than one start His next outing is scheduled for July 1 3 at Colorado the day before the All-Star break was very sore yesterday better today but not taking a chance on Tuesday So shooting for the 1 3th" Tracy said it continues to get better it might give him an opportunity to throw on the side and see how it feels so he can either back off from there or go ahead and finish his next outing versus having to be walked off the mound in the second inning and risk losing him for a period of Brown has been on the disabled list six times since signing a seven-year $105 million free agent contract with the Dodgers in December 1998 But the 17-year veteran has bounced back from two inury-shortened seasons to go 10-4 with a 230 ERA second in the NL entering Saturday He appeared to be a shoo-in to make his sixth All-Star appearance on July 1 5 by going 9-0 in a span of 10 starts before his current three-game losing streak very deserving to be on that team obviously" Tracy said far as his availability to pitch in that game right now say 50-50 because of the schedule and when scheduled to pitch for this club So it'll be tough going to wait 48 hours from now when I know a lot more about his condition than I do The All-Star game is the last thing on Brown's mind now that he will miss his turn in the rotation for the first time this season not worried about that worried about trying to get better" he said Wilson Alvarez who had been pitching out of the bullpen since his recall from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 4 will make his first NL start since 1997 with San Francisco The 1 2-year veteran has made 234 career starts including 10 last season with Tampa Bay Vince Lloyd a longtime broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs who worked with Jack Brickhouse and Lou Boudreau died at 86 Lloyd died Thursday of stomach cancer at his home in Green Valley Ariz family and colleagues said The Cubs observed a moment of silence before Friday's home game against the St Louis Cardinals career broadcasting Cubs games forWGN-TV and WGN Radio spanned 38 years He teamed with the late Brickhouse in the early years of televised Cubs baseball He later worked with Boudreau a Hall of Famer as the radio voices of the Cubs for 23 years Lloyd became the first sportscaster to interview a sitting president live at a baseball opener He managed to buttonhole President Kennedy before Kennedy threw out the first pitch of the 1961 season In Washington Uoyd is survived by his wife Myrtle whom he married three years ago His first wife Miriam died in 1999 after more than 50 years of marriage He is also survived by a son Michael Skaff Dusty Baker has already warmed up to the idea of spending a hot summer atWrigley Field The first-year Cubs manager said he'd prefer to play fewer afternoon games but understood nothing could be done about that for now Even so he worried about his team wilting Speaking to about 10 reporters in his office before the Cubs beat St Louis 6-5 on a humid Saturday Baker said: heat is nothing new to me I'm from Sacramento Personally I like to play In the heat" Then with a laugh Baker kept talking about the weather and how it affected players easier for most Latin guys and easier for most minority people because most of us come from heat You don't find too many brothers in New Hampshire and Maine Right? were brought over here for the heat that Baker said skin color is more conducive to heat than it is to the lighter-skinned people I don't see brothers running around burnt" he said "That's a fact I'm not making this up not seeing some brothers walking around with some white stuff on their ears and noses" New York Yankees first baseman-designated hitter Nick Johnson out with a stress fracture in his right hand hit off a tee for the first time Saturday Johnson took 25 swings He also continued a throwing program but is not yet catching the ball feels all Johnson said more I swing the stronger going to get It feels a little weak because I haven't swung a bat in a while" Johnson went on the 1 5-day disabled list May 1 7 two days after he was hurt while swinging a bat There is no timetable for when Johnson will rejoin the Yankees although the team has not ruled out late this month Johnson just want to get back there" Reliever Antonio Osuna on the disabled list with a right groin strain is scheduled to throw batting practice Sunday Osuna said he is on target to pitch in a minor league game Tuesday Ramiro Mendoza was activated from the disabled list by the Boston Red Sox and started Saturday against the New York Yankees Mendoza sidelined by right knee tendinitis since June 13 made his first start since June 9 200 1 for the Yankees against Atlanta He made 62 relief appearances for the Yankees last year and is 1-3 with a 6 81 ERA in 28 relief outings this season for Boston To clear roster space the Red Sox optioned nght-hander Ryan Rupe to Pawtucket of the Trtple-A International League Rupe was l-l with a 6 30 ERA in one start and three relief appearances Rupe was brought up from the minors the same day Mendoza went on the DL The Cleveland Indians purchased the contracts of left-hander Jason Stanford and right-hander Jose Santiago from Tnpfe-A Buffalo on Saturday and designated left-hander Nick Bierbrodt for assignment Sanford who was 8-3 with a 3 1 8 ERA for Buffalo wifi make his major league debut Sunday against Minnesota He took the roster spot of nght-hander Ricardo Rodriguez who was optioned to Buffalo on Wednesday after posting a 573 ERA in 15 starts NEW YORK Ramiro Mendoza not Roger Clemens defeated his former team Mendoza worked out of trouble to pitch five shutout innings in his first start since June 2001 and the Boston Red Sox blew out the New York Yankees agairi with a 10-2 victory American Saturday Clemens (8-6) LEAGUE became the second straight Yankees starter to give up eight runs against major league-leading offense Eight of the nine batters in starting lineup all but leadoff man Johnny Damon came in with batting averages of 300 or higher and the Red Sox began the day with a 298 team average David Ortiz homered twice for the second game in a row and Trot Nixon hit a two-run shot in the second that put Boston ahead as the Red Sox connected three times after hitting seven homers in 10-3 win Ortiz had a solo shot in the fourth against Clemens and a two-run drive off Jason Anderson in the ninth Boston with its second straight win in the four-game series pulled within two games of the AL East leaders Devil Rays 3 White Sox 2 ST PETERSBURG Fla Javier Valentin hit a solo homer and Jorge Sosa won for the first time since April as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Chicago White Sox for their first three-game winning streak under manager Lou Piniella Piniella pledged last month to dye his hair if his young team won three in a row at any point this season It come easy Lance Carter nearly blew a three-run lead in the ninth allowing a solo homer to pinch-hitter Magglio ST LOUIS Albert Pujols can take getting snubbed by Barry Bonds and by fans in the All-Star game balloting What he take is 0-fers Nearing the All-Star break the St Louis star has THple Crown numbers leading the majors with a 377 average and ranking among the National League leaders in home runs and RBIs He was the NL player of the month for May and June a clear indication of his dominance Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his play though has to do with his remarkable consistency never gone without a hit for more than two starts lengthiest slump all season is 0-for-13 In the 13 games following his rare hitless games 21-for-53 with six homers and 17 RBIs all part of my Pujols said not that I try harder because I get any hits or anything like that just try to stay consistent I just try to concentrate on every that determination that has prompted' manager Tony La Russa to label the 23-year-old Pujols in qnly his third season the best player ever managed La Russa even took it a step further calling Pujols the NL rookie of the year in 2001 and the MVP runner-up to Bonds last year the best player ever at the start of his career say Albert has been better than anybody including Barry for 2 12 the manager said like Bonds who have been great for all those years a different category but according to historical fact neither Barry nor anybody else has had 2 12 years like Albert Pujols and nobody is going to take that away from Bonds seem impressed In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle he was somewhat critical of scintillating start Bonds said Pujols is not the next Bonds because he have speed on the basepaths and has played several positions with the Cardinals He said Pujols reminded him more of Bobby Bonilla a good but not great former teammate in Pittsburgh and added that Pujols needs to do a lot more to prove he belongs among the greats Pujols plays for a long period of time he definitely has a chance to do some wonderful things in this game of baseball because he has the Bonds told the Chronicle just time that dictates what Pujols just shrugs it off not worried about proving himself to Bonds or anybody else heard something about it but hey whatever he said not in my Pujols said care what he says or what other people say I just try to Giants manager Felipe Alou Span i Continued from Page I Science Hill alumnus Nick Crowe who like Span made the all-tournament team a pretty good Span said could play the whole infield but he played mostly shortstop and third base for us quick and could really drive the ball to the Span has exceptional speed And the crack of the bat seems to instantly direct him to where line-drives and extra-base hits would land otherwise and defense got me Span said far as hitting I just slap the ball right Slapping could take him a long way Just ask the Florida Juan Pierre who Span got to meet or one of favorites Kenny Lofton However Lofton has learned to turn on a pitch on occasion and hit for power during his lengthy major-league career come for me with Span said Span hit 490 as a senior at Tampa Catholic and stole 24 bases in 28 games while leading the Crusaders to a Class 3A state championship Before his senior year at Tampa Catholic he played at Hillsborough the alma mater of Dwight Gooden Gary Sheffield him nephew) come there Phillips headed things Jason Mets three missiles the the zone well bloopers should switch And Jeff approach that than and your said more suggesting Ordonez and a one-out RBI double to Frank Thomas Tigers 9 Royals 5 KANSAS CITY Mo Dmitri Young and Kevin Witt hit solo home runs and Alex Sanchez drove in three runs with his first homer in 307 at-bats powering Detroit past Kansas City The Tigers whose 21-64 record is the worst in the major leagues have hit seven home runs in their last two games and 12 in their last seven shot in the fourth inning was the second of his career and put the Tigers on top 6-0 in the fourth Mike Maroth (4-12) gave up four runs and eight hits in 7 2-3 innings with two strikeouts and three walks and won for the third time in four decisions Orioles 9 Blue Jays 2 BALTIMORE Jeff Conine hit two homers and drove in five runs and Sidney Ponson pitched eight strong innings to earn his 11th win as the Baltimore Orioles breezed past the slumping Toronto Blue Jay Brook Fordyce also homered and AL batting leader Melvin Mora had four hits to help the Orioles extend their winning streak to four tying a season high Baltimore will seek its first four-game sweep of Toronto since 1979 on Sunday The Orioles are 5-4 against the Blue Jays after going 4-15 last year Indians 13 Twins 2 MINNEAPOLIS Casey Blake went 5-for-5 with two homers and seven RBIs against his former team 1 Matt Lawton another former Twin and Milton Bradley homered for the Indians -who got seven solid innings from starter Brian Anderson (6-6) The left-hander won his third straight decision allowing two runs and six hits four for extra bases He walked two and struck out four From The Assoaated Press learning this is a different game one of those unwritten rules of baseball It seems like there are a lot of Maybe the soft-spoken Span will always be an exception-to some of those rules After all no crying in baseball 9 am pm eighth Span said bunted (for a hit) and then Sam came up to bat and they threw the next two pitches at his head I trying to (show anybody up) just trying to get on 'base Nothing happened if you did something like that in high school One drastic change between high school and professional baseball came quickly for Span and nearly at the expense of good friendroommate Sam head were up one game five or six runs on Bluefield in the 2003 BUCCANEER and Carl Everett a lot of talent out of Span said another one from will make Elizabethton teammate Kyle certainly seems to for bigger and better Phillips whose brother plays for the New York is hitting well over 400 weeks into the season he had any cheap Span said hitting and line-drives all over place amazing in why not complaining to be hitting 290 -because not seeing the ball yet had a lot of and not that many Baseball players are a superstitious bunch Maybe Span rub head or stirrups with him I do anything but Span said work with hitting coach Reed Span said seems laid back and more into tweaking overhauling coaches want to try change everything with stance or Span seems like about critiquing you than any drastic July 14 17 Day Camp II Four Fun Filled Days for all Skill levels Each camper will receive a BUCCANEER T-SHIRT and BASKETBALL 'EEST TERIESSEE STITE Boys: Ages 5-14 Cost: $12500 Registration Information Call: (423) 439-4207 V-.