Astros ace Roy Oswalt will skip his next scheduled start b
ecause he still felt pain in his lower back after a bullpen session Monday.
Forced to leave his previous outing because of an irritated disk, Oswalt was scheduled to start Tuesday night against San Francisco. After throwing 30 to 40 pitches in the bullpen, he wasn’t ready to go. Read the rest of this entry →
An off-duty police officer shot and wounded two men who had assaulted him in the crowded Angel Stadium parking lot after Wednesday night’s Colorado Rockies-Los Angeles Angels game, authorities said. Read the rest of this entry →
Matt Garza shut down Philadelphia’s offense and ex-Phillies slugger Pat Burrell homered for the first time in over two months to help Tampa Bay beat his former team 7-1 on Wednesday night. Read the rest of this entry →
David Ortiz homered and the Red Sox beat up on the Nationals again on Wednesday.
The ball was bouncing toward Nick Green, and so was the tumbling sharp end of Elijah Dukes‘ broken bat. Read the rest of this entry →
Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge is expected to be reinstated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday.
Lidge has been sidelined with a sprained right knee since June 7.
“That’s more than likely what we’ll do,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said before Wednesday night’s game at Tampa Bay.
Lidge is 0-3 with a 7.27 ERA and 13 saves in 19 chances after going 48 for 48 last year, including the postseason. The right-hander threw a scoreless inning for Single-A Clearwater on Tuesday night.
Also, Manuel said left-hander Scott Eyre, out with strained left calf since June 12, could be back in the next seven to 10 days.
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez was welcomed back to baseball with rousing cheers.
In the minor leagues, anyway.
Ramirez, easing back into playing shape after a 50-game drug suspension, suited up for the Albuquerque Isotopes as they beat Nashville 1-0. Ramirez wore No. 99 for the Dodgers’ top farm club. Read the rest of this entry →
Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez has gone on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin.
John Mayberry Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday to take Ibanez’s roster spot. Ibanez is batting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs, ranking second in the NL in homers and RBIs.
Mayberry was 2 for 9 with a double, homer and three RBIs in his first stint with the Phillies last month. He was hitting .257 with eight homers and 31 RBIs for the IronPigs.
John Smoltz’s former Atlanta Braves teammates are glad — for Smoltz and themselves — that they won’t have to face him in his Boston Red Sox debut, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Red Sox and Braves, yearly foes in interleague play, are scheduled to meet this weekend at Fenway Park and next weekend at Turner Field. But Smoltz, who pitched 20 seasons in Atlanta, will make his Red Sox debut on Thursday, June 25, against the Washington Nationals. Read the rest of this entry →
Manny Ramirez appears to be a week away from beginning a minor league assignment as he nears the end of his 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s substance abuse policy.
Manager Joe Torre said Wednesday that it was possible that Ramirez would start out playing for Class A Inland Empire next Thursday. The 66ers begin a three-game series at Lake Elsinore that day before playing their next three at home against Rancho Cucamonga, making it convenient for Ramirez to drive from his home in Pasadena. Read the rest of this entry →
David Murphy hit a game-winning RBI single with one out in the 10th inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 5-4 Wednesday night, taking advantage of two throwing errors by Ivan Rodriguez on the day he set the major league record for games caught.
Rodriguez, who began his career at age 19 in 1991 and played 12 seasons in Texas, caught his 2,227th game to break Carlton Fisk’s record. Read the rest of this entry →
