AMERICAN LEAGUE
       Red Sox-Tigers

        DETROIT: The Tigers were hoping that a season-long 13-game homestand would provide enough wins to let them make a run at .500. Instead, they have lost six of the first seven, and now sit 16 games under the break-even point. Oddly, the only win thus far came in the game where they faced Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez. “That probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's the way baseball works some of the time,” Tigers manager Luis Pujols said. “Beating Boston and Pedro is something we can look at as a positive.” ... The Tigers juggled their starting rotation against Philadelphia. Rookie Mike Maroth was originally supposed to make his major league debut on Sunday, but he was moved to Saturday to give Steve Sparks an extra day of rest. Sparks pitched four innings of relief on Wednesday after a third straight short outing by a Detroit starter.

        BOSTON: The Red Sox made two errors Thursday afternoon, both on dropped popups. 2B Lou Merloni mishandled a ball in shallow right and SS Nomar Garciaparra dropped one in shallow left. “It was tricky out there, with the sun and the wind,” manager Grady Little said. “It is especially tough here, because the fences are so deep that the outfielders have to play farther back. That means more responsibility for the infielders on popups.” ... Boston had 55 hits in the four-game series, including 12 by Johnny Damon. Every Red Sox starter had a hit in each of the final two games.

        ———
       Devil Rays-Blue Jays

        TAMPA BAY: Starter Joe Kennedy made his major league debut in Toronto a year ago. Kennedy allowed two runs in five innings for his first major league win. He got a no-decision Thursday after being ejected in the seventh for throwing a pitch behind Ken Huckaby's head. Manager Hal McRae was also ejected. McRae has been tossed two times this season. ... LF Greg Vaughn missed the game with a stiff neck. McRae said Vaughn will return to the lineup Friday. ... The Devil Rays have won five of their last seven interleague series.

        TORONTO: The Blue Jays have won just two of their last 10 series at SkyDome. ... With interleague play approaching, pitchers began bunting drills. RHP Roy Halladay, who will go up against Colorado's Mike Hampton on Friday, took batting practice Thursday and used his own signature model bat to hit two home runs into the left-field bullpen. ... Manager Carlos Tosca said he hopes to give rookie reliever Corey Thurman enough work to make him available for use as an emergency spot starter. ... Injured starter Chris Carpenter (sore right shoulder) was scheduled to make his fourth rehab start Thursday night for Double-A Tennessee.

        ———
       Royals-White Sox

        KANSAS CITY: The Royals placed OF Chuck Knoblauch on the disabled list with a strained left forearm and recalled OF Brandon Berger from Triple-A Omaha. Knoblauch was 0-for-3 Wednesday night and is hitless in his last 13 at-bats, dropping his average to .167. Berger is making his third stint with the Royals this season after making the squad out of spring training.

        CHICAGO: RHP Todd Ritchie is off to a rough start this season with a 3-8 record and six straight losses. He has a 6.40 ERA during the losing streak. “We need him to be what he was earlier and that was that he gave us a chance to win games,” said White Sox manager Jerry Manuel. “We didn't give him much run support, but he kept us in the ballgames and that's what we need. I don't think his record is really indicative of how good he has pitched. He has had an outing here and there that hasn't been very good, but for the most part he has given us the opportunity to win games.” ... Royce Clayton got his first start since being benched indefinitely on Monday, giving Jose Valentine the day off. “Royce is a good shortstop. He is a guy that really solidifies us defensively,” said Manuel. “Every player that that we have here, we are going to need and it is no different for him. He's going to get an opportunity to play just like everybody else. It might not be as regular as he would like, but we will need each and everyone to step up at some point in time to make us successful”

        ———
       Mariners-Athletics

        SEATTLE: Ichiro Suzuki hit his second career leadoff home run against the Athletics. His first came last July 6 against Los Angeles. ... Mariners' radio producer/engineer Kevin Cremin ended a streak of 1,263 games worked on Thursday to return to Seattle for daughter Kate's junior high school graduation. ... A's LHP Barry Zito, who started against the Mariners on Thursday, was originally picked by Seattle in the 59th round of the 1996 draft when the young left-hander was at University High School in San Diego. ... The Mariners head back to Seattle on Thursday night to open a three-game interleague homestand against the Chicago Cubs.

        OAKLAND: The A's are 1-14 when they don't homer. ... Now that David Justice is back in the lineup, the A's have no players on the disabled list for the first time since April 27, 1996. ... The A's recalled infielder Mark Ellis from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday and sent infielder Esteban German back to the River Cats. Ellis was making his second stint in Oakland. He appeared in four games with the A's and was 1-for-4, starting once at third base on April 18 against Anaheim. German hit .200 in nine games in Oakland with no RBIs and no extra base hits. He made eight starts at second base. ... Thursday was Ellis' 25th birthday.

        ———
       Indians-Twins

        CLEVELAND: 2B Ricky Gutierrez was given another day off. He's batting just .234. “We're not very happy with the way he's been hitting,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “I figure the guy needs some time off.” ... Gutierrez and C Eddie Perez will probably see more playing time when the Indians begin interleague play because of their familiarity with National League pitching, Manuel said. Cleveland plays host to the New York Mets and former teammate Roberto Alomar in a three-game series this weekend. ... Manuel said he'll be happy if veteran outfielder Ellis Burks can play three games out of six. Burks often has trouble with his knee and hamstring when he plays a lot, especially in the outfield. Burks was the DH Thursday night against the Twins. ... Manuel said he didn't care either way that the Indians — like everyone else — are playing different teams from the NL in this year's interleague play. About Cleveland's series against Arizona later this month, Manuel quipped: “I'm not looking forward to seeing Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.” ... Cleveland also plays at Colorado, where balls have been placed in a humidor to soften them up and keep the balls from flying out of Coors Field. Manuel looked over slugger Jim Thome and grinned: “Big Jim will move it. He can hit it.”

        MINNESOTA: The Twins will play next season as part of a deal approved Thursday that settles a lawsuit blocking baseball's contraction plan. “This definitively removes the Twins from contraction for 2003,” said Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which agreed to drop its lawsuit against the team and baseball. All claims against the Twins will be dismissed, but the stadium commission reserved the right to sue the league if it tries again to eliminate the team. ... RHP Joe Mays returned from a visit to California to see Dr. Lewis Yocum about his inflamed right elbow. After consulting with Yocum, the Twins have decided to scale back Mays' rehab program. There's no timetable set for his return. ... The Twins entered Thursday night's game with a major league-leading 131 doubles. ... Minnesota begins interleague play Friday night with its first-ever series against the Florida Marlins, another team that's been on the list of contraction possibilities. After that, Atlanta comes to town. It'll be first time since the 1991 World Series that the Braves and Twins have played.

        ———
       Rangers-Angels

        TEXAS: Ten-time All-Star C Ivan Rodriguez is expected to come off the DL on Friday after being sidelined since April 15 because of a herniated disc in his back. “It'll be nice to put his name back in the lineup,” said manager Jerry Narron, whose team entered Thursday 20-25 following Rodriguez's injury. ... LHP Kenny Rogers, who started Thursday night at Anaheim, was 8-8 with a 4.51 ERA in 23 starts against the Angels since his perfect game against them on July 28, 1994. ... LF Rusty Greer, who missed his fourth straight game because of a sore back, will be examined Friday by Dr. Andrew Dossett in Arlington. Last season, he did not play after June 12 because of a pinched nerve in his left side that required surgery in August. ... After watching closer Hideki Irabu surrender three home runs in a game for the second time in six days, Narron suspects that he is not 100 percent physically. “He's disappointed in his location, but I have the confidence in him,” Narron said. “I wouldn't be afraid one bit to put him out there again. One of the biggest things about being a closer is the mental part of it, and how he's going to respond after his failures. His next few times out are going to be big outings for him, to see if he can keep the job.” ... Ryan Ludwick, called up Wednesday when OF Carl Everett was placed on the DL with a sore left hamstring, was the fifth different player to start in CF for the Rangers in the last seven games. The others were Everett, Gabe Kapler, Calvin Murray and rookie Jason Romano. Last year, four players started in CF the entire season. ... Ludwick, who batted .271 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 57 games with Triple-A Oklahoma, already is the 39th different player to appear in a game this season for the Rangers. Last season they used 51 players, one shy of the 1992 club record. “That's a lot of players, isn't it?” Narron said.

        ANAHEIM: RHP Kevin Appier has not allowed a first-inning run in his 12 starts with the Angels, including Thursday night's outing, and has worked with runners on base in seven of those occasions. ... C Jose Molina, the brother of Angels C Bengie Molina, is still waiting to hear if he will receive a suspension for his part in a 10-minute bench-clearing brawl between Triple-A Salt Lake and Iowa on Tuesday. It began when RHP Brendan Donnelly, who made three appearances with the Angels this season as a 30-year-old rookie, hit Iowa's Julio Zuleta with a pitch after he homered twice in a 17-1 rout. ... DH Brad Fullmer will start at first base during some of the interleague road games when manager Mike Scioscia feels comfortable enough with the pitching matchups to sacrifice Scott Spiezio's slick glove for Fullmer's power. Fullmer has made seven starts at 1B this season without an error.

        ———
       

NATIONAL LEAGUE

        Mets-Braves

        NEW YORK: With left-hander Tom Glavine on the mound for the Braves, 1B Mo Vaughn and OF Jeromy Burnitz were dumped from the lineup. With the way they've been hitting, the left-handed duo certainly couldn't complain. Vaughn is batting .238 with four homers and 20 RBIs, while Burnitz is hitting just .198 with eight homers and 24 RBIs. The two sluggers were key acquisitions during the offseason, brought in to bolster the Mets' anemic offense. “Everybody's trying to read his body language,” manager Bobby Valentine said of Burnitz. “Right now, he needs results. He's not looking for a good look. Or a good feel. He's looking for results.” As for Vaughn, he appears to be pressing. “Mo wants big results,” Valentine said. “Little steps for Mo don't seem to be satisfactory.” ... The Mets announced that 1B Mark Johnson has cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. He has 72 hours to either report to the minor league team or become a free agent. Johnson batted .137 with one homer and four RBIs in 51 at-bats for the Mets. He was designated for assignment Tuesday when New York called up OF Tony Tarasco from Norfolk.

        ATLANTA: IF Mark DeRosa, sidelined by an injured right ankle, will travel will the team on its six-game road trip to Texas and Minnesota. “I can rehab with the team and hit,” he said. “I'm going to be back before the All-Star break. I know it.” DeRosa went on the DL May 18 after tearing tissue in his ankle. He underwent surgery and was expected to be out as long as two months. Now, he's moved up the timetable to early July. ... LHP Chris Hammond had a perfect mark in one of the most critical stats for a reliever: first hitters are 0-for-19 against him. ... OF Chipper Jones endured another day with a homer, stretching his streak to 87 consecutive at-bats since the last one on May 9 against Los Angeles. He's still got time to avoid the longest power outage of his career: 108 at-bats in 1997.

        ———
       Cardinals-Reds

        ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals open interleague play Friday in Kansas City. The Royals swept them in a three-game series last year and are 9-6 against the Cardinals overall. ... The Cardinals are 34-39 in interleague play since 1997. ... CF Jim Edmonds was out of the Cardinals' lineup for the fourth straight game with a sprained right wrist. ... The Cardinals loaded the bases three times but came away with only one run as one of their best clutch hitters failed twice. Eli Marrero fouled out with two on and one out in the second and grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the sixth. Coming into the game, he was batting .371 with runners in scoring position. ... 1B Tino Martinez singled and walked. He has at least one hit in each of the Cardinals' nine games against the Reds (11-for-33).

        CINCINNATI: The Reds open a series Friday in Anaheim, their first regular-season game against the Angels. Manager Bob Boone played seven years for the Angels and lives six miles from their ballpark. ... The Reds played two exhibitions in Anaheim after the players' strike ended during the 1981 season. They split the two games — current bullpen coach Tom Hume got the victory in the second one — before resuming their regular-season schedule in Los Angeles. ... The Reds are 34-39 overall in interleague play, including a 4-11 record last season. ... Ken Griffey Jr. and Carlos Delgado have 28 homers in interleague games, the most in the majors. Griffey has driven in 69 runs, tied for third and trailing Sammy Sosa (77) and Delgado (75) for the interleague lead. ... SS Barry Larkin has led off the first inning with a homer three times this season and nine times in his career.

Reds 3, Cards 2 Reds box, runs Schedule crunch squeezes Reds-Indians AL West foes ring a bell Boone returns home to start interleague play Haynes gives Reds their money's worth Reds at Angels series preview Rangers 9, Angels 8 Twins 8, Indians 3 Louisville 4, Pawtucket 0 Notes from Thursday's games Twins will play ball in 2003

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Mosley given another chance to inspire
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Elyria stymies Hamilton with 1-hitter
Luning, Sycamore bounce Boardman
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Milford savors new experience
Northern teams could dominate
Only thing being played is waiting game
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Illinois school joins Indiana athletic conference
Preps schedule

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