By The Associated Press

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Reds-Cubs

CINCINNATI: INF Juan Castro returned from Triple-A Louisville on Monday night. Castro was activated after the Reds placed Barry Larkin on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left calf. Castro was on a rehab assignment after surgery on his left knee. Castro can play any of the five positions in the infield. ... Reds manager Bob Boone gave catcher Jason LaRue the day off Tuesday after he doubled three times against RHP Mark Prior on Monday night. Kelly Stinnett played in place of LaRue. He went 1-for-3 with a double. Boone understands the importance of the back up catcher. "It is probably the hardest position on the field being back up catcher," Boone said. "It is even harder when you are warming up people in the bullpen and you are counted on coming in late in a tight ballgame." ... RHP Danny Graves allowed nine runs and 11 hits Tuesday, both career highs.

CHICAGO: LHP Shawn Estes didn't have any extra incentive when pitching against his former team Tuesday. Estes pitched no-hit ball through five innings and picked up his first victory of the season. He worked eight innings, allowing one run and five hits. "It's only satisfaction because we're in our division and we need to beat them," said Estes. "They took it to us last night and it's frustrating watching that. I came out today with an agenda, and I wanted to put a stop to that and I wanted to do the best I could to keep us in the game, and our offense came alive and made it a lot easier for me." Estes split the 2002 season with the Reds and the Mets. He went 5-12 with a 5.10 ERA. ... RHP Mark Prior is having a good season at the plate. Prior is 3-for-7 with a double. Cubs manager Dusty Baker only thinks there is a slight possibility that he will ever use Prior in a pinch-hitting situation. "Yeah, I have done that before. I did that with Don Robinson with the Giants," Baker said. "I have done that when I'm down to my last man, but the whole thing is what if I pinch hit him and he gets hit and he can't make a start. What is more important?" ... Troy O'Leary's fourth-inning single off Danny Graves was his first hit as a Cub. ... Baker gave Moises Alou the day off Tuesday.

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Braves-Expos

ATLANTA: LHP Mike Hampton, recovering from a strained right calf, is scheduled to come off the disabled list and make his first start of the season Saturday against Philadelphia. He pitched Monday for the Gulf Coast League Braves in an exhibition game against the Astros, allowing one run and two hits in three innings and throwing 52 pitches. ... 1B Robert Fick sat out his second straight game after diving for a ball Saturday at Florida. "He banged up his shoulder and wrists," Braves manager Bobby Cox said Tuesday. "It's still a little bit tender." ... Atlanta began Tuesday with the worst ERA (5.97) and fielding percentage (.966) in the National League. ... While Cox golfed Monday, C Javy Lopez - who was born in Ponce - took several teammates to nearby Palomino Island for about seven hours. "They spent the whole day eating, swimming, drinking, you name it," Lopez said. "When we got back to the hotel, everyone was exhausted."

MONTREAL: Manager Frank Robinson doesn't think teams will be intimidated by the Expos' 4-0 record at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. "The only way it's intimidating is if we were blowing people out, 15-2, 12-0. Then people say, 'Wow!' " After beating the Mets 10-0 in the series opener, Montreal won 5-4, 2-1 and 5-3. ... The Expos have noticed that the artificial turf is so springy, it's almost impossible to get a triple. Outfielders are playing shallow because balls over their heads are bouncing over the fence for ground-rule doubles. "That's the one thing that will probably come up and bite us - or help us one day," Robinson said.

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Mets-Pirates

NEW YORK: LHP John Franco, on the disabled list while recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery, will throw batting practice Thursday for the first time this season. He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2001. ... The three Mets starters in the Pirates series have combined for 437 victories - all by Tom Glavine (243 wins) and David Cone (194 wins). Thursday's starter, Jae Seo, has yet to win in the majors. He is 0-1 this season, his only career decision. ... Cone, who starts Wednesday, is 7-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 10 career games against Pittsburgh.

PITTSBURGH: Pirates LF Brian Giles (strained right medial collateral ligament) sought a second opinion Tuesday, and his medical tests were sent to the Reds' team doctor. The Pirates expect Giles to be out 2-to-4 weeks. ... All four Pirates farm clubs currently playing went into Tuesday's games either in first place or tied for first. ... Following the three-game Mets series, the Pirates don't play an NL East team again until meeting Atlanta on June 6. ... The 12-game homestand that began Tuesday is the Pirates' longest of the season. Their next road game is April 29 in San Diego. Including Tuesday's game, 25 of their 38 games through May 25 are at home.

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Marlins-Phillies

FLORIDA: 2B Luis Castillo played in his 717th game with the Marlins, one short of Jeff Conine's team record. Castillo committed his fifth error in the third inning Tuesday night. He had 13 all of last season. ... Brad Penny (1-1) makes his third start Wednesday. He has allowed 15 hits and 10 runs in 10 innings. ... OF Juan Encarnacion has reached safely in 12 of his last 13 games. ... OF Juan Pierre snapped an 0-for-11 with a third-inning single Tuesday.

PHILADELPHIA: Phillies reliever Dan Plesac ran around the bases after hitting a home run in batting practice Tuesday night. The 41-year-old left-hander said he had only one batting-practice homer in his 17-year career. Plesac has one hit in 15 lifetime at-bats, including 10 strikeouts. ... Brett Myers (0-1) makes his third start Wednesday. Myers has allowed 12 hits and four earned runs in 12 innings. He beat the Marlins the only time he faced them last year, giving up one run in six innings. ... The Phillies on Thursday will reveal a special tribute to Hall of Fame outfielder and former broadcaster Richie Ashburn to be included in their new stadium that opens next April.

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Cardinals-Brewers

ST. LOUIS: LF Albert Pujols was scratched from the starting lineup Tuesday, a day after suffering a bruised right thumb when he was hit by a pitch by Milwaukee's Curtis Leskanic. Pujols originally was in the lineup, but was scratched after taking batting practice. Against Milwaukee, he is hitting .318 with 5 HRs and 26 RBIs in 132 career at-bats. Eduardo Perez took his place in the lineup. ... RHP Matt Morris, who is slated to start against Milwaukee on Wednesday, is 8-2 with a 2.43 ERA in his career against the Brewers. ... 2B Fernando Vina did not start for the fifth consecutive game Tuesday, still out with inflammation in his right hand.

MILWAUKEE: The Brewers placed RF Jeffrey Hammonds on the 15-day DL with a high right ankle sprain and recalled OF Brady Clark, who was on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis. Hammonds was hitting .158 in 10 games before suffering the injury coming down from a jump in a missed attempt to catch a home run Monday night. He is the highest paid player in team history, making $8.2 million this season, his third with the Brewers. He signed a $21 million contract in 2001 after hitting .335 for Colorado. In his first season in Milwaukee, he played in only 49 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Last year, he played in 128 games, but hit only .257 with 41 RBI. ... RHP Todd Ritchie's pitching shoulder felt better Tuesday, a day after he was removed in the fifth inning after complaining of fatigue in the shoulder. The team said it was too early to determine whether he would make his next scheduled start Saturday against Houston.

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Rockies-Diamondbacks

COLORADO: SS Jose Hernandez entered Tuesday night's game on a nine-game hitting streak, one short of his career best. ... The Rockies snapped a nine-game losing streak at Bank One Ballpark with their 5-3 victory Monday night. They are 4-0 against Arizona this season. ... OF Preston Wilson is tied for second in the NL with 19 hits. He has hit safely in all but one of Colorado's games this season.

ARIZONA: Randy Johnson will miss only his second start in the past three seasons when he sits out Wednesday night's game with swelling under his right kneecap. RHP Miguel Batista will start instead. ... OF Luis Gonzalez has hit safely in eight of his last nine games and is batting .367. ... After a 1-for-10 start at the plate, rookie 1B Lyle Overbay leads the team with two homers, has raised his average to .323 and is on a seven-game hitting streak.

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Padres-Dodgers

SAN DIEGO: Setup reliever Luther Hackman thinks he's at least two or three days away from pitching again after cutting his index finger in a freak accident in the dugout while swinging a weighted ball. "The only thing we want to do now is get the swelling out of there. Once we do that, everything will be all right," Hackman said. ... The 12-game road trip the Padres began in Los Angeles on Tuesday night is their longest since July 1999, when they split their first 12 games after the All-Star break. ... Utility infielder Dave Hansen, who returned to Dodger Stadium for the first time since signing a two-year contract with the Padres, will be a great source of information on how to hit Kazuhisa Ishii on Wednesday night. Hansen was Ishii's teammate in Los Angeles last season, and batted against Ishii while he was playing ball in Japan in 1998. "I was hoping that he'd make it over here from Japan because he stood out from all the other Japanese pitchers when I was there and he was a major league-quality pitcher," Hansen said. "And he's obviously done pretty well." ... In a pregame ceremony, Padres 1B coach Davey Lopes was reunited with the other three members of the Dodgers' record-setting infield of the 1970s - Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Bill Russell - who played together for an unprecedented 81/2 seasons.

LOS ANGELES: LHP Odalis Perez will miss his turn Thursday night because of increased swelling in his right ankle, which he sprained while running the bases on Friday. Perez, who was examined Tuesday by Dr. Frank Jobe, will have an MRI on Wednesday, and if negative, will also have a bone scan. "It's a little more sprained then we thought at first," Jobe said. Darren Dreifort will start Thursday. ... 3B Adrian Beltre, batting .204 with two homers and four RBIs in 49 at-bats through the first 13 games, was benched by manager Jim Tracy for the first two games of the Padres series. "I think it's the right thing to do for Adrian, rather than wait and let the situation become worse for him, where you just sent him up there at-bat after at-bat and it looks like he's in a major search mode," Tracy said. "So I'm going to give him a couple of days to get away from it and sort some things out offensively. Let him go to the cage for a couple of days for a couple of hours at a time and let him do some searching and sorting out there. Thursday he's going to go back in there against a guy he's had very good success against (Adam Eaton)." ... Hitting coach Jack Clark was back in uniform for the first time since a near-fatal motorcycle spill in Phoenix on April 30 left him with a concussion, nerve damage in the middle finger of his right hand and a severe gash and cuts on his head. ... One of Clark's first priorities is to get 1B Fred McGriff's .143 average to a more respectable level for a hitter with 480 career home runs. "He wants to do really well and maybe he's trying too hard because there's been a lot of expectations," Clark said. "He's got himself into a rut, a little funk, but when guys like him and Beltre come out of that rut, then it's payback time. And they don't forget that they were embarrassed and they hate that feeling and they don't ever want to go there again."

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Astros-Giants

HOUSTON: Fans at Pacific Bell Park didn't have much to say to Jeff Kent before the game. Kent, in his second night back at the park where he won the 2000 NL Most Valuable Player award with the Giants, got booed in his return on Monday. In fact, fans booed his picture on the scoreboard in the previous week when the Giants advertised his return. ... The Astros are on their longest road trip since 1992, with 13 games in four cities over 14 days. Houston hasn't been away from home for that long since the Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in August 1992. ... Catchers Brad Ausmus and Gregg Zaun have been outstanding on defense in the first two weeks of the season. The Astros have thrown out seven of 11 potential base-stealers so far, and neither catcher has made an error.

SAN FRANCISCO: Highly touted pitching prospect Jesse Foppert made his major league debut Monday night with two scoreless innings of relief. Foppert, who played at the University of San Francisco, got a big ovation from a crowd that included his father. "I was pretty much ready after five (warmup) pitches, my adrenalin was pumping so hard," said Foppert, who hadn't pitched in a game in nine days since being called up from Triple-A Fresno last weekend. "That got me excited. Maybe I was a little more focused. It was nice to know all those fans were behind me, but I was trying to throw 200 miles an hour." ... The Giants are only the ninth club since 1900 to open a season 12-1. Most recently, Atlanta did it in 1994. ... San Francisco hadn't trailed after eight innings in any game this season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Devil Rays-Red Sox

TAMPA BAY: Rocco Baldelli, a native of Cumberland, R.I., singled to right in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games - a club rookie record. He also doubled in the sixth but was caught stealing. ... Terry Shumpert's second-inning home run hit a sign above the Green Monster seats and bounced back onto the field.

BOSTON: Red Sox third base coach Mike Cubbage returned, three days after collapsing on the field with a diabetic seizure. Pitching coach Tony Cloninger, who has bladder cancer, was also back at the ballpark. He watched the game from the clubhouse and hopes to return to his regular duties in a few days. ... Kevin Millar has a 12-game hitting streak. ... Casey Fossum didn't make it out of the fifth inning in his last start. ... Johnny Damon has four homers in his last four games.

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Blue Jays-Yankees

TORONTO: The Blue Jays lost their first four games against the Yankees this season, getting outscored 37-21 in the process. Toronto pitchers walked 12 batters and allowed three homers in a 10-9 loss Monday. The Blue Jays have allowed 10 of their league-high 20 homers in the four games against the Yankees. ... RHP Cory Lidle, who allowed five runs in six innings of a 10-1 loss against the Yankees on April 1, starts Wednesday against David Wells. Lidle is 4-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 career games against New York. ... C Ken Huckaby cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Syracuse.

NEW YORK: LHP Andy Pettitte said his left ankle felt "pretty good" after he rolled it backing up home plate Monday night and expects to make his scheduled start Saturday in Minnesota. Pettitte said he might push his bullpen session back from Wednesday to Thursday. "I've turned my ankles several times before," he said. "I don't think I have very strong ankles." ... Closer Mariano Rivera threw 40 pitches in batting practice Tuesday as he works his way back from a groin strain. Rivera might pitch in an extended spring training game Friday and could be back soon. "We don't think he needs to pitch to be sharp," manager Joe Torre said. "He just needs to be healthy." ... Torre met with LHP Sterling Hitchcock, who is frustrated after being used just once in the first 12 games. "I'm as healthy as I've been in four years now. I'm just chomping at the bit," Hitchcock said.

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Orioles-Indians

BALTIMORE: Manager Mike Hargrove said he enjoyed a day off at his home Monday in suburban Cleveland before the Orioles opened a three-game series Tuesday night. "It was good to get home, but I got a little sick Monday night," Hargrove said. "There's a bug going around." ... Hargrove lamented that the Orioles make only one trip to Cleveland each season because of the unbalanced schedule. "For example, everybody asks me about Cleveland's young players they called up last year. I don't know because we never saw them." ... Hargrove said he does believe the young Indians are more advanced than the Cleveland teams he managed in 1991-93 before the Indians dominated the AL Central for the rest of the 1990s. ... 1B Jeff Conine returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing one game with a contusion on his left elbow after being hit with a pitch Saturday. ... RHP Rodrigo Lopez, who left his last start with a cracked fingernail, should not miss a start, according to Hargrove, who said the team is monitoring the pitcher's progress. ... DH David Segui has played in more games (1,387) than any active player without appearing in a World Series.

CLEVELAND: OF Karim Garcia, who had missed five games with a sore left wrist, was not in the starting lineup but was available. "I took some batting practice today and it felt good," Garcia said. "The next step is to be in a game." ... Manager Eric Wedge said INF Ricky Gutierrez, who had offseason neck surgery, "is progressing well." Wedge said Gutierrez is working on physical conditioning before going on a rehab assignment. "He showed us in spring training the baseball skills are there, he just needs to get stronger overall." ... Wedge said he was confident rookie 1B Travis Hafner would snap out of a 1-for-28 slide. ... Wedge was more subdued about the ejection of LHP Carl Sadler on Monday night, which also led to the manager's first career ejection. "I understand the umpire's point of view that Carl hit a batter, even though I know it was not intentional." Wedge said he thought that a new umpire crew worked the game Monday against Kansas City after the two teams had a couple of problems Sunday added to the situation. "These umps came in and tried to do a good job, but were not there for the history of what had happened," he said.

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Tigers-Twins

DETROIT: The Tigers began the three-game series worst in the majors in the following categories: batting average, homers and runs scored. ... There are two bright spots so far. Three of their starting pitchers - Gary Knotts, Adam Bernero and Mike Maroth - were among the top 18 in the American League in earned-run average as of Tuesday. And the Tigers began the week with the AL's second-best fielding percentage. ... RF Bobby Higginson batted leadoff for the fourth time this season Tuesday. ... SS Shane Halter, whose three-run homer Saturday helped Detroit beat Chicago for its only victory, is one of few veterans on the Tigers' roster. He got his fourth straight start on Tuesday.

MINNESOTA: The Twins, who've been swept or swept their opponent in every series this year, entered a three-game set with Detroit having won 12 straight against the lowly Tigers. Manager Ron Gardenhire wasn't able to shed any light on Detroit's misfortunes. "I've got enough to worry about over here," he said. ... RHP Mike Fetters, who's eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday, will throw a simulated game Wednesday and a couple of bullpen sessions later in the week. Fetters strained his left hamstring April 5 against Toronto. ... Gardenhire, who's become an avid hockey fan since living in Minnesota, attended the NHL playoff game in St. Paul Monday night between the Wild and the Colorado Avalanche. Gardenhire, though, has never been on ice skates before. "I don't think I really want to find out," he said. ... First base coach Jerry White, who was struck below the right eye by a ball before batting practice Friday in Toronto, was wearing a special pair of protective glasses. Hitting coach Scott Ullger replaced White for the fourth straight game. ... 3B Corey Koskie will donate 5,000 tickets to families of soldiers stationed in the Middle East.

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Angels-Rangers

ANAHEIM: Infielder Adam Kennedy's strained right hamstring is improving and Kennedy is getting closer to a minor league rehab assignment, said manager Mike Scioscia. Kennedy, placed on the 15-day disabled list April 7, is taking batting practice and ground balls. ... Scioscia said he isn't worried about RHP John Lackey's slow start. Lackey is 1-1 with a 6.60 ERA in his first three starts. "John's very strong right now, maybe too strong," Scioscia said. "He needs to get more into the execution of pitching rather than trying to blow people away. He's been better than the line score shows. He's going to be fine." Lackey, who played one college season for Texas-Arlington, starts Wednesday night against the Rangers.

TEXAS: RHP Ismael Valdes's eight-inning start in Monday night's 4-0 victory over the Angels gave Texas' overworked bullpen a needed break. RHP Francisco Cordero only had to pitch the ninth after Texas relievers had thrown 12 2-3 innings in the previous two games. In the first 13 games, Texas relievers made 43 appearances, putting the bullpen on pace for 536 appearances. That would break the AL record of 487 relief stints set by the Rangers last season. Over the first 13 games, Texas relievers were averaging 4 1-3 innings per game. ... OF Kevin Mench went 0-for-3 in a rehab assignment for Double-A Frisco on Monday night. Mench has been on the 15-day DL since he strained a muscle in his left side during batting practice March 20.

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Royals-White Sox

KANSAS CITY: OF Carlos Beltran, who is on a rehabilitation at Double-A Wichita, could be close to rejoining the Royals. He's been on the DL with a strained muscle on his right side. ... Royals starter Miguel Asencio hit Frank Thomas in the arm with a pitch in the first inning Tuesday, causing both benches to empty. Ascencio also hit Thomas in the elbow in the third game of the season. It's his only two hit batsmen this season ... Prior to Tuesday's game, Royals starters had an AL-best 2.57 ERA and had held opposing batters to a .223 average. ... The Royals won only 33 games all last year against AL Central foes. They already have 10 wins against the division.

CHICAGO: After making six errors in their first three games, the White Sox had just two in their next nine. ... Frank Thomas, off to a slow start, is still working with hitting guru Walt Hriniak, the former Chicago batting coach. Even though he was batting just .222, Thomas has reached base in all 11 games he played. ... The White Sox play divisional rivals 22 times in their first 25 games. ... The opener of a three-game series against first-place Kansas City marked the first time since 1993 that the Royals and White Sox had been 1-2 in the division during a head-to-head matchup.

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Athletics-Mariners

OAKLAND: INF Scott Hatteberg returned to the A's lineup as the DH Tuesday night. Hatteberg had an MRI on his sore right ankle and sore right foot Monday and it showed Hatteberg's soreness was caused by a bruise. "We'll see how he does today," manager Ken Macha said before the game. ... LHP John Halama (1-1) is scheduled to pitch for the A's against Seattle on Thursday. Halama, 31, pitched four seasons in Seattle and signed with the A's as a free agent in January after the Mariners didn't tender him a contract in December. In two starts with the A's, Halama has a 2.53 ERA. "The two starts he's had have been very good," Macha said. "Let's hope he has a good homecoming."

SEATTLE: RHP Giovanni Carrara, whose wife gave birth to twin boys Sunday, remained in Miami, Fla., with his family Tuesday. In five games, Carrara has a 1.42 ERA with the Mariners this season. "I would think tomorrow," manager Bob Melvin said when asked when he expected Carrara back. ... Melvin hopes to get INF Greg Colbrunn in more games. Colbrunn, who started at 1B Monday night, has only eight at- bats this season and doesn't have a hit. Colbrunn was signed as a free agent in January after spending four seasons in Arizona, where Melvin was the bench coach in 2002 and 2001. "We brought him over here for a reason," Melvin said. Melvin said he has had trouble getting Colbrunn into games because starting 1B John Olerud, who bats left-handed, hits lefties well.