The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon and St. Louis manager Tony La Russa both were suspended for two games Friday after getting into a shouting match during a game.

McClendon and La Russa also both were fined undisclosed amounts by Bob Watson, baseball's vice president of on-field operations.

La Russa was set to begin his suspension Friday. McClendon, whose Pirates beat Chicago 2-1 Friday, was to begin his suspension today.

Both managers were ejected with two outs in the top of the ninth inning in St. Louis' 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday after Pirates reliever Mike Gonzalez sent Tony Womack to the dirt with a high, inside pitch.

Before Gonzalez's next pitch, La Russa yelled at him. That prompted McClendon to storm toward the Cardinals dugout to confront La Russa.

BRAVES: Chasing records matters little to 45-year-old Julio Franco, even as he keeps breaking them.

"Records don't mean anything to me," Franco said. "Nobody knows how long you'll be on this earth."

He became the oldest player in major-league history to hit a grand slam, connecting in the first inning of the Atlanta Braves' 8-4 victory over Philadelphia Thursday.

Earlier this season, Franco broke his own record for being the oldest player to hit a pinch-hit home run, and he's the first non-pitcher to play at this age since Carlton Fisk in 1993.

SHORT HOPS: Derek Jeter's streak of nine consecutive games with at least one RBI ended Thursday against Baltimore. Jeter's run was the longest by a Yankee since Don Mattingly's nine-game streak in 1987.

• Barry Bonds was walked intentionally for the 38th time this season Thursday.

• After broadcasting every game in franchise history, Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek's streak ended at 27 1/2 seasons Thursday because of his father's death. Cheek called 4,306 consecutive regular-season games, plus 41 more in the postseason, since the Blue Jays began playing in 1977.