SCOREBOARD
Thursday, April 23
Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs (2:20 p.m. EDT). Carlos Zambrano
is expected to face Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang as the NL Central rivals meet in the finale of the three-game series.
STARS
Tuesday
— Edgar Renteria, Giants, hit a grand slam off Jake Peavy and matched his career high with five RBIs, leading San Francisco to an 8-3 victory over San Diego.
— Grady Sizemore, Indians, hit a three-run homer in Cleveland’s 8-7 victory over Kansas City.
— Johnny Damon, Yankees, hit a solo drive for the only home run in the first night game at the new Yankee Stadium, leading New York to a 5-3 win over Oakland.
— Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz, Rangers, each hit a two-run homer in Texas’ 5-4 win over Toronto.
— Torii Hunter, Angels, homered to help Los Angeles edge Detroit 4-3.
— Rick Ankiel, Cardinals, hit a go-ahead RBI double among his three hits, and St. Louis rallied from four runs down for a 6-4 win over the New York Mets.
— Todd Helton, Rockies, broke out of a slump with three hits, including his first homer, and drove in three runs as Colorado rallied for a 9-6 victory over Arizona.
— Jarrod Washburn, Mariners, allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings as Seattle beat Tampa Bay 4-2.
— Aubrey Huff, Orioles, homered twice and drove in four runs in Baltimore’s 10-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
DOUBLE YOUR FUN
The Cleveland Indians turned double plays in six straight innings in an 8-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The six double plays tied a club record for the Indians and set a team mark for the Royals.
OUCH
Pittsburgh catcher Ryan Doumit needs an operation to repair a broken bone in his right wrist and will be out for at least eight to 10 weeks. Doumit, who led NL catchers with a .318 average last season, fractured the wrist bone while batting in Sunday’s 11-1 loss to Atlanta. … Plate umpire Kerwin Danley left the field on a stretcher after being hit in the head by a broken bat in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game between Texas and Toronto. Crew chief Dana DeMuth said Danley was taken to the hospital with a possible concussion but did not lose consciousness.
HELPING DUKES
When outfielder Elijah Dukes made a personal appearance at a Virginia Little League’s season-opening gathering for a little extra cash a few hours before a Washington Nationals game, he turned up late at his day job and was fined. Now the Great Falls, Va., Little League—already out the $500 Dukes was promised so he’d show up over the weekend—says it will raise another $500 to cover Dukes’ penalty for failing to arrive at Nationals Park on time.
GOOD COMPANY
Andy Pettitte pitched seven innings to get the win and Mariano Rivera got three outs to earn the save in the New York Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics. It was the 57th time Rivera has saved a win for Pettitte, tying Oakland Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and starter Bob Welch for the highest total in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
SEEING BETTER
Catcher Brian McCann returned to Atlanta’s lineup against Washington after visiting an eye doctor and getting a new contact lens to correct blurred vision in his left eye. After batting fourth for the Braves and going 0-for-2 with two walks in a 4-3 loss, McCann said he probably would sit out Wednesday’s game at Washington. He is mired in a 1-for-22 slump.
HIT MAN
Freddy Sanchez homered and had three hits in the Pirates 3-2 win over Florida and is batting .476 (10-for-21) over his past five games.
BARGAIN
Bernard Madoff’s Mets season tickets, two seats in the Delta Club Gold section behind home plate, sold for $38,100 on eBay, well below the list price for the pair of about $56,000. The sale by lawyer Irving H. Picard, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, covers 75 remaining games this season at Citi Field.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Ryan Braun had a career-high five hits, including two homers, for the Brewers in an 11-4 loss to the Phillies.
SNAPPED
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ eight-game winning streak ended with an 8-5 loss at the Houston Astros.
LET’S TRY AGAIN TOMORROW
The Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox game was postponed because of rain. It was rescheduled as the first game of a day-night doubleheader Wednesday.
SPEAKING
“It was crushed. Those balls, line drives right at the outfielders, are probably the hardest ones to get a read on. It was unfortunate that he just lost his footing and the ball got behind him.”—Mets reliever J.J. Putz on teammate Daniel Murphy, whose misplay on Brendan Ryan’s fly to left wound up a triple in New York’s 6-4 loss to St. Louis.
SEASONS
April 23
1903—The New York Highlanders won their first game as a major league team, 7-2 over the Washington Senators.
1913—New York Giants ace Christy Mathewson beat the Phillies 3-1, throwing just 67 pitches.
1939—Rookie Ted Williams went 4-for-5, including his first major league home run, but the Red Sox lost to Philadelphia 12-8 at Fenway Park.
1946—Ed Head of the Brooklyn Dodgers no-hit the Boston Braves 5-0 at Ebbets Field.
1952—Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians and Bob Cain of the St. Louis Browns matched one-hitters. Cain wound up as the winner, 1-0.
1952—Hoyt Wilhelm of the Giants hit a home run at the Polo Grounds in his first major league at-bat. He was the winner, too, and pitched 1,070 games in the majors—but never hit another homer.
1954—Hank Aaron hit the first home run of his major league career. The drive came against Vic Raschi in the Milwaukee Braves’ 7-5 victory over St. Louis.
1962—After an 0-9 start, the expansion New York Mets won their first game beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 behind Jay Hook.
1964—Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45s became the first pitcher to lose a nine-inning no-hitter when Pete Rose scored an unearned run to give the Cincinnati Reds a 1-0 victory.
1989—Nolan Ryan came within two outs of his sixth career no-hitter, losing it when Nelson Liriano tripled in the ninth inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. Ryan finished with his 10th lifetime one-hitter.
1999—Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in one inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 12-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tatis became the first in major league history to hit two grand slams in one inning and set a record with eight RBIs in one inning.
2000—Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada each homered from both sides of the plate as the Yankees beat Toronto 10-7. It is the first time that feat has been accomplished by two players on the same team in the same game.
2007—Alex Rodriguez became the first player in major league history to hit 14 homers in the first 18 games of a season and tied the record for April homers, connecting in the second and ninth innings of the New York Yankees’ 10-8 loss to Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
2008—The Chicago Cubs won their 10,000th game, joining the Giants as the only franchise to reach that mark with a 7-6 10-inning victory at Colorado.
Today’s birthdays: Emilio Bonifacio 24; Fernando Perez 26; Carlos Silva 30; Andruw Jones 32.
