SAN DIEGO (AP)—John Smoltz had a brilliant debut with the St. Louis Cardinals, striking out a season-high nine—including seven straight—and holding San Diego to three hits over five scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory Sunday.

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan throws over San Diego Padres' Adrian Gonzalez while trying to turn a double play during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 in San Diego. Chase Headley was safe at first.


Smoltz also had a bunt single and scored the first run for the NL Central-leading Cardinals, who retained their eight-game lead over the Chicago Cubs. He didn’t walk a batter.

Albert Pujols hit his 40th homer, a leadoff shot to right in the fourth. It was the fifth time he’s hit 40 homers and the first since 2006, when he hit a career-high 49.



Story: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap;_ylt=ArvFvMQobD7_iiEPckdx_E45nYcB?gid=290823125&prov=ap

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By: bigrob054 | On: Sun Aug 23, 09 7:08 PM

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CHICAGO (AP)—A billionaire brokerage family will attempt what a newspaper publisher and a chewing-gum dynasty failed to do: Break baseball’s longest World Series drought.

The Rickettses, longtime Cubs fans whose wealth comes from family-owned Ameritrade, signed an agreement Friday to buy a 95 percent stake of the team and its Wrigley Field home from Tribune Co. The $845 million deal also includes Tribune’s approximately 25 percent share of regional cable TV network Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

The deal, which requires approval by a bankruptcy court judge and Major League Baseball, may not help deliver a title to a profitable but hapless franchise that last won the big one in 1908. But the new owners can’t do any worse, championship-wise, than Tribune has during a 28-year stewardship or the Wrigley family during its 60 years at the helm.





LINK: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=AomalAcU55Qae7JWdcaQPXkRvLYF?slug=ap-cubssale&prov=ap&type=lgns

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By: rjc1989 | On: Sat Aug 22, 09 4:23 PM

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The Pittsburgh Pirates traded three-time All-Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants for top pitching prospect Tim Alderson on Wednesday, hours after shipping veteran shortstop Jack Wilson and underachieving starter Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners for five players.

Sanchez, who only had to change clubhouses because the Pirates played at San Francisco, is batting.296 with six home runs and 34 RBIs. He has been sidelined for a few days because of a tender knee.

Alderson, 20, was the Giants’ first-round pick in 2008. The 6-foot-6 right-hander is 6-1 in Double-A this season and was ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the Giants’ system by Baseball America.

The Pirates are in full salary-dumping mode, having also recently traded first baseman Adam LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox and outfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta.





Story:http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ys-tradebuzz072909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

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By: rjc1989 | On: Wed Jul 29, 09 11:31 PM

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PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Cliff Lee’s(notes) new teammates were so excited to get him, they gave the man responsible for the trade a clubhouse curtain call.

Looking for an ace to bolster their so-so rotation, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired Lee on Wednesday from Cleveland, marking the second straight year the Indians traded the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.

When general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. walked through the locker room hours before the defending World Series champions played in Arizona, many Phillies greeted him with applause.

“One of our goals has been to add someone to our rotation that can be a difference-maker,” Amaro said in a conference call. “It’s important to show our guys on the field that we’re making the best effort to put the best team out there.”

The NL East-leading Phillies gave Cleveland four minor league prospects for Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco(notes). The left-handed Lee is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts this season after going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA last year.


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By: rjc1989 | On: Wed Jul 29, 09 11:17 PM

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(Game 1) 5-4 Tigers
CHICAGO (AP)—Brandon Inge delivered for the Detroit Tigers after another display of sloppy baseball from the Chicago White Sox, one that left manager Ozzie Guillen fuming.

After a costly Chicago error and an infield hit, Inge singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Tigers beat the White Sox 5-4 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Monday.

“I was basically just trying not to strike out,” Inge said. “I’m trying to put it in play. I’m trying to make something happen.”

Miguel Cabrera(notes) reached on third baseman Josh Fields’ error with one out. Marcus Thames followed with an infield single off shortstop Alexei Ramirez’s(notes) glove.

Inge then grounded a single into left field off Scott Linebrink(notes) (2-3), scoring pinch-runner Josh Anderson(notes) from second base.

The fielding gaffe in the ninth wasn’t what had Guillen stewing after his team’s sixth loss in seven games. He was more upset about his team’s inability to move runners and get down bunts.




(Game 2) 6-1 White Sox


CHICAGO (AP)—Jose Contreras, the ace during the Chicago White Sox’s run to the World Series title four years ago, went to the minors and made the most of his time.

And when he returned to majors Monday night, the 37-year-old right-hander was ready.

Contreras allowed only one hit in eight strong innings, getting his first win in nearly a year, as Chicago beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1 to earn a doubleheader split.

Detroit won the opener 5-4 with Brandon Inge singling in the go-ahead run in the ninth.

When Contreras started 0-5 this year after a quick recovery from an Achilles tendon rupture last August, he knew he needed to work on his game.

“I needed to work on my pitches. I needed to work on my location and the only place to do it was Triple-A. I decided to go down to Triple-A and work on stuff,” Contreras said.

“Obviously I came back and used it today and it paid off with a great outing.







Story:http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap;_ylt=Aj3_tkRO.U_0dr1JmWczvNO4u7YF?gid=290608304

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By: rjc1989 | On: Tue Jun 09, 09 1:29 AM

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)—Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton(notes) will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a partial tear in an abdominal muscle and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks.

“That’s great because we thought it would be longer,” manager Ron Washington said Monday. “It looks like we’ll have a chance to get him back after the (July) All-Star break. At least it won’t be September.”

The team had feared that the injury was a hernia similar to the one that shut down second baseman Ian Kinsler(notes) for 12 weeks last year.

An MRI exam on Monday confirmed the diagnosis of the partial tear.

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By: rjc1989 | On: Tue Jun 09, 09 12:53 AM

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ATLANTA (AP)—Bobby Cox didn’t try to place perspective on his 2000th career win with the Braves. He said he couldn’t even remember the first nine innings of the milestone victory.

David Ross’(notes) bases-loaded infield single in the 15th inning drove in Jeff Francoeur(notes) to give the Atlanta Braves a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in a game that lasted almost 5 hours Monday night.

Ross hit the grounder to shortstop Jack Wilson(notes), whose throw to the third-base side of home plate pulled catcher Jason Jaramillo’s(notes) foot off the plate as Francoeur scored.

“The ball beat him,” said Wilson. “I could have made a better throw on that play.”

Pittsburgh manager John Russell said he thought Jaramillo kept his foot on home.



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By: rjc1989 | On: Tue Jun 09, 09 12:50 AM

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