M’s send C Alfonzo to Triple-A Tacoma
June 30, 2010
SEATTLE (AP)—The Seattle Mariners have sent catcher Eliezer Alfonzo(notes) toTriple-A Tacoma.
The Mariners announced Wednesday that Alfonzo had cleared waivers.
Seattle had designated the 31-year-old Alfonzo for assignment on Tuesdaywhen it activated catcher Josh Bard(notes) from the disabled list.
The Mariners selected Alfonzo from Tacoma on May 28. He batted .220 with onehome run and four RBIs in 13 games, 10 starts, with Seattle.
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Morneau, Slowey lead Twins past Tigers
June 30, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Justin Morneau(notes) homered and drove in two runs, Kevin Slowey(notes)went six innings and the Minnesota Twins topped the Detroit Tigers 5-1 onWednesday afternoon.
Slowey (8-5) could’ve pitched more, but Magglio Ordonez’s(notes) comebacker bouncedoff and bruised his right ankle before he threw him out on the final play of thesixth.
Minnesota Twins' Denard Sp… AP – Jun 29, 11:25 pm EDT MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JUNE 30: Orl… Getty Images – Jun 30, 1:58 pm EDT
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The right-hander walked gingerly to the dugout after throwing 81 pitches andallowing only five baserunners, ending a three-start slide in which he gave up18 runs over 12 1-3 innings.
Between the RBI double and solo homer by Morneau, the Twins used some smallball to build their lead against Tigers rookie Andy Oliver(notes) (0-2) in his secondmajor league start.
After falling out of first place in the AL Central on Monday for the firsttime since early April, the Twins stretched their lead over the Tigers to 1 1/2 games.
Slowey completed six innings for only the sixth time in 16 starts thisseason, though four of those have come in his past six turns. He raised his homerecord since 2008 to 20-7.
His only hiccup came with two outs in the fourth, when an alarm wastriggered at Target Field—sending a siren sound over the public address systemfor a few seconds. A recorded voice said, “Attention!” Then Ordonez singledand Miguel Cabrera(notes) doubled for the game’s first run, before Slowey struck outrookie Brennan Boesch(notes) to end the inning. Later, the public address announcertold the crowd there was no reason to worry and that the alarm was being reset.
With reliever Joel Zumaya(notes) out for the season and a bunch of recently roughstarts from the rotation, the Tigers have some pitching problems that Olivercould help solve if he can be consistent.
After a fine debut last week in Atlanta, going six innings while giving uptwo runs in a loss to the Braves, Oliver frequently found himself in trouble atMinnesota.
The left-hander struck out Jim Thome(notes) three times after the old sluggerhomered in each of the past two games, but everybody else hit at least one ballhard against him.
The soft ones made an impact, too.
One of the reasons the Twins, who have more power potential in their lineupthan they’ve had in years, have been inconsistent offensively is a drop off inthe small-ball style they used so well at the Metrodome.
They haven’t forgotten how. Nick Punto(notes) singled to start the fifth inning,Drew Butera(notes) moved him over with a bunt—and was safe at first when Oliver’sthrow was high. Denard Span(notes) laid down a sacrifice of his own, Orlando Hudson(notes)gave the Twins the lead with a sacrifice fly and Delmon Young(notes) delivered an RBIsingle from the third spot in the order—where he filled in for Joe Mauer(notes).
Defense can be as much of a concern for Detroit as the pitching.
Punto’s infield hit was mishandled by shortstop Danny Worth(notes) in the fifth.Johnny Damon(notes) fumbled a ball in left field on Michael Cuddyer’s(notes) single, allowingJason Kubel(notes) to score after Morneau’s home run in the sixth. The Tigers have 55errors, second-most in the league and nearly twice as many as the Twins thisseason.
NOTES: J.J. Hardy(notes) was to start his rehab assignment Wednesday with Class ABeloit, where he’ll play three games at SS and be back with the Twins bySaturday if he and his left wrist pass the test. IF Alexi Casilla’s(notes) 20-day rehabassignment will start sometime next week. … Cabrera has 42 of his majors-most68 RBIs on the road. … Mauer had the day off, reporting some sorenessfollowing a night game. So Young moved up five spots in the lineup. “He wasreally pumped,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.
La Russa supports Ariz. immigration law
June 30, 2010
ST. LOUIS (AP)—St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says he supportsArizona legislation calling for tougher enforcement against illegal immigrants.
Opponents of the law have called for Major League Baseball to move the 2011All-Star Game out of the state.
La Russa says Arizona has a problem that the national government has failedto remedy. The manager, who lives in northern California, spoke this week beforea game in St. Louis between the Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gov. Jan Brewer signed a state law in April requiring police officers toquestion a person’s immigration status if there’s reasonable doubt they might bein the country illegally.
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Richard’s 10 Ks help Padres rout Rockies
June 30, 2010
SAN DIEGO (AP)—Clayton Richard(notes) struck out a career-high 10 and drove in tworuns, and Scott Hairston(notes) hit a three-run double and finished with four RBIs asthe San Diego Padres routed the Colorado Rockies 13-3 on Wednesday to avoid athree-game sweep.
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Every Padres regular had at least one hit and everyone scored at least onerun except Hairston. Hairston had four RBIs for the second time in three gamesand drove in his older brother, Jerry Jr., twice. Chris Denorfia(notes) scored threeruns.
The NL West-leading Padres sent 11 batters to the plate in the six-runfourth inning that chased Rockies starter Jeff Francis(notes). The first seven battersreached base and the first six scored. Everth Cabrera(notes) hit a bloop RBI double tostart the scoring and Richard followed with an RBI single to right.
Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes) hit a bloop RBI single to right to chase Francis,Denorfia greeted Franklin Morales(notes) with a bunt single to load the bases and ScottHairston cleared the bases with a double into the left-field corner. NickHundley(notes), the eighth batter of the inning, made the first out when he popped upto the catcher.
The Padres added four more runs in the sixth, including Richard’s RBIgroundout and Everth Cabrera’s bases-loaded walk.
Scott Hairston and Chase Headley(notes) had RBI singles in the first.
Richard (6-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings while walkingone. He struck out five of his first six batters. He allowed Jonathan Herrera’s(notes)two-out, two-run double in the second.
Richard had previously struck out eight, most recently against Milwaukee onApril 30.
Francis (2-3) allowed eight runs and seven hits in three-plus innings,walked three and had no strikeouts. He is 5-11 in 19 career starts against SanDiego, with a 5.70 ERA.
Four Rockies pitchers combined to walk eight and hit one batter, five ofwhom scored.
NOTES: Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman, a part-owner of the Padres, watched partof the game from the front row with CEO Jeff Moorad. … Todd Helton(notes) was back at1B for the Rockies after sitting out the previous two games with lower backstiffness. … Hundley, the Padres’ catcher, was removed after five innings as aprecaution after taking a foul ball off his mask. … It was the fifth time thePadres scored 10 or more runs.
Lincoln gets first win, Bucs blank Cubs
June 30, 2010
CHICAGO (AP)—Brad Lincoln(notes) pitched seven strong innings for his first majorleague win, Garrett Jones(notes) had a key RBI double and the Pittsburgh Piratescontinued their mastery of the Chicago Cubs with a 2-0 victory Wednesday.
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The last-place Pirates have beaten the Cubs nine times in 12 meetings.One-third of their victories (27) this season have come against Chicago.
Pittsburgh broke the scoreless tie in the eighth with two unearned runs whenAndy LaRoche(notes) reached on Aramis Ramirez’s(notes) error with one out, Andrew McCutchen(notes)singled and Jones drove a ball off the ivy in left-center for a run-scoringdouble against reliever Andrew Cashner(notes) (0-3).
After an intentional walk to Ryan Doumit(notes) loaded the bases, Chicago relieverSean Marshall(notes) struck out Pedro Alvarez(notes), but walked Lastings Milledge(notes) to make it2-0.
Lincoln (1-2) allowed just four hits in seven innings, the longest outing ofhis career in just his fifth major league start. He walked one and struck outsix. Joel Hanrahan(notes) pitched the eighth and Octavio Dotel(notes) the ninth for his 16thsave in 19 chances to complete the five-hit shutout.
It marked the sixth time in the past 11 games the punchless Cubs have scoredone run or fewer. They had a leadoff man on base five times Wednesday butcouldn’t come through with a clutch hit.
With the wind blowing in at 16 mph, Alfonso Soriano’s(notes) long drive to leftstayed in and was caught by Jose Tabata(notes) in the fifth. Soriano had homered twiceTuesday night.
One out later, Starlin Castro(notes) lined a double over first base to put runnersat second and third before Lincoln struck out pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin(notes).
Former Pirate Tom Gorzelanny(notes), making his first start since May 26 and backin the rotation with Carlos Zambrano(notes) on the restricted list following hisoutburst at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday, pitched five shutout innings for theCubs, allowing four hits before being lifted for Colvin.
Pittsburgh had two runners on in the fourth but Doumit lined into a doubleplay and the Pirates loaded the bases in the fifth before Gorzelanny escaped bygetting LaRoche on a fielder’s choice bouncer to short.
Notes: LaRoche made his fourth career start at second base. Infielders NeilWalker(notes) (concussion) and Bobby Crosby(notes) (concussion-like symptoms) are both out.… The Pirates finished their nine-game road trip to Texas, Oakland and Chicagoat 2-7—both wins at Wrigley Field.
Dodgers’ Ramirez to get MRI on hamstring
June 30, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez(notes) is scheduledto get an MRI on his injured right hamstring during Thursday’s day off.
Ramirez will have the MRI in Phoenix. The Dodgers open a three-game seriesagainst the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.
“It doesn’t seem too bad,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said beforeWednesday’s game against the Giants. “It’s low, a little bit below thehamstring and not where he hurt it more seriously before.”
Ramirez spent 15 days on the disabled list between April 23-May 8 with aright calf strain.
Ramirez, hitting .460 with 11 RBIs over his past 15 games, was injured inthe first inning of Tuesday night’s 4-2 victory over the Giants.
Ramirez rounded second on James Loney’s(notes) two-out single and held up slightlybefore dashing back to the bag as the Giants threw behind him. Ramirez extendedhis right foot and made contact with shortstop Edgar Renteria’s(notes) glove. The ballcame out and Ramirez was safe.
Torre said he will wait for the medical evaluation before making a decisionon whether or not to send him to the DL. He did meet with general manager NedColletti to discuss options.
“Our immediate concern is Manny,” Torre said. “We want to be ready topull the trigger after we decide what to do. For certain we’ll do theconservative thing because it is still so early in the season.”
Ramirez has a hit in 10 of his past 11 games.
“He’s been swinging the bat well,” Torre said. “Before last night’s gameI asked him about playing today and he was all over that. I told him if therewas a chance to get him out early I would. I didn’t realize it would be thefirst inning.”
The Dodgers are 13-15 when Ramirez is out of the starting lineup thisseason.
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Bruce’s 2-run HR off Halladay lifts Reds
June 30, 2010
CINCINNATI (AP)—Jay Bruce(notes) hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning off RoyHalladay(notes), rallying the Cincinnati Reds to yet another win in their final at-batWednesday, 4-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Joey Votto(notes) also homered off Halladay (9-7), who fell to 2-4 since hisperfect game on May 29.
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Jonny Gomes(notes) opened the eighth with a single, and Bruce connected forCincinnati’s 25th comeback win—most in the majors. The Reds have 14 wins intheir last at-bat, tied for the major league lead.
Arthur Rhodes(notes) (3-2) pitched a perfect inning, recovering from his10th-inning loss a few hours earlier. Francisco Cordero(notes) pitched the ninth forhis 21st save in 26 tries.
It was a lousy series for the Phillies, who lost two key players to injuriesand two of the three games. Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel also was ejectedfrom a game for arguing balls and strikes.
The defending NL champs put second baseman Chase Utley(notes) and third basemanPlacido Polanco(notes) on the disabled list Tuesday. Utley has a sprained right thumb,Polanco a chronically sore left elbow. Both were back in Philadelphia gettingmore tests.
The Phillies’ fill-ins have kept them in games. Brian Schneider(notes) and WilsonValdez(notes) hit three-run homers during a 9-6, 10-inning win on Tuesday night, whenPhiladelphia ended Rhodes’ record-tying streak of 33 scoreless appearances.
They were in position for another improbable win after reserve catcher DaneSardinha(notes) hit a three-run homer—only the second of his career—off AaronHarang(notes).
Joey Votto led off the sixth with a homer, his second in two games. OrlandoCabrera’s(notes) RBI single cut it to 3-2 in the seventh, and Bruce put Cincinnatiahead with his 10th homer.
Halladay gave up a season-high 13 hits and struck out 10 in eight innings,throwing 119 pitches.
Sardinha connected with two outs in the fourth and Halladay on deck, hittingthe first pitch several rows deep into the seats in left field. Sardinha, a .137career hitter, hit his first career homer last week in an interleague gameagainst Cleveland—Ohio’s other major league team.
NOTES: Sardinha has three hits since his June 19 promotion, two of themhomers. He was a second-round draft pick by the Reds in 2000 and appeared in twocareer games for Cincinnati, going 0 for 5. … The Reds plan to call up LHPTravis Wood(notes) from Triple-A Louisville for his big-league debut on Thursday at theChicago Cubs. Wood lost the competition for the fifth starter’s spot to RHP MikeLeake(notes) during spring training. … LHP Aroldis Chapman(notes) gave up four runs, hit twobatters and threw two wild pitches in 1 2-3 innings in relief for Triple-ALouisville on Tuesday night. The Reds want to see whether the Cuban defectorcould help them as a reliever after the All-Star break.
Guerrero homers in return but Angels win
June 30, 2010
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Bobby Abreu(notes) hit a tiebreaking three-run double in thesixth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels overcame Vladimir Guerrero’s(notes) homer andthree RBIs in his return to Angel Stadium for a 6-5 victory over the TexasRangers on Tuesday night.
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Abreu delivered with a full count and two outs in the sixth for thesecond-place Angels, who ended Texas’ eight-game road winning streak one shy ofthe franchise record despite a big game from Guerrero, who wasn’t re-signed byLos Angeles last winter after six seasons.
Guerrero singled after getting a standing ovation in the first inning. Hedrove in a run with a third-inning sacrifice fly before an impressive two-runhomer to center in the seventh off reliever Kevin Jepsen(notes).
Mike Napoli(notes) homered and Joel Pineiro(notes) (8-6) allowed eight hits over sixinnings to win his fifth straight start for the Angels, who improved to 18-8 inJune. Even after starting the season with two months of near-.500 play, thethree-time AL West champion Angels are 3 1/2 games behind division-leading Texas,which had the best record in team history through its first 75 games.
Ian Kinsler(notes) homered for the Rangers, whose road winning streak ended justshort of the club record set in 1977. With a 20-6 mark in June, Texas must winWednesday to set a new franchise mark for victories in a month.
Josh Hamilton(notes) went 1 for 5, but his third-inning single was his 48th hit ofJune, setting a franchise record for hits in a month and extending his hittingstreak to 22 games.
While Pineiro set a personal best with five wins in June, his bullpen nearlygave it away. Jepsen and Fernando Rodney(notes) both barely escaped big trouble, butcloser Brian Fuentes(notes) struck out Guerrero on the way to his 14th save, includingeight in a row.
After exchanging pregame greetings and jokes with his former teammates inbatting practice, Guerrero got the standing ovation he acknowledged craving whenhe stood at the plate for the first time. The 2004 AL MVP, who had 616 RBIsduring six seasons with the Angels, stepped out of the box and acknowledged theovation with a wave of his batting helmet.
The Rangers went ahead 3-2 in the fifth when Michael Young(notes) scored onHamilton’s bases-loaded grounder, but the Angels tied it for the third time onJeff Mathis’(notes) RBI single off Andrus’ glove in the sixth. Kevin Frandsen(notes) helpedhimself score by screening Andrus like a hockey goalie while leaping overMathis’ hard grounder at the Texas shortstop.
Scott Feldman(notes) (5-7) yielded nine hits and five runs but pitched well untilthe sixth, when he and reliever Darren Oliver(notes) couldn’t escape the Rangers’ mostserious jam.
Oliver also returned to Anaheim after spending the past three seasons withthe Angels, but got only boos when he came out of the bullpen. Oliver thenwalked Howie Kendrick(notes) to load the bases before Abreu smacked a double down theright field line.
Guerrero trimmed Los Angeles’ lead to one run, and the Rangers quickly gottwo runners on in the eighth against Rodney, but Torii Hunter(notes) ran down JulioBorbon’s(notes) long fly to center, and Young grounded out with the bases loaded.
NOTES: Texas RHP Omar Beltre(notes) will make his major league debut Wednesdaynight, and RHP Colby Lewis(notes) will start Friday for the Rangers at home against theWhite Sox. … Nelson Cruz(notes) threw out Abreu at the plate in the third inning whenthird base coach Dino Ebel sent Abreu home from second on Hideki Matsui’s(notes)single. Two innings earlier, Erick Aybar(notes) alertly ran through Ebel’s stop sign toscore the Angels’ first run. … Los Angeles began the second week of aseason-high 12-game homestand. The Angels will host the All-Star game in twoweeks.
Pujols’ 2 HRs, 5 RBIs lift Cardinals
June 30, 2010
ST. LOUIS (AP)—Albert Pujols(notes) homered twice and doubled with a season-high fiveRBIs and Adam Wainwright(notes) handcuffed the Arizona Diamondbacks into the seventhinning in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 8-0 victory on Tuesday night.
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Dontrelle Willis(notes) (1-1) had another wild outing for the Diamondbacks, walkingsix, hitting a batter and getting lucky on a really wild pitch thrown behind abatter that caromed back to catcher Miguel Montero(notes) for a tag play at the platein the fourth. The Cardinals had 14 baserunners in 23 at-bats against the28-year-old lefty, who retired none of four batters to start the fifth and haswalked 13 in 7 1-3 innings his last two starts.
Wainwright (11-5) worked his major league-record 23rd consecutive qualitystart at home, four more than any other pitcher in history, and improved to 8-0with a 1.49 ERA at home. Wainwright, who scored the winning run on a throwingerror on Monday, rebounded smartly from a season-low four-inning outing in hislast start, and added an RBI single and two walks off Willis.
Pujols hasn’t matched his start from last season, when he had 32 homers and87 RBIs at the All-Star break, and totaled eight extra-base hits in June untilTuesday. But he’s tied for the NL lead with 18 homers after getting three thelast three games, and among the leaders with 57 RBIs and a .312 average.
Pujols has four multihomer games this season and 37 overall, tying StanMusial for the franchise record.
Felipe Lopez(notes) had four hits to match his career best and scored three times.Matt Holliday(notes) had two hits and two walks, although he missed out on a two-doublegame when he was tagged out after oversliding second in the third.
Willis’ wildness didn’t cost him early, with the Cardinals leaving the basesloaded and stranding two in the second. Lopez got a leadoff single ahead of bothof Pujols two-run homers, the first on a drive over the visitors’ bullpen inleft-center in the third and the second to straightaway center in the fifth tomake it 4-0.
The Diamondbacks have lost 18 of 21 on the road and Arizona pitchers havegiven up 44 homers in the last 39 games.
NOTES: The Cardinals are the first team since the 1974 Pirates to have twopitchers score in the same inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. JaimeGarcia(notes) scored the tying run and Wainwright slid home with the winning run in athree-run ninth Monday. Ken Brett and Dock Ellis were the Pirates pitchers. …Wainwright was taken out in mid-inning for the first time in 27 starts dating toAug. 8 at Pittsburgh, when he went 6 2-3 innings. … Diamondbacks SS StephenDrew(notes) missed his fourth start in five games with a sore left knee. … Willis has56 walks in 65 2-3 innings overall this year with the Tigers and Diamondbacks.
Phils end Rhodes’ streak, top Reds in 10
June 30, 2010
CINCINNATI (AP)—Arthur Rhodes’(notes) record-tying streak couldn’t survive adetermined rally by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Raul Ibanez(notes) ended the left-hander’s streak of scoreless appearances with arun-scoring double in the 10th inning Tuesday night, sending Philadelphia to asoothing 9-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
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The day started badly for the Phillies, who put half of their startinginfield on the disabled list. It got worst when Joey Votto(notes) hit a tying,three-run homer with two outs in the ninth off Brad Lidge(notes) (1-0), leaving thegame in the hands of Cincinnati’s best reliever.
Rhodes (2-2) had allowed only one run all season, way back on April 10.Since then, he had made 33 straight scoreless appearances, matching the majorleagues’ season record.
“You hate to see Arthur’s streak end like that,” manager Dusty Baker said.“He was facing some tough hitters. All good things must come to an end.”
It ended fast. Rhodes faced four batters and didn’t retire any of them.
“It’s over,” Rhodes said. “Now I’ve got to start another one.”
Ryan Howard(notes) started Philadelphia’s rally with a leadoff double, a hint thatthings had turned for Rhodes. Jayson Werth(notes) walked, and Ibanez doubled off DrewStubbs’(notes) glove at the wall in center to put the Phillies back in control.
“It would have been a tough game for us to lose,” manager Charlie Manuelsaid. “It was a good win, a tremendous win.”
Philadelphia put third baseman Placido Polanco(notes) and second baseman ChaseUtley(notes) on the disabled list before the game, a stunning setback for the defendingNL champs. The Phillies aren’t sure how long they will be out.
Polanco aggravated a troublesome left elbow on Friday. The Phillies sent himback to Philadelphia for tests to see if a bone spur is causing the lingeringproblems. Utley sprained his right thumb while sliding into second base onMonday night and returned to Philadelphia to see a specialist.
For one night, their fill-ins did fine.
Wilson Valdez(notes) started at second base for the first time this season and hithis third homer, a three-run shot off well-rested rookie Mike Leake(notes). He alsodrove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the 10th, matching his career high withfour RBIs.
“Just take it one by one,” Valdez said. “It’s kind of tough right now,but we’ve just got to play the game the right way.”
Brian Schneider(notes) also had a three-run homer off Leake, who had his last turnskipped to cut down on his innings. The 22-year-old has thrown 95 1-3 innings—the most by any NL rookie—prompting the Reds to skip his turn last week.
Pitching for the first time in eight days, Leake left several pitches rightdown the middle. He gave up seven hits and six runs in six innings. In his lastfour starts, Leake is 0-2 with a 6.85 ERA.
Joe Blanton(notes) gave up three runs in 7 2-3 innings, and the Phillies turned itover to a closer who had blown only one save this season.
Lidge started the ninth and got the first two outs. He walked BrandonPhillips(notes), then gave up a single by Orlando Cabrera(notes) and Votto’s tying homer deepto center, his 17th. J.C. Romero(notes) pitched the 10th for his third save in fourtries.
“That’s our team,” Blanton said. “That was great to see. That’s thePhillies—battle back against a tough pitcher and good things happen.”
Manuel was ejected by plate umpire C.B. Bucknor for arguing aball-and-strike calls from the dugout during the winning rally in the 10th.Bucknor motioned that Manuel bumped his forehead with the brim of his cap whilehe complained.
“I was screaming at him because he kept saying the ball was not low,”Manuel said. “But the ball was low. He called some bad ones all night.”
NOTES: The Phillies called up INF Brian Bocock(notes) and Greg Dobbs(notes) from Triple-A.… Reds 3B Scott Rolen(notes) got a day off. … Leake went 1 for 3 with a single.He’s batting .379, hitting safely in eight of his 14 starts. … Votto singledin his first at-bat, extending his streak to 37 consecutive games reaching basesafely. It’s the longest by a Red since Pete Rose reached in 48 straight in1978, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
