|
MLB : Astros NEWS |
|
|
| Rookie Steve Pearce hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning that led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-2 victory Monday, ending the New York Mets' six-game winning streak. |
|
|
|
| Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine is scheduled to be examined Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews in Alabama, a visit that is expected to determine whether the lefthander's stellar career is over. New York Mets The Mets optioned righthander Eddie Kunz to Class AAA New Orleans to make room for newly acquired reliever Luis Ayala. |
|
|
|
| Greg Maddux is headed back to the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego and Los Angeles agreed to a trade that puts the 353-game winner in a pennant race again, according to a person familiar with the deal. |
|
|
|
| B.J. Upton slipped away from Tropicana Field without speaking to reporters, leaving others to answer questions about another baserunning gaffe that overshadowed a big Tampa Bay victory. |
|
|
|
| Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in June, said he was leaning toward retirement. |
|
|
|
| The Astros had no answers for C.C. Sabathia, who threw his fifth complete game in nine starts as a Brewer and drove in two runs as Milwaukee cruised to a 9-3 victory. |
|
|
|
| The euphoria that filled Milwaukee’s dugout after a game-tying rally in the ninth inning quickly disappeared when Andre Ethier came to bat again. |
|
|
|
| Mark Loretta figures to get some significant playing time in the next couple of weeks with Kaz Matsui on the disabled list for the third time this season. |
|
|
|
| Craig Biggio retired at the end of the 2007 season after becoming the 27th player in history to reach 3,000 hits. His Hall of Fame-worthy résumé includes franchise records for seasons played, hits, at-bats, extra-base hits, doubles and runs. |
|
|
|
| Astros manager Cecil Cooper and first baseman Lance Berkman were in agreement on Roy Oswalt, calling his performance Sunday afternoon his best in at least a couple of years. |
|
|
|
| Bruised by a dispiriting 10-game road trip, the New York Yankees are facing odds they have never encountered before. At stake is their 14th consecutive playoff berth, which would tie a major league record but seems less likely every day. |
|
|
|
| Atlanta Braves Pitcher Tom Glavine is out for the season, and his 305-win career could be over if he needs major surgery on his injured left elbow. The 42-year-old Glavine still hopes to return next year — unless he needs elbow ligament replacement surgery. Cincinnati Reds |
|
|
|
| The Astros built it, and here they come. A new retirement home, if you will, a 12-unit complex in right field to house the uniform numbers that live on in Astros history with never another name added to them. |
|
|
|
| Considering they will face lefthander Randy Johnson on Sunday, Milwaukee Brewers lefthanders CC Sabathia on Monday and lefthander Manny Parra on Wednesday, the Astros wanted to fortify the bench with righthanded batters. For that reason, the righthanded-hitting J.R. House’s contract was purchased from Round Rock. |
|
|
|
| Roy Halladay stopped Boston’s potent offense and spoiled Paul Byrd’s debut with the Red Sox, pitching his major league-leading eighth complete game in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-1 victory Saturday night. |
|
|
|
| Pedro Martinez pitched seven innings for the first time this season, and Jose Reyes and Ramon Castro homered to lead the surging New York Mets past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 on Saturday night. |
|
|
|
| As expected, Astros second baseman Kazuo Matsui was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with an irritated disk in his back. The move is retroactive to Aug. 13. |
|
|
|
| Until about 10 p.m. Friday, Bobby Heck held out slim hope of signing third-round pick Chase Davidson, a first baseman/left fielder now headed to the University of Georgia. The Astros’ scouting director doesn’t give up easily, which is why Drayton McLane’s organization will benefit even though Davidson turned down the final offer. |
|
|
|
| Some of the Astros’ greatest players will be at Minute Maid Park for Craig Biggio’s jersey retirement ceremony, which will take place before this afternoon’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. |
|
|
|
| The Astros didn’t put up much of a contest in a loss to the Diamondbacks as Brandon Backe gave up a career-high 11 runs for the second time in three starts. |
|
|
|
| Craig Biggio’s familiar No. 7 will take its place alongside the jerseys of other Astros legends in the rafters high above Minute Maid Park when his number is retired before today’s game against the Diamondbacks. |
|
|
|
| The Chicago White Sox optioned righthander and TCU product Lance Broadway to Class AAA Charlotte, less than an hour after he started and got the win in a 9-2 victory over the Royals. Broadway is 1-0 in two appearances for the White Sox after he was recalled from the minors four days ago. |
|
|
|
| Jake Peavy wants to be clear — he’s not ducking anyone. Peavy outpitched Ben Sheets with seven strong innings Thursday and the San Diego Padres snapped the Milwaukee Brewers’ eight-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory. |
|
|
|
| Tampa Bay ended Oakland reliever Brad Ziegler’s record scoreless streak. Then the Rays ended the Athletics’ hopes of winning their first series in more than a month. |
|
|
|
| The only rhyme, the only reason, is in the results. Eight days, eight giant steps for Astroskind. Cecil Cooper will not pretend for one moment that he has unearthed some great secret to managing a baseball team, some foolproof method of guiding the Astros to greatness. |
|
|
|
| The Astros have until 11 p.m. today to sign any of their remaining unsigned 2008 draft picks, and scouting director Bobby Heck isn’t optimistic third-round pick Chase Davidson will be signed. |
|
|
|
| A service celebrating the life of longtime Chronicle sportswriter Neil Hohlfeld will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Central Presbyterian Church, 3788 Richmond Ave. Hohlfeld, who covered the Astros and other sports during a 29-year career with the Chronicle, died July 19 of a heart attack while vacationing with his family in New Mexico. He was 56. |
|
|
|
| The team optioned rookie Francisley Bueno to Class AAA Richmond on Thursday before learning the lefthander had been suspended for three games for intentionally throwing a pitch “in the head area” of the Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano on Wednesday. |
|
|
|
| Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer offer reliever Alex Hinshaw in the eighth inning, and the Astros climbed to three games above .500 at 62-59 with a 7-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. |
|
|
|
| Rookie reliever Wesley Wright has been sporting a pink My Little Pony backpack since closer Jose Valverde delivered it to him at Minute Maid Park on Monday. The lefthanded Wright, who is likely to be the Astros’ Rookie of the Year this season, packs the backpack with snacks and wears it on his way to the bullpen. |
|
|
|
| The Boston Red Sox placed World Series MVP Mike Lowell on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of a strained left oblique muscle. |
|
|
|
| With more walks and hit batsmen than hits in the sixth, the Astros beat the Giants 6-2, extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games before a crowd of 30,330 at Minute Maid Park. |
|
|
|
| Brandon Backe won a sterling pitcher’s duel against lefthander Jonathan Sanchez, and Ty Wigginton drove in all the runs for the Astros to beat the Giants 3-1 at Minute Maid Park. |
|
|
|
| For almost two hours, Carlos Lee was his jovial self Monday at Methodist Hospital. He joked with the registered nurse, handled the tedious registration process with humility and a smile, and generally tried to ease the tension for his wife, Mary. |
|
|
|
| Needing more than just Darin Erstad to pitch in in left field for the duration of Carlos Lee's disabled list stint, the Astros started Ty Wigginton in left Monday night, and it paid off with Wigginton's three-RBI night. |
|
|
|
| Steve Pearce hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates became the latest team to take advantage of the Mets’ shaky bullpen, rallying past New York 7-5 Monday. |
|
|
|
| Brand-new papa Glen Perkins pitched eight outstanding innings and light-hitting Adam Everett hit a two-run homer, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 4-0 victory over the reeling New York Yankees on Monday night. |
|
|
|
| Ken Griffey Jr., who missed the previous two games with general soreness, moved into a tie with George Brett for 16th place on the career total bases list with 5,044 when he singled leading off the fifth. |
|
|
|
| 2B Orlando Hudson will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery Saturday to repair a dislocated bone in his left wrist. |
|
|
|
| The Astros need a left fielder and Barry Bonds would be a perfect fit. Bonds would make the Astros better and baseball’s most interesting team, Richard Justice writes. |
|
|
|
| Michael Bourn, Lance Berkman and Geoff Blum each homered to send the streaking Astros to a 13-4 win and a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon. |
|
|
|
| Astros general manager Ed Wade said today the club isn’t interested in signing slugger Barry Bonds as a replacement for left fielder Carlos Lee, who is likely out of the season with a broken finger. |
|
|
|
| Darin Erstad started in left field Sunday in place of Carlos Lee and is expected to get the lion’s share of playing time unless another outfielder is acquired. |
|
|
|
| For some of the Bay Area Toros, the independent Continental Baseball League is a chance to play pro ball straight out of college and get noticed. For others, it's a chance to keep the dream alive. |
|
|
|
| Carlos Lee went 4-for-5 with a homer and reached the 100-RBI plateau with a two-run, two-out double in the 10th inning that snapped a 5-5 tie and allowed the Astros to stretch their Great American Ball Park winning streak to seven games. |
|
