UP
Rookie Jeremy Sowers won his third straight start with six solid innings, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 4-2 win over the suddenly staggering Detroit Tigers. Sowers (6-3) gave up two runs in the second inning but blanked baseball’s best team for the next four.
UP
Ryan Howard hit his NL-leading 45th home run and made a key diving stop as the Philadelphia Phillies ended the New York Mets’ seven-game winning streak 4-3. Howard drove in three runs, giving him a league-leading 117 RBIs. He had a sacrifice fly and hit a two-run homer.
UP
Roger Clemens limited Pittsburgh to one run over six innings, extending his strong run of late-season pitching to win his fourth in a row, 5-1. He has pitched in majors since 1984, but accomplished something he had never done before in 684 career starts by winning in Pittsburgh.
THREE DOWN
DOWN
David Bush (9-10) twice failed to hold a lead, allowing eight hits and six runs in five innings as the Florida Marlins defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5. Bush hit two batters–both scored–to take over the major league lead with 17 hit batsmen. Brewers fell to 23-40 on the road.
DOWN
Danys Baez had been showing signs that something was wrong for two months. No one knew the real problem until the Atlanta Braves reliever underwent an emergency appendectomy after Wednesday night’s game. He had been plagued by periodic sweating for two months.
DOWN
Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein, on the 15-day DL with a strained left side muscle, isn’t sure 15 days will be enough to recover. “It’s something that’s just going to take a little time,” he said. “There’s not really a method to make this thing be quick.”
