THREE UP
Phillies slugger Ryan Howard continued his march toward the team’s single-season record for home runs despite an 8-3 loss to the NL East-leading Mets. The second-year slugger hit his 47th of the season, putting him one behind Mike Schmidt’s mark of 48 in 1980.
Marlins rookie Josh Johnson reduced his major-league-leading ERA to 2.87 as he held the Brewers to two earned runs over 7 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts. Johnson’s effort led Florida to a 4-2 win and pulled the Marlins within 2 1/2 games of the Reds in the wild-card race.
With the Indians reduced to playing spoiler, Grady Sizemore went 3-for-5 with two doubles and his 20th home run of the season in a 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays, who are barely hanging in postseason contention. The Indians’ leadoff hitter also scored three runs.
THREE DOWN
The Yankees’ Carl Pavano, who is in the second year of a $39.95 million, four-year deal, told team officials he suffered two broken ribs in a mid-August car accident. The team had hoped Pavano, who hasn’t pitched in a year, would be able to rejoin its rotation this week.
Mariners reliever Julio Mateo will miss the rest of the season after a mishap in the weight room at Safeco Field. He broke his left hand before Monday night’s game with the Angels when a 35-pound weight slipped and pinned his hand between the weight and the rack.
The Red Sox placed rookie pitcher Jon Lester on the DL for his balky back. It continues a painful trend as Manny Ramirez has had an ailing knee and the team has been without Jason Varitek (knee) and Trot Nixon (biceps) for almost a month.
