Sammy Sosa hit career homer No. 597 in the fourth inning of the Rangers’ 11-8 loss to the Devil Rays. The two-run opposite-field shot at a minor-league park at Disney World off Casey Fossum also extended Sosa’s major-league record for most ballparks homered in to 45.
NL home run leader J.J. Hardy broke up Cole Hamels’ no-hitter one batter after Rickie Weeks’ walk ended his bid for a perfect game with no outs in the seventh of the Brewers’ 6-2 loss to the Phillies. It was the shortstop’s 13th HR; he had 14 in 500 ABs entering the season.
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones returned after missing four games (hand, thumb), going 1-for-4 with a double. More good news: John Smoltz said he’d make his Saturday start against the Red Sox depite an injured right pinky. But as for Wednesday’s game …
THREE DOWN
… The Braves lost to the Nationals 6-4 thanks in part to second baseman Kelly Johnson’s error in a four-run fifth in which all the runs were unearned. With two on and one out, Johnson failed to glove a routine grounder, loading the bases and opening the floodgates.
Twins starter Carlos Silva fell to 2-4, yielding five runs in six innings of a 7-1 loss to the division rival Indians. He walked three and has 16 in 54 innings after walking 32 in 180 last year. He has lost his last three starts with his teammates scoring a total of just one run.
Vicente Padilla gave up a first-pitch homer to Elijah Dukes and was roughed up for eight runs and 12 hits in four-plus innings of a 11-8 loss to the Devil Rays. Delmon Young had a two-run single in the fourth and finished the Rangers’ starter with an RBI single in the fifth.
