After beating the Blue Jays twice, Carl Crawford will rest his sore right wrist. The All-Star outfielder hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the Devil Rays’ 6-2 win after Monday’s game-ending 11th-inning homer. He’s now 20-for-47 against the Jays’ Josh Towers.
Catcher Ronny Paulino, booed loudly when he was introduced because of his two fielding misplays in Tuesday’s loss, hit his first career grand slam to start the Pirates on their way to a 15-1 win over the Cardinals. It was Paulino’s first homer since June 5.
Mark Teixeira hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs in his Braves debut, a 12-3 win over the Astros. Newly acquired relievers Ron Mahay and Octavio Dotel also made their first appearances for Atlanta, each pitching a scoreless inning.
THREE DOWN
Slumping second baseman Rickie Weeks was optioned to the Brewers’ Triple-A farm club in Nashville. Weeks is hitting .212 with five homers and 19 runs batted in in 75 games. He has just five hits with no runs batted in in his last 29 at-bats.
Sammy Sosa was told in a closed-door meeting his playing time will be cut. “They have young kids they want to see,” he said. “Once in a while, I’ll be playing. I don’t have a problem with it.” He leads the Rangers with 16 homers and 70 RBIs but is hitting just .239.
Cardinals pitcher Braden Looper dominated the Pirates in two starts this season, allowing one run in 13 innings. But he gave up five runs in the first and seven in four innings on eight hits. He hasn’t won consecutive starts since May.
