>>Latos Strong As Padres Down Dodgers
(San Diego, CA) -- Mat Latos combined with two relievers on a five-hitter as the Padres downed the Dodgers 2-1 in the second of a three-game series at Petco Park on Tuesday evening. Latos struck out 10 while allowing just four hits and one run over seven innings to improve to 14-and-5. Mike Adams got one out in the eighth and Heath Bell fanned four over the final inning-and-two-thirds to post his 39th save. Aaron Cunningham had a sac-fly in the second and Adrian Gonzalez doubled home a run in the third for the Friars, who won their second straight after a 10-game losing streak. San Diego remains one game ahead of San Francisco atop the NL West. Clayton Kershaw gave up five hits and two runs in seven frames to fall to 11-and-10 for LA. Rafael Furcal singled in the Dodgers' run in the sixth. Chad Billingsley will be on the bump opposite Cory Luebke in tonight's series finale.
>>Dodgers Designate Belliard For Assignment
(San Diego, CA) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers designated Ronnie Belliard for assignment and called up outfielder Trent Oeltjen from Triple-A Albuquerque. The 35-year-old Belliard hit .216 with two homers and 19 runs batted in over 82 games for the Dodgers this season. Oeltjen hit .347 with five homers and 33 RBI in 49 games for Albuquerque this year.
>>Indians Slam Angels
(Anaheim, CA) -- Travis Hafner's solo homer snapped a 1-all tie in the sixth and Lou Marson added a grand slam as the Indians beat the Angels 6-1 in the second of a three-game set at Angel Stadium last night. Shin-Soo Choo's sac-fly gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead in the third, but Torii Hunter's solo homer tied the game for Los Angeles in the fifth. Hafner hit his 11th homer of the season in the sixth to give the Tribe the lead and Marson followed later in the inning with his third as the Tribe pulled away. Justin Masterson allowed just six hits and a run in seven frames to improve to 6-and-12. Trevor Bell gave up two runs in five-and-a-third frames to take the loss for the Halos. Francisco Rodriguez then loaded the bases and gave up the slam to Marson without retiring a batter. Reggie Willitts went 3-for-3 in defeat. Scott Kazmir gets the nod against Josh Tomlin in tonight's series finale.
>>Halos Release Robb Quinlan
(Anaheim, CA) -- The Los Angeles Angels cut ties with utilityman Robb Quinlan, who has been with the team since 2003. Quinlan has played sparingly this year, recording only four hits in 33 at-bats. Never a starter but able to play multiple infield and outfield positions, the 33-year-old has a career .276 batting average with 25 homers and 121 RBi in 458 games. The Angels also added a pair of call-ups, recalling both catcher Hank Conger and first baseman Mark Trumbo from Triple-A Salt Lake. Conger was the Futures Game MVP this year in Anaheim.
>>USC Product Leinart Officially Introduced On Tuesday
(Houston, TX) -- The Houston Texans have officially signed quarterback Matt Leinart. Arizona released Leinart on Friday after settling on newcomer Derek Anderson as its starting quarterback. The 27-year-old Leinart had spent his entire career with the Cardinals after being selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and was expected to take over the starting role following the retirement of Kurt Warner. Leinart started 11 games in his rookie season and five more in 2007, but sat most of the last two years behind Warner. Last year Leinart threw for just 435 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in limited playing time. He started one game for an injured Warner, completing 21-of-31 passes for 220 yards in a Week 12 loss to Tennessee. He's expected to serve in a backup role once again, this time behind Houston starter Matt Schaub and most likely behind second-stringer Dan Orlovsky.
Leinart has thrown for 3,983 yards with 14 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in four NFL seasons. He connected on 22-of-28 throws for 175 yards with one score and no picks for Arizona this preseason. The 27-year-old USC product was selected with the 10th overall pick by the Cards in 2006. He won the Heisman Trophy for the Trojans in 2004.
>>Phillies Take NL East Lead From Braves
(Philadelphia, PA) -- There is a new leader atop the NL East. Placido Polanco singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Phillies beat the Marlins 8-7 in Philadelphia. The Phils moved a half-game ahead of the Braves, who were shut out 5-0 by the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
>>Milestones For Thome, Hoffman
(Undated) -- Two future Hall of Famers reached milestones on Tuesday. Twins DH Jim Thome hit his 586th career home run to tie Frank Robinson for eighth all-time as the Twins beat the Royals 10-3, and Trevor Hoffman notched his 600th career save as the Brewers doubled up the Cardinals, 4-2.
>>Rafa Reaches U.S. Open Quarters, Querrey Ousted
(Flushing Meadows, NY) -- Top-seeded Rafael Nadal beat Feliciano Lopez in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. Sam Querrey, the last American male, lost in five sets to Stanislas Wawrinka. Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams won quarterfinal women's matches.
>>Pavin Picks Woods For Ryder Cup Team
(New York, NY) -- Tiger Woods will be part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team next month. U.S. captain Corey Pavin used one of his four picks on Woods, who failed to qualify on his own for the first time in his career. Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler were also captain's picks.
>>Boise State Moves Up To Third In "USA Today" Poll
(Undated) -- Alabama and Ohio State retained the top two spots in this week's "USA Today" top-25 college football poll. Boise State moved up two spots to third after beating Virginia Tech, which fell from sixth to 13th. Texas, TCU, Florida, Nebraska, Oregon, Iowa and Oklahoma round out the top-10.
>>Bush Reportedly To Be Stripped Of Heisman
(Sunnyvale, CA) -- Former USC running back Reggie Bush may be stripped of his 2005 Heisman Trophy. Yahoo! Sports reports the Heisman Trophy Trust is close to completing its investigation after NCAA findings that Bush was ineligible that season. The Heisman would reportedly be left vacant.
>>TUESDAY'S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Atlanta Braves 0
New York Mets 4, Washington Nationals 1
Philadelphia Phillies 8, Florida Marlins 7
Houston Astros 7, Chicago Cubs 3
Milwaukee Brewers 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2
Colorado Rockies 4, Cincinnati Reds 3
San Francisco Giants 6, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
San Diego Padres 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1
MLB American League
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Baltimore Orioles 6, New York Yankees 2
Detroit Tigers 9, Chicago White Sox 1
Toronto Blue Jays 8, Texas Rangers 5
Tampa Bay Rays 14, Boston Red Sox 5
Minnesota Twins 10, Kansas City Royals 3
Cleveland Indians 6, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1
Seattle Mariners 7, Oakland Athletics 5
WNBA Playoffs
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Atlanta Dream 105, New York Liberty 93
(Dream win best-of-three East finals, 2-0)
>>WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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12:35 p.m. - New York Mets at Washington Nationals
7:05 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at Pittsburgh Pirates
7:05 p.m. - Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies
8:05 p.m. - Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs
8:10 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers
8:40 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Colorado Rockies
9:40 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks
10:05 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres
MLB American League
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1:05 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
7:05 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
7:05 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
7:07 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays
7:10 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
8:10 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins
10:05 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics
WNBA Playoffs
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No Games Scheduled
