I' m outline just taking diagnoses it a day at a time, trying to do what I can to get it better " I' m just trying to lay off it right now " he added " Just rest it. But the Astros feel better about their situation this time because their pitching rotation is lined up the way they want Last season, journeyman Pete Munro started Game 6. Ichiro Suzuki added a go- ahead double and Jose Lopez drove in two more runs to put it out of reach " All the pain goes away in a situation like that " Vidro said " You don' t think about anything You just go up there and try to hit. The slugger had an RBI single in the third and a sacrifice fly in the fifth for his first RBIs since April 26 " You can tell when a guy is ready to click. Ramirez hit an RBI single in the eighth and the Cubs still had two on before Sherrill relieved and got pinch- hitter Matt Murton to fly out.

Abreu picked on a familiar victim, hitting an upper- deck shot to right and another long drive off Vazquez . Matsuzaka won his fourth straight start, the Boston Red Sox got homers from Varitek and Kevin Youkilis in a 7- 2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night . The brash Arenas was vintage Agent Zero as he entertained the German reporters, pumping for the game with promises of all the thrills and intensity of a regular- season contest " I' ll score, say, 35 in 20 minutes " he said " It' s a real rivalry . Updated: January 9, 2008, 6: 13 PM ET Texans hire Alex Gibbs, promote Kyle Shanahan Comment Email Print Share Associated Press HOUSTON- The Houston Texans hired Alex Gibbs as assistant head coach and promoted Kyle Shanahan to offensive coordinator, two media outlets reported Wednesday . He said' I am fine, I can continue walking' and they put their legs behind his knees and knocked him over his knees and started hog- carrying him " Patch said, according to the report " They ended up- I don' t know why- but laid him on his back, I heard him say' Please don' t pepper- spray me, please don' t pepper- spray me " Patch said, according to the report " It was uncalled for, it was ludicrous, no point for it " Earlier this week, Elizabeth Cartwright, a passenger on Benson' s boat, said she did not believe Benson was intoxicated when he was arrested and that he did not resist officers, according to the Tribune. Emil Brown scored on an error in the fourth " I' m one of those guys who believe things get better with age " the 38- year- old Sanders said " This is all about preparation for opening day and I' m feeling good about where things are at this point " Royals' starter Mike Wood allowed four hits in five shutout innings and struck out four Wood, 5- 8 with a 4.

Jeremy Affeldt( 0- 2) allowed three runs- all unearned- and four hits in six innings . When the tarp was finally removed, Chad Cordero( 2- 3) walked Luis Matos . Game notesRockets forward Stromile Swift missed his fourth straight game because of a sprained ankle . They' ve got good players, too " Two free throws by Gordon and a driving layup by Hinrich got the Bulls within 98- 96 with 44 seconds to play " We came out in the first half with a lack of energy . James' scoring outburst included a pair of two- handed slams.

Yao keyed an 11- 2 run that gave the Rockets a 22- 15 lead with 2: 44 left in the first period . McDonough said Babineaux was protecting himself and his 5- month- old child " This was a clear case of self- defense " McDonough said " The dog had a history of violence . Moon received a 90- day jail sentence, with 88 of those days suspended . Updated: March 20, 2004, 8: 52 PM ET Newman hospitalized for high blood pressure Email Print Share Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla- Minnesota Twins third base coach Al Newman was hospitalized because of high blood pressure after leaving Saturday' s spring training game against Philadelphia . Despite allowing at least four earned runs eight times, Perez has a record of 6- 5. In a city that has seen its share of urban struggles, O' Neal emerged as a symbol of civic pride whose appeal crossed cultural barriers. Johnson faced the minimum through the first four innings and retired each batter he faced in the sixth and seventh.

By the time he walked off the mound after the first inning, Kansas City had a three- run lead " His luck wasn' t real good in the first " manager Joe Girardi said " but it changed after that " Helps when your offense wipes out the deficit- and then some- in a hurry . Suppan gave up two runs off nine hits and did not walk a batter Game notes The two teams last met July 17, 2001 Chicago had won the previous six games in the series White Sox 1B Paul Konerko( thumb) missed Friday' s game . A night after Allen disparaged his team' s effort during a 106- 91 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee, the Sonics didn' t exactly look inspired . Phillies manager Larry Bowa compared Wagner to Atlanta' s John Smoltz and Los Angeles' Eric Gagne " He' s a dominant closer " Bowa said " There' s a big void we filled real quick " Wagner was 1- 4 with a 1 . Glaus prefers playing third base, but the Blue Jays already have Corey Koskie. New York takes a 6 1- 2- game lead into a three- game series at second- place Philadelphia Tuesday night. He had lower back surgery in March and began last season on Oakland' s disabled list.

The Rays, 70- 46, rallied from a 5- 0 deficit and remained 3 1/ 2 games ahead of Boston, which beat the Chicago White Sox 6- 2 Tampa Bay won 70 games in 2004 under Lou Piniella Miguel Batista( 4- 12) walked Zobrist leading off the 11th . The Irish extended the lead to 45- 32 when Schrader scored on a driving layup . Chicago won it in the ninth when the A' s couldn' t turn a double play on Jose Reyes' grounder, allowing Angel Pagan to score from third . I think I fit in real well with this team " The Reds have 26 homers in their first 13 games, coming off a season in which they led the NL in homers . The team record is eight, set in 1961 " I' d like to see a lot more of it " said Kubel, who has four homers since he being called up from Triple- A three weeks ago " I' m not trying to hit home runs. New York' s Andy Cannizaro hit his first major league homer in the eighth. Trachsel( 14- 7) lost his second straight start after going 12- 1 in an 18- start stretch from May 23 through Aug 29.

I can understand him being frustrated because all of the offense is for Kobe and Shaq and you don' t get many touches " Kobe Bryant( 31) and Shaquille O' Neal( 19) combined for 50 of the Lakers' 78 points in Game 1 . 1 running back and missed all or part of 10 games last season with a bone bruise in his left knee . That' s the thing I was upset about the whole day- not setting the tone . During his news conference Tuesday, Steelers coach Bill Cowher called Porter' s remarks " ridiculous " and said " Our officials are doing the very best that they can do " The Associated Press contributed to this report . Offensively, C Alex Stepanovich signed in Atlanta and WR Chris Henry was finally cut.

Philadelphia, once one of Pittsburgh' s biggest rivals when the teams played in the NL East, won' t return after playing in the Pirates' first home series April 5- 8 Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press . The initial diagnosis was a strained flexor tendon, but the Braves feared the tendon could be torn Thomson is 11- 3 with a 2 78 ERA in 24 starts since early July Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press . He showed his mettle " Anthony Reyes barely made it out of the first inning for the Cardinals, 1- 5 at home since winning the 2006 World Series St . I don' t care to play, but if that decision comes up again, then it' s a big decision on me " he said " It has nothing to do with anybody else . Magglio Ordonez singled to start the inning with his team' s first hit of the night, then Guillen tripled to right and Rodriguez followed with an RBI single. Ryan Howard singled leading off the bottom of the second, advanced to third on Victorino' s one- out double and scored on Dobbs' sacrifice fly to tie it. His first interview was supposed to last 10 minutes; it went 45.

If I feel he' s adjusting OK, I' ll continue to give him an opportunity here and there " Vick is eligible to play the final two preseason games, but not in the regular season . Balfour had given up only two homers in his first 52 2/ 3 innings this season . The former Miami Heat coach said some forget how skilled Howard is for his age " Just go back and try to find me people that at his age have been as good, and then just look at the career graph of big guys " he said " They are going to keep improving, always have . Next, O' Neal grabbed an offensive rebound and threw a no- look bounce pass to Gary Payton breaking to the basket for a layup Then O' Neal banked in a hook shot . The Pacers shot 68 percent in the first half, including 6- of- 8 3- pointers, to take a 61- 49 lead at the break. Tim Wakefield, slated to pitch Boston' s second game, allowed four runs in five innings " It' s nice to face some lineups that you' re going to face during the year, minus probably Troy Glaus " Wakefield said " I think that' s the only guy that wasn' t in the lineup today and it' s a better challenge and gets you ready for the season a little better " Glaus was in the original lineup but left after receiving a call that his wife had been injured in a fall from a horse in Georgia " She' s OK " manager John Gibbons said " He' ll be back in a couple of days " Keith Foulke' s exhibition debut in a major league game was another sign that the regular season is approaching. His three strikeouts give him 2, 581 for his career, tying him with Hall of Famer Bob Feller for 23rd place in baseball history " I just didn' t want to leave him in tonight with this weather " Cox said " You' ve got to take care of them sometimes " Game notesSoriano also doubled in the seventh off reliever Ken Ray, but then was thrown out trying to steal third The Nationals are 5- 1 after starting 2- 9.

Victor Martinez also singled in a run for the Indians in the fifth . With the appearances by Komine and OF Dee Brown, the A' s have used 45 players this season- their most since also using 45 in 1998 . Either way, he should draw defenses away from Houston' s All- Star duo, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady . This was their best team, highlighted by the best point differential in the league . The Seminoles erased a six- point deficit in the final 48 seconds to get the game to overtime while winning their ninth straight and ending Duke' s 15- game win streak. Now in the second year of a six- year$ 50 million contact, Burrell had rebounded from a dismal 2003 season in which he hit 209 with 21 homers and 64 RBI Burrell, the No. Griffey hit another RBI double in the eighth, off Mike Gonzalez.