Disabled List

The Phillies placed third baseman Placido Polanco on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of lower-back inflammation. It's the same injury that sidelined him last July, and this marks the fourth time in his three seasons since rejoining the Phillies in 2010 that Polanco has landed on the disabled list. Polanco's offensive numbers have been in decline since the beginning of June. He is hitting .255 overall with 15 doubles, two home runs, and 19 RBIs. Since his average topped out at .294 on June 4, he has hit .184 with five extra-base hits - all doubles - in 32 games.

LOS ANGELES — For the second time this season, Cliff Lee looked capable of pitching at least 10 innings in a single outing, which might sound like something to get excited about until you consider that, for the second time this season, the Phillies looked as if they were going to need 10 innings out of him. In the end, the veteran lefthander left the game in the top of the ninth, thanks to a bases-loaded situation that prompted manager Charlie Manuel...

Chicago's Ryan Dempster, in his first start since the all-star break, tossed six scoreless innings Saturday in a 4-1 win over Arizona to become the first Cubs pitcher to throw 33 consecutive scoreless innings since Ken Holtzman in 1969. He hasn't allowed a run since May 30, spanning five straight wins. On Saturday, he struck out five and allowed just four hits while walking three. He had given up a total of three in his three June starts before being sidelined with right lat tightness.

DENVER - Roy Halladay remained on the disabled list as the Phillies opened the second half of their season Friday night in Coors Field, but it was clear his sights were set on being back on a big-league mound Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. After pitching three innings during a minor-league rehab assignment with single-A Clearwater on Thursday night in Florida, Halladay rejoined his teammates in the visitors clubhouse here and was upbeat about the way he felt. "It went good," he said.

Nearly 37,000 black-and-gold-clad fanatics thronged to PNC Park on Independence Day, and if that doesn't sound like a lot, remember that Pittsburgh's little gem of a ballpark holds barely 38,000. As baseball rounded its traditional halfway point, the most shocking story in the sport is in a city that had nearly forgotten bats and balls. "We're playing for a lot more [than wins] here," manager Clint Hurdle said Tuesday night. "We're playing for a city, the goal being to rebond the city with its ballclub.

The Toronto Blue Jays have a strong lineup but a rotation devastated by injuries. Desperate for a healthy arm no matter how aged, the Jays signed 49-year-old Jamie Moyer on Tuesday. Moyer, who had been pitching for triple-A Norfolk in the Orioles' chain until his release last week, will be assigned to triple-A Las Vegas. The Jays have placed three starters on the disabled list in the last two weeks: Kyle Drabek with season-ending Tommy John surgery; Drew Hutchison, out at least a few weeks with a sore elbow; and Brandon Morrow, out with a strained oblique.

The Kevin Youkilis trade on Sunday was just the first of what baseball insiders predict will be an avalanche of big-name swaps before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Unfortunately for Phillies fans, the name at the very top of every list of supposedly available stars is Cole Hamels. The lefthander is just one of a slew of quality pitchers said to be on the block. Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports also listed Milwaukee's Zach Greinke, the Cubs' Matt Garza, Oakland's Brandon McCarthy, Houston's Wandy Rodriguez and Kansas City's Jonathan Broxton as those up for grabs.

There was a meeting before Charlie Manuel benched Shane Victorino. It happened Thursday night after a Phillies loss. Victorino had started 70 of the team's first 71 games, and in his last one he popped out in the eighth inning to strand the potential tying run on second base. He was booed as an ordinary season slogged to another day - until Manuel told him he would not be a part of Friday's action. "There was no apparent reason," Victorino said. The manager was more revealing.

There was a meeting before Charlie Manuel benched Shane Victorino. It happened Thursday night after a Phillies loss. Victorino had started 70 of the team's first 71 games, and in his last one he popped out in the eighth inning to strand the potential tying run on second base. He was booed as an ordinary season slogged to another day - until Manuel told him he would not be a part of Friday's action. "There was no apparent reason," Victorino said. The manager was more revealing.

Guys like Junior Griffey seem to go right from the senior prom to the majors with nothing in between. Guys like Trevor Plouffe take a bit longer. A first round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2004, Plouffe was called up three times and sent back just as many. The only reason he was still in Minnesota on May 14 was because the Twins would have had to put him on waivers and risk losing him in order to send him back to Rochester. On that May 14, Plouffe was hitting .133 with one home run and three RBIs.