Mike Sweeney

1. Domonic Brown 2. Ben Francisco 3. Brian Schneider 4. Mike Sweeney 5. Wilson Valdez

Ken Ray pitched 8 1/3 innings of solid ball and shortstop Anthony Medrano sparked a two-out, four-run rally in the third inning to lift Wilmington to a 5-1 win over Winston-Salem in the second of two Carolina League games last night. Earlier, Winston-Salem won a 15-inning game, 2-1, that had been suspended Friday night and continued last night. In the second game, Medrano singled with two men on base, knocking in Oscar Jimenez. Mike Sweeney followed with a single, driving in Sergio Nunez, before Carlos Mendez brought both Medrano and Sweeney home to complete the four-run rally.

Chicago Cubs phenom Kerry Wood probably will test his strained elbow again today and could return to the club's starting rotation for one more regular-season start Tuesday or Wednesday in Milwaukee, but he says that he will take no chances with his valuable arm. "My ultimate goal is to pitch in the playoffs, but I don't want to just pitch one year and be done," he said. "If I can't go, I'm not going to go. I've been honest with them. " Cleveland's Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer off Kansas City's Jose Rosado in the first inning yesterday.

Frank Thomas won in his return to Oakland. Rajai Davis got three hits in his Athletics debut. Yet it was Donnie Murphy who delivered all the power. With two new and familiar faces in the starting lineup, the A's jumped on Minnesota starter Francisco Liriano (0-3) for six runs in the first inning on the way to an 11-2 victory over the visiting Twins yesterday. Murphy hit solo shots in the fifth and sixth innings for his first and second homers of the season and first career multihomer game.

Kansas City first baseman Mike Sweeney, who hurt his wrist and bruised his knuckles Friday in a brawl during a game, has talked to Frank Robinson, baseball's head disciplinarian. Now it's a matter of learning his fate. According to Sweeney, he charged the mound in the sixth inning after Detroit pitcher Jeff Weaver called him a profane name. He threw his helmet at Weaver and pinned him to the ground. Sweeney also hit Tigers catcher Robert Fick in the face. Sweeney missed a start last night against Baltimore because of injuries he suffered in the fight.

A highly anticipated meeting between an enduring star and a rising one was mostly a mismatch. Mark Prior pitched five shutout innings in his third start since coming off the disabled list and Todd Walker homered twice, ending Roger Clemens' unbeaten start as the visiting Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 7-2, last night. Prior (1-1), who missed the first 2 months of the season with Achilles' tendinitis, allowed only five hits and struck out eight, denying his childhood idol a chance to become the first pitcher in the big leagues with 10 wins.

Two bare-chested fans ran onto the field in the top of the ninth inning last night in Chicago and attacked Tom Gamboa, the first-base coach for the Kansas City Royals. After Michael Tucker grounded out to the pitcher for one out, two unidentified fans tackled Gamboa and began punching him. The Royals' dugout cleared and their bullpen rushed in from right field, with several players jumping on the fans. Punches were exchanged, but it wasn't clear which players threw them. Security went on the field and tried to break it up, but it was several minutes before order was restored.

Jim Thome got a hefty pay raise, hit two home runs and led the Cleveland Indians to their fourth straight win. "I guess you could say it turned out to be a pretty nice day," he said. Thome, who learned yesterday he'll be with the Indians for at least another year, hit his American League-leading 41st and 42nd homers as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep with a 6-1 win over the visiting Minnesota Twins. Thome's $7.5 million contract option was picked up earlier in the day by the Indians.

TORONTO - Miguel Batista, Jason Frasor and Terry Adams combined on a five-hitter as the Toronto Blue Jays handed Johan Santana his first loss in 20 starts with a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins last night. In the sixth inning, Santana (2-1) hit Dave Berg with a pitch with the bases loaded, giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. Ex-Phillie Joe Roa then came on in relief, and he surrendered a two-run double to Reed Johnson. It was Santana's first setback since July 23, 2003, against Kansas City.

Texas Rangers lefthander Kenny Rogers apologized yesterday for last week's tirade against two TV cameramen that sent one to the hospital and prompted a police investigation, but said he has not decided whether he will go to next week's All-Star Game. Rogers, who is appealing his 20-game suspension for the outburst, apologized to fans and the cameramen in his first public comments since the June 29 episode. He declined to take questions, and said he was speaking against the advice of his lawyer.

CINCINNATI - Once the Reds retreated into their clubhouse following an afternoon workout at Great American Ball Park, the first two people to emerge from the visitors' side were Sweeneys. Mike tossed a few ground balls to his young son, Mike Jr., in foul territory before the rest of the Phillies took the field for their off-day workout. Soon the player's father (also named Mike) joined to watch. The first postseason ride for Mike Sweeney has been an enjoyable one already - and it's just two games old. "If I had experienced it 15 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to bring my dad," Sweeney, 37, said.

WASHINGTON - The two players on the left side of Charlie Manuel's regular infield couldn't be in different circumstances. One needs rest; the other at-bats. There is Placido Polanco, the third baseman who stands to be the Phillie that would benefit most from a few days off before the postseason begins. He has bone spurs in his left elbow that have caused considerable pain nearly the entire season. Then there is Jimmy Rollins, who sat out again Monday, and has one at-bat in the team's last 16 games.

WASHINGTON - The last out was made, the championship was won, the customary display of jubilation began. Of course, since Mike Sweeney was only 17 years old back then, some allowances had to be made. So the youngsters partied like it was 1991 after Ontario High School completed a 26-0 season and captured the California Interscholastic Federation 3-A title. "We were able to celebrate with apple cider. There's no sting in apple cider," Sweeney, now 37 and completing his 20th professional season, noted the other day. "So I want to see what it's going to feel like with champagne.

1. Domonic Brown 2. Ben Francisco 3. Brian Schneider 4. Mike Sweeney 5. Wilson Valdez

Philadelphians have opened their arms to Mike Sweeney. He couldn't be happier about that. If you didn't get a hug from Sweeney on Sunday, you were one of the few. Before the Phils finished off a three-game sweep of the Padres in San Diego, the Fightin's favorite waiver-wire acquisition hit his first home run since late May. He was excited and so were his teammates. After Sweeney rounded the bases in the seventh inning and returned to the visitors' dugout, a spontaneous free love fest broke out - and quickly spread all the way back to the East Coast.

MIAMI - The voice rang out - "Hermano!" - with no hint of a Spanish accent. As Placido Polanco turned toward the source of the greeting, his face brightened. Mike Sweeney seems to have that kind of effect on people. On Wednesday, soon after the Phillies traded for the 37-year-old veteran, former teammate Raul Ibanez labeled him a "force of positivity. " Yesterday, that positivity was on full display as he greeted his new teammates in the visitor's clubhouse at Sun Life Stadium.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - This is the face of someone who has spent 16 seasons in the majors without ever experiencing a pennant race: a grinning Mike Sweeney, racing around the visitors' clubhouse at Sun Life Stadium to hug his new teammates. The 37-year-old first baseman, well past his prime and well aware of it, is grateful for every moment, however big or small a role he may play. "It's a dream come true," Sweeney said. Sweeney joined the Phillies on Thursday after being acquired in a trade Wednesday from Seattle.

Ozzie Guillen wasn't on the field long enough to tell umpire Joe West how he felt about his balk calls against Mark Buehrle. The White Sox manager did so afterward. Harshly. The fiery Guillen, never afraid to speak his mind on any subject, unloaded on West following Chicago's 5-4 win over the host Cleveland Indians yesterday, a game that included the third-inning ejections of both Guillen and Buehrle for protesting a pair of balks in the first three innings. "Joe has been like that for a lot of years, and he's always going to be like this," Guillen said, dropping several expletives throughout a rant that's certain to get a look from Major League Baseball.

Frank Thomas won in his return to Oakland. Rajai Davis got three hits in his Athletics debut. Yet it was Donnie Murphy who delivered all the power. With two new and familiar faces in the starting lineup, the A's jumped on Minnesota starter Francisco Liriano (0-3) for six runs in the first inning on the way to an 11-2 victory over the visiting Twins yesterday. Murphy hit solo shots in the fifth and sixth innings for his first and second homers of the season and first career multihomer game.

Mike Sweeney hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning, capping a two-run rally against rookie closer Jonathan Papelbon that carried the Kansas City Royals to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox last night. Manny Ramirez homered to extend his career-best hitting streak to 24 games, and Javy Lopez added a two-run double for Boston on a 102-degree night. But Papelbon (3-2) failed to hold a 4-3 lead in the ninth, costing Josh Beckett his 14th win and leaving the Red Sox with a four-game losing streak.