The Tigers placed Kenny Rogers on the DL with inflammation in his elbow. The Gambler is 3-2 with a 5.23 ERA in just six starts this season. The four-time All-Star missed the Tigers' first 71 games after undergoing surgery on March 30 to remove a blood clot from his left shoulder and repair arteries. He had been on the shelf just one time in his first 18 seasons. In his previous start Wednesday at Chicago, Rogers allowed four homers and seven runs over four innings, and has surrendered 17 earned runs in his last three starts, spanning just 15 1/3 innings. The southpaw was 17-8 with a 3.48 ERA last year and won all three of his postseason starts while not allowing a run in 23 innings for the AL champions. Jordan Tata was recalled from Triple-A Toledo to make his first big league start against the Athletics.
Randy Johnson will have season-ending back surgery and intends to be back for spring training next year. "I have no intention at this time of retiring," he said. "I'll cross the bridge of surgery and be willing to go through the process of rehabilitation again because I know I can still pitch. And I love pitching. It's what I've been doing since I was 7 years old." It marks the second year in a row that the Big Unit will have an operation on his troublesome back. The five-time Cy Young Award winner threw 42 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday. Afterward, he felt the effects of the injured disk, pain that he feels all the way down his right, or landing, leg. He had surgery last October and had to start this season on the disabled list. Having an operation now, he said, will give him three more months to heal for next season. Johnson has 288 wins and wants to reach 300 before he calls it quits and also ranks third in all-time career strikeouts with 4,661, behind Roger Clemens (4,641) and Nolan Ryan (5,714).
Curt Schilling, who was a co-MVP with Johnson during the 2001 World Series, was very pleased one day after his second rehab start and will likely rejoin the rotation on Aug. 5 at Seattle or one day later against the Angels. "I feel great," Schilling said Friday. "Feel strong. I think we're at the point now where I can continue to really grind it between starts." Schilling looked impressive Thursday, throwing five scoreless innings and striking out eight in his latest start for Triple-A Pawtucket.
The Angles placed Bartolo Colon on the DL Tuesday with a sore right elbow. Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young winner, left Monday night's game after pitching one inning against the Athletics. He gave up four runs on four hits and one walk during the loss. The 34-year-old Colon will undergo further tests to determine the cause of irritation in his elbow. Manager Mike Scioscia said of Colon: Asked whether struggling Ervin Santana might be recalled from the minors, Scioscia said: "Ervin is an option, but we'll take this one step at a time." Santana was sent to Salt Lake last Wednesday after losing his fifth consecutive decision to fall to 5-11 with a 6.22 ERA. Colon, whose 2006 season was shortened by a rotator cuff tear, won his first five decisions this year, but went 1-6 over his next 10 starts.
The Padres placed major league ERA leader Chris Young on the DL Saturday and called up Tim Stauffer from Triple-A Portland to start Sunday in Houston – Stauffer got rocked for seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Young left Tuesday’s start with a strained oblique muscle. The 28-year-old leads the majors with a 1.82 ERA. Manager Bud Black said the team expected him to recover within two weeks.
Chase Utley could be out a month after undergoing surgery Friday to have a pin placed in his broken right hand. The All-Star was placed on the 15-day disabled list one day after being struck by a pitch from Washington's John Lannan in the fifth inning of the pitcher's major league debut. Philadelphia acted quickly in landing his replacement, acquiring second baseman Tadahito Iguchi from the White Sox for minor league pitcher Michael Dubee. Iguchi went 3-for-7 with an RBI in his first two games there. Utley’s X-rays revealed a break in the fourth metacarpal and could be out anywhere from 3-to-6 weeks. He is batting .336 with an NL-best 41 doubles, 17 home runs and 82 RBIs this season. He is tied for the league lead in hits (134) and extra-base hits (61), second in total bases (232) and third in RBIs. He has been hit a major league-high 17 times, after getting plunked 14 times last season.
Miguel Tejada was activated from the DL Friday. He played in 1,152 consecutive games before being placed on the DL on June 22 with a broken bone near his left wrist. Tejada's rehab assignment consisted of two minor league games. He hit a home run for Class A Frederick on Thursday, and on Friday declared himself ready to return. He went 5-for-13 in his first three games.
Aaron Harang will miss his next scheduled because of a sore lower back. Harang (10-3), who has won his last five decisions, said his back stiffened on his second warm-up toss to catcher David Ross before he went into the bullpen to warm up for Saturday's game. He faced five batters, getting three to fly out but walking Ryan Theriot and giving up a two-run homer to Derrek Lee. "They thought it was better to take me out rather than take a chance on hurting my arm," he said. "Hopefully, it's just one of those 48-hour tweaks." He could pitch in Pittsburgh next weekend.
Jason Giambi went 1-for-5 during a doubleheader for Class A Tampa on Saturday night in his first game action in two months. Giambi was set to start the minor league rehab assignment Friday, but Tampa's game at Fort Myers was rained out. He went 0-for-2 with two walks in Saturday's opener before collecting a double and an RBI in three at-bats in the nightcap. He planned to have his status re-evaluated Sunday, and hopes to rejoin the Yankees in early August. Giambi, sidelined since May 30 after tearing tissue in his left foot, is hitting .262 for New York with seven homers and 23 RBIs. His foot began bothering him soon after he played the field for the first time on April 28, and he hit .117 in May with three homers and six RBIs.
The Mets activated Moises Alou Friday against the Nationals. Alou, signed as a free agent last winter, was batting .318 in 30 games when he went on the DL on May 17 with a strained left quad. He missed 66 games. After starting his rehabilitation assignment, Alou batted .333 in five rehab games with the Gulf Coast Mets and then went 1-for-4 with the Brooklyn Cyclones last Sunday. After the Cyclones game, he was diagnosed with tendinitis in his right shoulder, further delaying his return to the active roster. To make room for Alou on the roster, the Mets designated catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. for assigment. Alou went 2-for-6 in three games with the Mets.
Kerry Wood tossed one perfect inning Friday night during his final one-inning minor league rehab outing, striking out one. GM Jim Hendry was in Peoria to watch Wood pitch for the Class-A Chiefs. The Cubs are expected to move Wood up to Triple-A Iowa immediately if he feels no ill effects from this week's outings. "Kerry looked terrific tonight, as clean as you'd want to see after back-to-back outings," Hendry said at news conference following Wood's appearance. "His fastball was right at 92 to 93 mph. He had good command and he threw some really good breaking balls. "I'm especially happy about his command, which is more indicative of good health than velocity."
Josh Johnson, like Colon, will has be examined next week by specialist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala because of a stiff elbow. Johnson complained of stiffness the day after a three-inning rehab start Wednesday for Class A Jupiter, manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Johnson went 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2006 and finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. But he spent the first 2 1/2 months of this season on the disabled list because of an irritated ulnar nerve in his right elbow, then made only four starts before he was again sidelined by forearm stiffness.
Chris Ray was placed on the shelf Wednesday because of a sore elbow. Ray began to feel discomfort in the elbow Saturday, and was not available in a save situation Sunday. The injury could ultimately require surgery, but the Orioles are not yet ready to consider that option. Ray is 5-6 with a 4.43 ERA and 16 saves. He had not allowed a run in his last six outings, all in July. Manager Dave Trembley said the closer's role will be filled on a rotating basis. Jamie Walker earned saves in each of the Orioles' last two wins, but Paul Shuey and Chad Bradford are also viable options.
Bobby Crosby was placed on the DL Wednesday with two non-displaced fractures in his left hand. Crosby was hit by a fastball from right-hander Justin Speier on Tuesday night. It's the fifth time he has gone on the DL in the past three seasons. The 27-year-old Crosby was limited to 186 of 324 games over the previous two seasons because of injuries. … Scott Spiezio was activated Sunday from the 15-day disabled list, the Cardinals designated reliever Brian Falkenborg for assignment. … The Nationals put Jason Bergmann on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a tight left hamstring injury. Bergmann, 2-5 with a 4.56 ERA, left his start Wednesday at Philadelphia in the third inning after hurting his leg while running the bases. This is his second trip to the disabled list this season.