Mike Sweeney was eager for a chance to play against the Kansas City Royals. Who he spent his first 11 1/2 seasons with. He’ll have to wait another day.

Sweeney signed with the Oakland Athletics just before the start of spring training after spending his entire career with Kansas City. He was activated Wednesday off the disabled list, but the game was rained out and has been rescheduled as a doubleheader Thursday.

Brian Bannister (7-14), 0-8 in his past 11 starts, will start the opener for the Royals against Dana Eveland (8-8, 4.21). In the second game, the A’s will start Dan Meyer (0-3), who was recalled Tuesday from Double-A Midland, while the Royals will pitch Kyle Davies (5-6).

“I don’t know if I’ll every play again in Kansas City, so I’ll enjoy it,” Sweeney said.

Bad knees have limited Sweeney to 40 games this season, hitting .292 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. He went on the disabled list May 29 and had surgery on both knees on June 11.

“It’s been a frustrating season,” Sweeney said. “I worked hard, but didn’t get to see the fruits of my labor. It’s been tough.”

Sweeney faces more knee surgery, but opted to postpone it until after the season for the chance to play again at Kauffman Stadium.

“I really wanted to make this trip to Kansas City,” he said. “I had these three days in Kansas City circled all season.”

Sweeney spent his entire professional career with the Royals, who drafted him out of high school in 1991, before signing with Oakland on Feb. 11. Sweeney, a five-time All-Star, was a career .299 hitter with 197 home runs and 837 RBIs in 1,282 games with Kansas City.

“I’ve never been in the visitor’s clubhouse before Tuesday,” Sweeney said. “I didn’t know where the trainer’s room or anything was. I’ve spent enough time in the trainer’s room, so I don’t want to be going in there. It was weird watching the game (Tuesday) from the third base dugout instead of the first base dugout.”

Manager Bob Geren had Sweeney bring out the A’s lineup card to the umpires at home plate before the game Tuesday. Sweeney was one of the most popular players to play in Kansas City in the past decade.

“Stepping on that field again was awesome,” Sweeney said. “The fans have been great. I’ve seen signs with No. 29 and No. 29 jerseys”

Sweeney, who wears No. 5 with the Athletics, has been plagued by knee and back injuries in recent seasons. This will be third straight year he has played in 74 or fewer games. He has not played in more than 126 games in a season since 2001. This is the seventh straight year he has spent time on the disabled list.

At age 35, Sweeney knows this could well be his last season.

“This last month could be the end of my career,” Sweeney said. “I’m taking the approach the next 30 days could be the last 30 days of my career and enjoy it. If it is, I plan to sprint to the finish line. You never know what the future is going to hold.”

Sweeney, however, stops short of saying he is retiring. He said if his knees feel good next year after more surgery, he’ll see if his heart is into playing another year.

But this could be his September swan song.

“If so, I have no regrets,” he said. “I’ve been blessed.”

Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede was held out of Wednesday 4-2 victory. Over the Cleveland Indians with tightness in his lower back.

Crede left Tuesdays game in the sixth inning and is listed as day-to-day. The White Sox have an off-day on Thursday.

The 30-year-old has a history of back problems and spent over four weeks on the disabled list earlier this season with back lumbar inflammation. Crede also played in just 47 games last season due to season-ending back surgery.

Crede is batting .248 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI this season.

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Indians LHP Lee earns monthly honors.

Cleveland Indians lefthander Cliff Lee was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for August on Wednesday.

Lee went 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA during the month, becoming the majors first 20-game winner with an overall record of 20-2. He also is the first Indians pitcher to win 20 games since Gaylord Perry did it in 1974.

For the season, the 30-year-old Lee has 149 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings and leads the majors with a 2.32 ERA.

It is the second monthly award this season for Lee, who also won the AL Pitcher of the Month in April.

Other nominees included Boston Red Sox righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka, Toronto Blue Jays righthander Roy Halladay and Chicago White Sox righthander Gavin Floyd.

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Red Sox 1B Youkilis not in lineup.

Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis was held out of the lineup with back spasms on Wednesday as the team looks to complete a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles.

It is the second straight missed game for the All-Star, who also did not play on Saturday or Sunday against the Chicago White Sox due to the flu. He returned to the lineup Monday, going 0-for-4.

Recent acquisition Mark Kotsay will get his first start at first base for the Red Sox and second baseman Dustin Pedroia will again bat in the cleanup spot.

Youkilis is batting .315 with 24 homers and 94 RBI this season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers purchased the contract of catcher A J Ellis from Class AAA Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Ellis, 27, posted a .321 average with four home runs and 59 RBI in 84 games for the 51s this season. He has never appeared in the majors.

The Dodgers also transferred righthander Takashi Saito to the 60-day disabled list. Saito had been placed on the 15-day DL on July 18 with a right elbow sprain.

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Melvin Mora named AL Player of the Month.

Melvin Mora capped off the best month of his career with a little hardware.

The Baltimore Orioles third baseman was named the American League Player of the Month on Wednesday after leading the major leagues with 32 RBI. The 36-year-old hit .418 and eight home runs, registering a .765 slugging percentage.

Mora, who was hitting just .248 through July, caught fire in August and went on to post five performances with at least four RBI. He drove in four runs in back-to-back games from August 9-10 against the Texas Rangers, but outdid himself a week later.

On August 17 against Detroit, Mora put together a career day, going 5-for-6 with a pair of homers and six RBI to lead the Orioles to a 16-8 win.

Before leaving the Orioles game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 29 with a strained left hamstring, Mora had raised his batting average to .283.

August has been a good month for Mora. He had a nearly identical showing in 2004, hitting .378 with eight homers and 31 RBI. His 132 career RBI in August are his most in any month.

Moras teammate, Aubrey Huff, also received votes, as did Raul Ibanez of the Seattle Mariners, Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox, Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Marlon Byrd of the Texas Rangers.

Wednesday National League Capsules.

NY Mets 9, Milwaukee 2

MILWAUKEE The New York Mets look poised to make a September playoff run.

Ryan Church hit a first-inning grand slam and Oliver Perez pitched well into the seventh as the Mets defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-2, to complete a three-game sweep.

Brian Schneider added a home run during a six-run first inning for the Mets, who have won four straight and 17 of their last 22 games.

The sweep was just the second the Brewers suffered at home this season. Milwaukee (80-59), which leads the Philadelphia Phillies (76-63) in the National League wild card race, also lost all four games to the Chicago Cubs July 28-31.

New York (79-61) entered the day two games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

The Mets took control of the game in the opening frame as they sent nine batters to the plate against Dave Bush (9-10). After leadoff hitter Jose Reyes was retired, Bush allowed consecutive singles to Daniel Murphy, David Wright and Carlos Delgado to yield New Yorks first run.

After Carlos Beltran walked to load the bases, Church belted Bushs 1-1 offering over the right field fence for his second career grand slam and the Mets third of the season.

Schneider homered with two outs to give the Mets a 6-0 cushion.

Perez (10-7) won for the third straight time but earned his first victory since August 14 at Washington after a string of three straight no-decisions. He allowed two runs on five hits and five walks with five strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.

The only runs the 27-year-old righthander allowed came on Corey Harts RBI double in the sixth and J.J. Hardys solo home run in the seventh.

Nick Evans hit a two-run single in the eighth and Wright had a sacrifice fly in the ninth to cap the scoring.

HOUSTON 4, CHI CUBS 0

CHICAGO Randy Wolf tossed his first complete game in over four years to lead the Houston Astros to their eighth consecutive victory, a 4-0 triumph over the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs (85-55) have lost five straight but remain 4 1/2 games in front of the Milwaukee Brewers (80-59) in the National League Central.

Wolf (9-11), who allowed six hits and two walks with eight strikeouts, recorded his first complete game shutout since throwing one for the Philadelphia Phiillies on April 24, 2004 against the Montreal Expos.

What a terrific outing by Randy Wolf, Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. At the end of the game, he really wanted to stay in there and I wasnt about to take him out.

SAN FRANCISCO 9, COLORADO 2

DENVER Scott McClain and Travis Ishikawa drove in three runs apiece and Barry Zito threw eight strong innings as the San Francisco Giants snapped a five-game losing streak, toppling the Colorado Rockies, 9-2.

Zito (9-16) gave up just two runs and five hits, striking out five and walking two. It was his third victory in his last four outings.

McClain, a 36-year-old infielder who hit 361 homers in the minor leagues and the Japanese leagues, hit his first major league home run in the sixth inning, a solo shot that made it 9-2. He also singled in runs in the first and third innings.

With Randy Winn and Bengie Molina getting the day off, McClain, Pablo Sandoval and Nate Schierholtz filled in nicely, going a combined 9-for-15 with five RBI.

Colorado Rockies All-Star righthander Aaron Cook (16-9) lasted just three innings, giving up 10 hits and six runs while striking out just one.

FLORIDA 5, ATLANTA 3

MIAMI Cody Ross hit the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Florida Marlins took the rubber game of the three-game set with the Atlanta Braves, 5-3.

With the score tied at 3-3, Ross singled up the middle with the bases loaded to give Florida a one-run lead. The Marlins added another in the frame when Hanley Ramirez scored on a wild pitch from Braves reliever Vladimir Nunez.

Kelly Johnson had a two-run triple to lead the Braves, who have lost 18 of their past 23 contests.

Ramirez blasted his 29th homer of the season for the Marlins.

ARIZONA 4, ST. LOUIS 3

PHOENIX Adam Dunn hit the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Arizona trailed, 3-2, entering the bottom of the ninth, but Stephen Drew led off the inning with a triple and scored two batters later on Conor Jacksons RBI single to left.

That set the stage for Dunn, who lined a 1-1 offering from Cardinals closer Chris Perez (2-2) down the right field line. Jackson just beat the relay throw to the plate, giving the Diamondbacks the win.

Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer for the second time in as many games to lead St. Louis, which has lost five of its last six.

PITTSBURGH 6, CINCINNATI 5

CINCINNATI Adam and Andy LaRoche each drove in a run in the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5.

Ryan Doumit collected two hits and two RBI for the Pirates, who will attempt to complete a series sweep on Thursday.

Adam LaRoche, who had a broken-bat RBI single in the sixth, gave Pittsburgh a 5-4 lead in the decisive eighth with a run-scoring base hit into right field off reliever Jeremy Affeldt (1-1). The younger LaRoche, Andy, struck one batter later, lining an RBI single into left-center to provide a two-run cushion.

(Adam LaRoche) is a threat at the plate, Pirates manager Jack Russell said. He can do some things, and tonight he got a few hits on balls that were not the hardest hit balls (but dropped anyway).

Tyler Yates (5-4) earned the win after retiring the final two batters in the seventh. Pittsburgh rookie Ross Ohlendorf gave up four runs and seven hits over six frames in his first career start.

WASHINGTON 9, PHILADELPHIA 7

WASHINGTON Cristian Guzman continued his hot hitting with three more hits - including a three-run double in a four-run eighth inning - to give the Washington Nationals a 9-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The loss dropped the Phillies (76-64) three games behind the New York Mets in the NL East.

Philadelphia and New York meet in a crucial three-game series at Shea Stadium beginning Friday.

With the score tied, 5-5, Kory Casto led off the eighth with a single off Chad Durbin (5-4). Pete Orr ran for Casto and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Wil Nieves popped out, Roger Bernadina singled to left, and Casto moved to third. Ronnie Belliard singled to left to score Orr with the go-ahead run.

Emilio Bonifacio walked, and Guzman doubled to left-center off J.C. Romero to score three.

LA DODGERS 6, SAN DIEGO 4

LOS ANGELES Rookie Blake DeWitt and Angel Berroa hit back-to-back home runs and Casey Blake also went deep as the Dodgers claimed a 6-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.

After falling behind, 3-1, the Dodgers erupted for four runs in the fourth off Padres rookie starter Wade LeBlanc (0-1), who allowed five runs and eight hits in four innings during his major league debut.

Matt Kemp singled to lead off the frame and DeWitt followed with his seventh homer. Berroa duplicated the feat, launching his first home run since September 25, 2006 to put the Dodgers on top.

Blake capped the frame with an RBI single to left field, plating Andre Ethier to give the Dodgers a 5-3 advantage.

Blake sealed the win in the seventh, launching a solo shot to center field - his eighth homer since joining the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians on July 25.

Carlos Zambrano visited the Chicago Cubs team orthopedist Wednesday. To check out his right arm but didn’t have an MRI.

Zambrano left his start Tuesday night against the Houston Astros after five innings and 86 pitches, telling pitching coach Larry Rothschild he didn’t feel well and couldn’t continue, manager Lou Piniella said Wednesday.

Zambrano was scratched from his scheduled outing last Sunday and moved back two days to rest what had been described as a tired arm. But apparently his arm might be more than just weary, and he went to see Dr. Stephen Gryzlo on Wednesday.

“He visited Dr. Gryzlo this afternoon and he physically examined him. The MRI he was supposed to take, he didn’t take for whatever reason, so the examination is incomplete. Until he gets an MRI done, we don’t have anything to report,” Piniella said.

“He was supposed to take an MRI today. It was available to him and he didn’t take it today. That’s it. And that’s what I get from our medical people.”

Piniella added that Zambrano would probably have the MRI on Thursday.

“I haven’t seen Carlos. He was not here tonight,” Piniella said after a 4-0 loss to Houston, Chicago’s season-high fifth straight defeat.

Piniella also revealed that right-hander Rich Harden, who is being given 12 days between starts to rest his arm, has experienced some soreness.

“No, I don’t think he has a tired arm,” Piniella said. “He’s had some discomfort, also.

Harden, who last pitched Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies, isn’t scheduled to pitch again until Sept. 10 in St. Louis. He’s been on the disabled list six times in his career.

“They were planning on skipping me even before I came here and it just seemed like a decent time,” said Harden, 4-1 with a 1.50 ERA and five double-digit strikeout games in nine starts with Chicago since being acquired in a trade from Oakland. “I’ve been feeling pretty good, but I guess I’ve had a little bit of discomfort you could call it. But nothing serious.”

It’s a critical time for the NL Central leading Cubs to be worried about sore arms on their pitching staff, especially Zambrano and Harden. Sean Marshall will move into the rotation and take Zambrano’s scheduled start Sunday in Cincinnati.

Piniella said the Cubs would have not let Zambrano start Tuesday night against the Astros if they thought he was hurting. Zambrano, who signed a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension last August, is just 1-1 over his last six starts and has gone past the fifth inning just twice. He was on the disabled list in June with a sore shoulder.

“Obviously you’re concerned. I mean he’s a top-notch pitcher, but believe me we sent him out there yesterday thinking that he was perfectly fine to go out. If not we wouldn’t have sent him out,” Piniella said.

Zambrano (13-5) gave up five hits and three runs with three walks in his five innings Tuesday night while getting a no-decision.

“I thought he was throwing the ball fine. The location was not really all that good,” Piniella said.

“He was out there competing and it sort of surprised me in that bottom half of that fifth inning when he told the pitching coach that he wasn’t feeling well and he couldn’t go farther. Outside of that, I don’t know anything because I haven’t talked to him. … I’d like to have clarification myself, I’ll be honest with you.”

Zambrano was not available for comment before Wednesday night’s game against the Astros.

The Cubs called up right-hander Kevin Hart from Triple-A Iowa to help out in the bullpen with Marshall going into the rotation.

Alex Rodriguez reached another milestone when he moved past Mike Schmidt into 12th place on. The career home run list with 549.

His focus, however, is on helping the New York Yankees get much-needed wins during a long shot run to make the playoffs.

“It’s hard to sit here and talk about anything personal,” Rodriguez said before Wednesday’s 8-4 victory over Tampa Bay. “We’re hanging by a thread, and every game is so important.”

Rodriguez’s solo shot in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 7-2 win over Tampa Bay tied him with Schmidt, and gave him 11 straight seasons of 30 or more homers.

His two-run drive down the left-field line in the ninth inning Wednesday became baseball’s first-ever instant replay review and moved him past the former Phillies’ star.

“Mike Schmidt is special to me because I’ve always looked up to Mike,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a friend and someone who I admire.”

As A-Rod was talking with reporters, a TV set in the clubhouse was showing Boston celebrate after a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Baltimore. The Red Sox started Wednesday seven games ahead of the Yankees in the AL wild-card race.

“We’re playing like every game is our last,” Rodriguez said. “Every game is the most important game. The only thing I care about is doing the best we can. Control what we can control.”

Ahead for A-Rod is Yankees’ great and current team adviser Reggie Jackson, who is 11th with 563 homers.

“He reminds me every day,” Rodriguez said with a smile.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman remains “focused” on his team and is not currently thinking about a contract extension. His current deals ends this year. “There’s a time and place,” Cashman said. “I think everyday here is on the same page. Let’s take care of business and get this right, which we haven’t done a good enough job of doing so far this year. When the dust settles, conversions will be held. Where they lead, I can’t predict. I’m not about to predict.” Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner has said he wants Cashman to stay with the team.

Wednesday American League Capsules.

CHI WHITE SOX 4, CLEVELAND 2

CLEVELAND Javier Vazquez pitched six strong innings and the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-2.

Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez both homered for the White Sox, who avoided a three-game sweep.

The win moved Chicago one-half game ahead of the Minnesota Twins for first place in the American League Central Division. The Twins play at Toronto on Wednesday night.

Vazquez (11-12) held the Indians to two runs on five hits. The righthander was in control until the sixth, when he allowed a double to Jhonny Peralta that cut the White Soxs advantage in half, 4-2.

Matt Thornton escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and Bobby Jenks got an inning-ending double play in the eighth before working around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 28th save in 31 chances.

Swisher hit a solo home run to lead off the fifth to stake the White Sox to a 1-0 lead. He blasted Jeremy Sowers 2-1 offering an estimated 410 feet for his 23rd home run.

Orlando Cabrera added a two-out RBI double later in the fifth after Josh Fields hit a one-out single.

Ramirezs homer, a two-run blast, extended the lead to 4-0. Jermaine Dye singled to start the inning and Ramirez followed with his 16th home run one out later to end Sowers afternoon.

Sowers (2-8) retired the first nine batters he faced but started to struggle in the fourth. The Cleveland lefthander allowed four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.

BOSTON 5, BALTIMORE 4

BOSTON Alex Cora scored the winning run on pitcher Jim Millers throwing error in the ninth inning as the Boston Red Sox rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Cora led off the ninth with a single and advanced to second on Coco Crisps bunt hit that skipped off the first base line and back into fair territory.

Jacoby Ellsbury laid down a sacrifice that Miller fielded cleanly and fired over the head of third baseman Aubrey Huff, allowing Cora to trot home with the winning run and spark yet another celebration at Fenway Park.

Dustin Pedroia had three hits, including a homer, for the Red Sox, who completed a three-game sweep of the hapless Orioles.

TEXAS 1, SEATTLE 0

ARLINGTON, Texas Dustin Nippert pitched a career-high seven innings to lead the Texas Rangers to a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Nippert (2-4) allowed seven hits, did not walk a batter and struck out four to record his first win since April 16. It was the righthanders first win as a starter since September 29, 2005 - when he worked five one-run innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Rangers accounted for the games only run in the first inning when Michael Young scored on Milton Bradleys sacrifice fly.

NY YANKEES 8, TAMPA BAY 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida Alex Rodriguez hit his 549th home run to move past Mike Schmidt on the all-time list and had four RBI, leading the New York Yankees past the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-4.

Rodriguez had three hits, including his second homer in as many nights for the Yankees, who defeated the American League East-leading Rays for the second consecutive game and posted their third straight win.

New York (75-64) is 9-6 this season against Tampa Bay (84-53) and, in the AL wild-card race, stayed within seven games of the Boston Red Sox (82-57), who moved within three games of the Rays for first place in the division - the closest the Red Sox have been since August 7, when they trailed by 2 1/2 games.

A night after tying Schmidt, Rodriguez moved into sole possession of 12th place in career homers with a two-run shot in the ninth off Troy Percival, a historic blast which was deemed fair with the assistance of instant replay - baseballs first use of its newly implemented policy.

TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 4 (11 INNINGS)

TORONTO John McDonalds deep RBI single to center field in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

Scott Rolen led off the inning by lining a double to left-center off Minnesota reliever Eddie Guardado, and Travis Snider followed with a flare single that dropped just in front of Twins outfielder Jason Kubel. That was all for Guardado (3-4), who was replaced by Boof Bonser. He didnt fare any better, as McDonald drove a long fly ball over the head of Denard Span to give Toronto the win.

Rookie Jesse Carlson (6-1) pitched a perfect 11th to pick up the win.

The Twins looked like they had another win within their reach, holding a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning with closer Joe Nathan on the hill. But right fielder Jason Pridie mishandled Sniders single, allowing Curtis Thigpen to come around and score the tying run.

Joe Mauer had a three-run double for the Twins and Joe Inglett belted a two-run home run for the Blue Jays, his seventh of the season.

DETROIT 9, LA ANGELS 6

DETROIT Placido Polanco drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Polanco had three hits and Mike Hessman hit a two-run homer in the eighth to help the Tigers to just their third win in 10 games.

Trailing, 6-5, in the seventh, Detroit scored a pair of runs to take the lead for good. Brandon Inge led off with a single and scored on a triple by Curtis Granderson. Polanco followed with a single to left to give the Tigers the lead.

Mark Teixeira went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI for the Angels, whose magic number to clinch the American League West Division remained at seven.

OAKLAND, KANSAS CITY (POSTPONED)

KANSAS CITY, Missouri Wednesdays game between the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals was postponed due to rain.

The game - the second of a three-game series between the two clubs - was slated to begin at 8:10 p.m. EDT. But the contest was called early and rescheduled, with rain hitting the Kansas City metropolitan area and expected to remain until Thursday afternoon.

It was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader at 4:10 p.m. EDT on Thursday afternoon.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers won’t be counted out of the NL West that easily.

Ramirez hit his 30th home run of the season - 10th since joining the Dodgers - and Los Angeles beat San Diego 8-4 on Tuesday night.

“It’s been great for me, having Manny over here,” manager Joe Torre said. “Even though he terrorized me for 12 years in New York, it’s nice to see other managers wrestling with their decisions about whether to pitch to him or not. And the month he’s been here, he’s been A-No. 1 for us.”

With the win, the Dodgers crept within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Diamondbacks, after Arizona lost 8-2 to St. Louis. And last season’s NL champion Rockies are just five back after beating the Giants 6-5.

“Our focus has to continue to be on us and we just have to play better,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the Cubs got some bad news when starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano left after five innings against the Astros. Manager Lou Piniella said Zambrano left because of arm problems and will have his right arm examined Wednesday.

“He told our pitching coach he wasn’t feeling good,” Piniella said. “It has to be in his arm. I just don’t know. We’ll let you know tomorrow when we find out.”

In other NL games, it was the New York Mets 6, Milwaukee 5 in 10 innings; Philadelphia 4, Washington 0; Houston 9, the Chicago Cubs 7 in 11 innings; Colorado 6, San Francisco 5 in 12 innings; Atlanta 16, Florida 14; and Pittsburgh 3, Cincinnati 2.

Ramirez reached the 30-homer mark for the 12th time. The only players who have done it more often are Hank Aaron (15), Barry Bonds (14), Babe Ruth (13) and Mike Schmidt (13).

Since the trade, the Dodgers are only 15-16. But no one can fault Ramirez, who is hitting .414 with 29 RBIs in 31 games. His 1,701 career RBIs are one behind Reggie Jackson for 21st all-time, and he needs just one for his 12th 100-RBI campaign. The record is 13, shared by Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx.

“I’m sure both sides are better for the separation,” Torre said. “I mean, he seems happy here. I don’t know what he was like when he was over there because I wasn’t there. They’re playing well since he left and it’s a lot calmer over there.”

Andre Ethier had three hits including a homer, and rookie Clayton Kershaw (5-3) allowed a run and three hits over the first seven innings to help the Dodgers reduce the Diamondbacks’ lead in the division to 1 1/2 games.

Kershaw, who struck out six, was pulled after walking the first two batters in the eighth. Both runners scored when Ramon Troncoso gave up an RBI double to Luis Rodriguez and a two-run single to Kevin Kouzmanoff, slashing the Padres’ deficit to 8-4. But lefty Joe Beimel retired the next three batters and pitched a scoreless ninth to end it.

The Dodgers have rebounded with four straight wins following an eight-game losing streak, which was Torre’s longest as a manager since 1982 with the Atlanta Braves.

“Everybody’s showing a lot of life, and it’s been real fun,” Beimel said. “That losing streak was kind of crazy. It was like we couldn’t do anything right. We knew we were a better team than what we were showing, and I think everybody in here figured that once we snapped that streak that we’d win a bunch of games in a row and get back in it.”

At Arizona, Adam Wainwright helped himself by doubling in two runs, and Troy Glaus hit one of St. Louis’ three homers in an 8-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Yadier Molina and Felipe Lopez hit back-to-back shots to give Wainwright an early 5-0 lead. That made it seven home runs in two games for the Cardinals against the Diamondbacks.

St. Louis is 5 1/2 back of Milwaukee in the wild-card race.

“There’s no sports writer, no fan that’s telling me we’re out of this thing,” Wainwright said. “Until the last game of the season I’m battling like we’re going to be ready for the playoffs.”

Wainwright (8-3), in his third start since returning from the disabled list, shut out the Diamondbacks through five before giving up a run in the sixth. He struck out seven and walked two, yielding three hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Yusmeiro Petit (3-4) gave up five runs and four hits in 4 2-3 innings, the fourth Arizona starting pitcher in a row to have a rough outing.

“Sometimes it’s contagious,” Melvin said. “The next guy tries doubly hard to give you a good, solid outing. It certainly isn’t characteristic of our staff, our rotation.”

Tuesday NL Capsules.

LOS ANGELES -Manny Ramirez homered and drove in three runs and Los Angeles closed in on Arizona in the NL West with an 8-4 victory over San Diego on Tuesday night.

Andre Ethier had three hits, including a homer, and rookie Clayton Kershaw allowed a run and three hits in seven innings to help the Dodgers win their fourth straight and reduce the Diamondbacks’ NL West lead to 1 1/2 games.

The four wins come after an eight-game losing streak.

Kershaw (3-5), who struck out six, was pulled after walking his first two batters in the eighth. Both runners scored when Ramon Troncoso gave up an RBI double to Luis Rodriguez and a two-run single to Kevin Kouzmanoff, making it 8-4. Joe Beimel retired the next three batters and pitched the ninth.

Ramirez’s 520th career homer put him one behind Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and injured Oakland A’s DH Frank Thomas, who are tied for 17th place. He has 30 this season, 10 since the trade that sent him from Boston to Los Angeles on July 31.

Cha Seung Baek (4-9) lost his fourth straight decision.

Cardinals 8, Diamondbacks 2

PHOENIX - Pitcher Adam Wainwright doubled in two runs and Troy Glaus hit one of St. Louis’ three homers.

Yadier Molina and Felipe Lopez hit back-to-back shots to give Wainwright an early 5-0 lead. That made it seven home runs in two games for the Cardinals against the Diamondbacks.

On Monday, the Diamondbacks rallied from four runs down to win 8-6. This time the deficit reached 8-0, and there was no big comeback.

Wainwright (8-3), in his third start since returning from 2 1/2 months on the disabled list, struck out seven and walked two, yielding three hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Five Cardinals relievers, including Chris Carpenter, finished the seven-hitter.

Yusmeiro Petit (3-4) gave up five runs and four hits in 4 2-3 innings, the fourth straight Arizona starter to have a rough outing.

Mets 6, Brewers 5, 10 innings

MILWAUKEE - Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer and Endy Chavez drove in the decisive run in the 10th inning for New York.

Six relievers combined for seven shutout innings, helping the NL East leaders remain two games ahead of second-place Philadelphia. The Mets won for the 16th time in 21 games.

Milwaukee’s wild-card lead was cut to 4 1/2 games over the Phillies.

Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy opened the 10th with a single off Salomon Torres (6-4), went to third on a throwing error and scored on Chavez’s sacrifice fly.

Joe Smith (3-3) got the final out in the ninth and Luis Ayala pitched the 10th for his fifth save.

Beltran gave the Mets a 5-1 lead in the third with his 22nd homer. New York has homered in 13 straight games.

Milwaukee tied it in the fourth on Manny Parra’s two-run double and J.J. Hardy’s run-scoring single.

Phillies 4, Nationals 0

WASHINGTON - Cole Hamels pitched into the eighth inning and Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs as Philadelphia snapped Washington’s seven-game winning streak.

Hamels (12-8) gave up five hits in 7 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking three.

Rollins had two RBI singles and a walk for the Phillies, who began the day two games behind first-place New York in NL East.

J.C. Romero, Chad Durbin and Brad Lidge finished the six-hitter. The Nationals have been shut out 20 times, seven more than any other major league team.

Washington’s winning streak was its longest since a 10-game run in 2005.

John Lannan (8-13) gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.

Astros 9, Cubs 7, 11 innings

CHICAGO - Geoff Blum hit a two-run homer off Kerry Wood in the 11th inning to send Houston to its seventh straight victory.

The first-place Cubs, who have lost four straight, all at home, remained 4 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Wood (4-3) walked Lance Berkman and Blum sent the first pitch for his 14th homer. Wood struck out four in two innings.

The Cubs had 15 hits and eight walks, but they also hit into four double plays and stranded 13 runners. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez committed errors in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings.

Wesley Wright (4-3) went two scoreless innings and Jose Valverde worked the 11th for his 39th save, ending a game that took 4 hours, 17 minutes in stifling, humid conditions.

Houston scored four runs in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead, but the Cubs scratched back in the bottom of the inning, cutting the lead to 7-6. Jim Edmonds snapped a 1-for-14 slump with a solo homer in the seventh to tie it 7-7.

Braves 16, Marlins 14

MIAMI - Pinch-hitter Ruben Gotay had an RBI double in the ninth inning and Atlanta spoiled a seven-run rally by Florida.

Kelly Johnson had four hits and four RBIs, and Omar Infante had four hits and two RBIs for the Braves, who had a season-high in runs. Atlanta, which snapped a four-game losing streak, scored 14 runs against Cincinnati on May 4.

Alfredo Amezega had a career-high five RBIs for the Marlins, who have not won consecutive games since July 30-31.

The game featured 30 runs, 36 hits and 14 pitchers. Florida came back from a 10-3 deficit to take a 13-10 lead, and had it held, it would have been by far the biggest comeback win this season for Florida. The Marlins had rallied from three-run deficits five times this season.

With the score tied at 14 in the ninth, Gotay singled in Martin Prado for the go-ahead run. Johnson added an RBI single off reliever Matt Lindstrom (3-3).

Mike Gonzalez pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in as many chances.

Pirates 3, Reds 2

CINCINNATI - Rookies Brandon Moss and Andy LaRoche hit back-to-back home runs to help Pittsburgh snap a 10-game losing streak.

Moss and LaRoche were both acquired in a three-way trade on July 31 that sent left fielder Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox to the Dodgers and left fielder Jason Bay from the Pirates to Boston.

Moss, sent to the Pirates from the Red Sox, had a career-high three hits.

Ian Snell (6-10) lasted six innings, giving up seven hits and two runs - one earned. He struck out five. Matt Capps pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save.

Moss hit his sixth home run since joining the Pirates in the second, and LaRoche followed with his fifth overall to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.

The home runs were the 30th and 31st homers allowed by Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang (4-15), who allowed five hits and three runs in six innings.

Rockies 6, Giants 5, 12 innings

DENVER - Ryan Spilborghs singled home Omar Quintanilla with one out in the bottom of the 12th for Colorado.

Quintanilla started the rally by singling off Keiichi Yabu (3-6), and Matt Holliday walked. Giants closer Brian Wilson came on and Spilborghs lined a single down the right-field line to end the game.

Troy Tulowitzki homered for the Rockies, his sixth of the year.

Jason Grilli (3-1), the sixth Colorado reliever, struck out four and walked one in three innings.

The Rockies have won seven of 10.

Randy Winn and Omar Vizquel had three hits each for the Giants, who have lost five straight and seven of their last eight.

The son is about to find out what in a name. As much fun as he’s had sitting in the old man’s office and answering the phone when the tabloids called, Hank Steinbrenner’s vacation is over.

He knows it’s taboo to talk about next year in New York, as evidenced by what he said last October, the day after he let his father’s manager for the previous dozen seasons, Joe Torre, walk: “None of us think we can win the championship every year, but that’s the goal. Period.”

Yet here it is, not even October, and there’s precious few signs of life between the lines and zero hope of making the playoffs. Though the body is still warm, the post-mortem has begun, because that’s the Yankee way, too. Not to be outdone, Steinbrenner provided the Yankees beat writers with his assessment of the team after a loss to the Red Sox last Wednesday at home all but sealed their fate.

“They sucked,” he said, for once eschewing use of the royal “we.”

There will be enough finger-pointing and personnel changes this offseason to give new meaning to the term “hot stove.”

A season after they scored nearly 1,000 runs, they’ll be lucky to see 800. Alex Rodriguez, re-signed at $27 million per year to anchor the batting order for the next decade, was undone by Madonna, or nerves, or both. He’s hitting less than .250 with runners in scoring position and two-thirds of his homers have come with the bases empty. He routinely gets booed, but here’s a comforting thought: A-Rod is under contract until he’s 42.

The young pitching arms the Yankees were counting on nearly fell off. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are both 0-4 with ERAs nudging toward double digits. Promising outfield prospect Melky Cabrera, whose name also turned up in a few proposed deals that might have landed Johan Santana, is languishing in the minors after hitting just .242 with eight homers and 36 RBIs.

Just as he had countless times with King George, general manager Brian Cashman tried to make himself the fall guy.

“We’re scuffling,” he said, “and we’re not doing a very good job of doing something about it.”

But it’s too late for that. Pushed by competition from the free-spending Red Sox, he made a series of bad choices on the kind of aging starting pitchers the Yankees once plucked with immunity and great results. Burned by Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa and Randy Johnson, Cashman abandoned George Steinbrenner’s philosophy of hiring mercenaries and decided to go with a youth movement instead.

The Yankees will move into their new, $1.3 billion pleasure palace across the street next season, and like the neighbors down the block, they’d be wise to devote more time and energy to where they plan to be than where they are at the moment.

Between position players Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, Pudge Rodriguez and pitchers Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte, among others, the Yankees will be able to clear close to $90 million in contracts off their books before next season. That means they can take a run at CC Sabathia, Milwaukee’s rent-an-ace, and maybe even his Brewers sidekick, Ben Sheets. Mark Teixeira, too, might be in play, as a quick upgrade for Giambi.

But no matter where the Yankees look, they can count on seeing the Red Sox hovering nearby. Boston has become the Evil Empire North by doing business the way the Yankees have for years, except as two World Series titles in the last four years prove, they’ve been doing it better.

To Cashman’s enduring credit, he could point to devastating injuries throughout the lineup all season long, but hasn’t. Maybe because the Red Sox have suffered just as many, and while they haven’t kept pace with surprising Tampa Bay, they’ve clung to a wild-card spot with jerry-rigged lineups by alternating stars and fill-ins they developed themselves. The two best position players the Yankees farm system turned up recently have been Cabrera and Robinson Cano, and their long-term prospects are far from guaranteed.

This is where Hank and his brother Hal come in. Hank has learned to yell and flog the team and leave Cashman to take the blame. Hal has been hiding in the background.

What neither has figured out is something the old man learned long ago. When Joe Torre ran the show, George supplemented homegrown talent with free agents and spent the bulk of his payroll on a succession of Hessians like Roger Clemens on the mound. Lately, they’ve opened the checkbook to land a string of high-priced sluggers for the batting order and tried to get by with bargains in the rotation.

George may have only so much say about the direction his sons take the franchise from here, but these few words of advice should serve as the family’s motto: “It’s the pitching, stupid.”