WPPA/T102 Sports-Thursday

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 1 Minnesota 0
Chi White Sox 9 L.A. Angels 0
Toronto 10 Seattle 0
Baltimore 4 Boston 0
Kansas City 6 Cleveland 2
N-Y Yankees 8 Tampa Bay 4
Texas 11 Detroit 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 6 Milwaukee 3 (first game)
Milwaukee 2 Pittsburgh 1 (second game)
Houston 5 St. Louis 1
Philadelphia 6 Atlanta 5 (first game)
Philadelphia 7 Atlanta 2 (second game)
Arizona 4 Washington 2
N-Y Mets 7 Florida 4, 11 Innings
San Diego 10 Cincinnati 0
L.A. Dodgers 6 Chi Cubs 0
Colorado 9 San Francisco 8

ATLANTA (AP) - Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins and Abraham Nunez led the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-to-2 victory and a sweep of their doubleheader in Atlanta. Ruiz hit a two-run homer and an R-B-I single for the Phillies,who avoided elimination in the N-L East race by taking both games.Rollins also hit a two-run shot and Nunez poked a two-run single as the Phillies pulled within a game and a-half of San Diego for the N-L wild-card lead. Jon Lieber held the Braves to a pair of runs and eight hits over seven and a-third to get to 8-and-9. Tim Hudson surrendered five runs and nine hits in five innings,dropping him to 12-and-11. Adam LaRoche and Brian McCann homered for the Braves, who are six and a-half games off the wild-card lead with only 17 games left. In the opener, left fielder Matt Diaz misplayed David Delucci's line drive in the eighth inning allowing two runs to score and Philadelphia won 6-to-5. The Phillies overcame a five-run deficit after two innings to pull out the win. The teams finish their series tonight.

VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) - Philadelphia Flyers center Keith Primeau will be forced to retire after failing to receive clearance to play because of lingering effects of a concussion. A person in the N-H-L with knowledge of Primeau's decision told the A-P that the former Flyers center will retire. The team has scheduled an 11 a-m news conference today. Flyers trainer Gary Dorshimer says he can't clear Primeau to play becase the player hasn't been able to eliminate all of his symptoms. Primeau missed 21 games last season because of a concussion sustained against the Rangers in the 2003-2004 season. He also had at least two head injuries during the 2004 playoffs. He finished with 266 goals and 619 points.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Rod Hood is the reason the Philadelphia Eagles won't panic over losing Lito Sheppard to an injury. Hood stepped up and filled in for the former first-team All-Pro selection when a severe high-ankle sprain forced Sheppard to miss the final six games last season. He played well enough to earn strong praise from teammates, coaches and others around the league. With Sheppard out again after injuring his other ankle in theseason opener at Houston, Hood is back in the starting lineup. Sheppard is definitely out against the New York Giants on Sunday, but his status beyond that game is uncertain. It's possible he could miss up to six weeks. Hood had three interceptions last year and five in his career. He also returned kickoffs last season, averaging 23.7 yards on 38 returns.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ben Roethlisberger practiced yesterday for the first time since having appendicitis and is hoping to play against Jacksonville on Monday. But the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is beginning to wonder if he's being followed by a black cloud. Roethlisberger missed three games due to a knee injury last season. He had a motorcycle crash in June that shattered his face and caused so much bleeding that paramedics feared he might die.Then, an appendectomy sidelined him during the Pittsburgh Steelers first game. Roethlisberger says things happen for a reason. So, he's trying to come back as soon as possible. He says his midsection remains a little sore, but it feels like nothing is wrong.

FARMINGTON, Pa. (AP) - The P-G-A Tour event will start today at the Nemacolin Woodlands resort's Mystic Rock course. It will be the fourth and last classic, replaced next year by the Saint Paul Travelers Championship in Hartford. The only tournament with P-G-A Tour golfers scheduled in the region is next year's U-S Open at Oakmont. John Daly has an endorsement deal with 84 Lumber. And the long-hitting Daly says not having the tournament anymore is sad Michelle Wie, Daly, defending champion Jason Gore and five Ryder Cup players headline the event.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny is sure he has room for improvement. "Pos" is coming back from a serious knee injury suffered at the Orange Bowl, but he has looked like the same outstanding player in the Nittany Lions first two games. He has 19 tackles so far,including 12 against highly ranked Notre Dame last week. Penn State's senior captain has plenty to do on the field. He has to keep tabs on seven new starters and adapt to moving inside instead of the outside spot he held last year. Posluszny admites he might have more flexibility and movement once he gets to take the brace off his injured knee. But that won't be until after Penn State's fourth game - at the earliest.