WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Thursday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Cliff Lee threw seven impressive innings,
Wilson Valdez hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh, and
the Philadelphia Phillies beat Arizona 9-2 last night to snap the
Diamondbacks' seven-game winning streak. Lee allowed two runs and
three hits, striking out seven. The All-Star lefty has won four
straight starts.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Phillies have called up
right-hander Michael Schwimer from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to
replace All-Star third baseman Placido Polanco on the roster.
Schwimer joined the Phillies yesterday before the NL East leaders
played Arizona. Polanco was placed on the DL after Tuesday night's
loss. He has a sports hernia.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Allen Craig homered twice to break out of a
slump and lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the
Pittsburgh Pirates last night. Craig went 4 for 5 with three RBIs
and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who are
trying to stay within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee
in the NL Central.

MOOSIC, Pa. (AP) - With cameras flashing for every at-bat, A-Rod
the minor leaguer moved closer to rejoining the New York Yankees.
His return to the big-league lineup, however, will have to wait.
Alex Rodriguez has ruled himself out for today's opener of New
York's four-game series at Minnesota. Rodriguez went 1 for 2 with
an RBI and two walks in his final game for Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night. He also made an error.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy
Maclin has been cleared to return to the team after a cancer scare.
Trainer Rick Burkholder says barring a setback, Maclin will return
to practice within 10 days and should be able to play in the
September 11th opener at St. Louis.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed defensive
backs Kevin Dockery and Macho Harris. Dockery and Harris are
expected to give Pittsburgh's secondary some needed depth. Veterans
Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden have been limited in training camp
and neither will play tonight when the Steelers host Philadelphia.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State's two starting quarterback
candidates agree: They'd rather not have to share the job. Now it's
up to coach Joe Paterno to pick either Rob Bolden or Matt McGloin,
and he's not quite ready to make that choice with about two weeks
left in preseason camp.

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (AP) - Big Ten volleyball coaches have picked
Penn State to win a ninth straight conference championship. The
Nittany Lions have won four consecutive NCAA titles. They're also
Number 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national
poll.


AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Tampa Bay 4, Boston 0
Oakland 6, Baltimore 5
Minnesota 6, Detroit 5
Cleveland 4, Chicago White Sox 1
Kansas City 5, N.Y. Yankees 4
Texas 4, L.A. Angels 3
Toronto 5, Seattle 1
Thursday's Games
Boston (Beckett 9-5) at Kansas City (Hochevar 8-9), 8:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Masterson 9-7) at Chicago White Sox (Humber 8-8),
8:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 16-7) at Minnesota (Duensing 8-11), 8:10
p.m.
Texas (C.Lewis 11-8) at L.A. Angels (Weaver 14-6), 10:05 p.m.
Toronto (R.Romero 11-9) at Oakland (Cahill 9-11), 10:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Houston 4, Chicago Cubs 3
N.Y. Mets 7, San Diego 3
Philadelphia 9, Arizona 2
Cincinnati 2, Washington 1
St. Louis 7, Pittsburgh 2
San Francisco 7, Atlanta 5
Milwaukee 3, L.A. Dodgers 1
Colorado 12, Florida 5
Thursday's Games
L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 14-5) at Milwaukee (Estrada 3-7), 2:10
p.m.
Arizona (I.Kennedy 15-3) at Philadelphia (Worley 8-1), 7:05 p.m.
Cincinnati (Arroyo 7-9) at Washington (Zimmermann 7-10), 7:05
p.m.
San Francisco (Lincecum 11-9) at Atlanta (Minor 2-2), 7:10 p.m.
Florida (Vazquez 7-10) at San Diego (Stauffer 7-9), 10:05 p.m.

NFL PRESEASON

Thursday, Aug. 18
New England at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 19
Washington at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.
Carolina at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Kansas City at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.
Arizona at Green Bay, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Jacksonville, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 20
Oakland at San Francisco, 8 p.m.
Tennessee at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Houston, 8 p.m.
Buffalo at Denver, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 21
Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m.
San Diego at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 22
Chicago at N.Y. Giants, 8 p.m.


WNBA
Wednesday's Games
No games scheduled
Thursday's Games
Connecticut at New York, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

MLS
Wednesday's Games
New England 1, Houston 1, tie
Sporting Kansas City 3, Portland 1
Thursday's Games
D.C. United at Chicago, 9 p.m.