Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has a small fracture in his right hand that kept him out of Wednesday night's game, yet he does not need surgery and will not wear a cast.
Jeter was hit by a pitch from Tampa Bay's Victor Zambrano on Tuesday. As to when Jeter will return to the lineup, "it could be as early as tomorrow," New York general manager Brian Cashman said after a 10-3 win over Toronto.
Jeter had an MRI and X-rays in New York, and the team announced the test results after the victory. The Yankees' captain is day-to-day with non-displaced fracture in a bone above his wrist.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"He told me, `I could be playing right now,'" Cashman said. "It could've been worse, but it's not good, either."
Jeter is hitting .278 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. The All-Star has gone 31 games without making an error, the longest streak by an active AL shortstop.
Jeter was banged up earlier this season when he hurtled headfirst into the stands at Yankee Stadium after making a catch against Boston. Despite a bruised face and shoulder, he started the next day.
PHOTO: AFP
Slugger Jason Giambi, however, isn't sure exactly when he'll play again.
Bothered by an intestinal parasite earlier this season, Giambi has been slowed by fatigue. A new set of doctors is trying to determine what's wrong, and Giambi said he was checked for cancer on Wednesday -- nothing was found.
Giambi will be examined for infectious diseases on Thursday.
"Hopefully, we'll get some answers," he said. "I'm kind of lost in limbo land. It's kind of frustrating.
"I had that light at the end of the tunnel, but now it seems to be fading away," he said. "I'm not going anywhere. It's like a stalemate."
Giambi did not start in eight straight games from June 26 to July 4. The 2000 AL MVP was hitless on Tuesday at Tampa Bay and is in an 0-for-18 slump.
Giambi is batting .224 with 11 homers and 36 RBIs.
"I've been playing, not very good," he said.
Mark Buehrle retired his first 19 batters and faced the minimum 27 to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 14-0 victory Wednesday night over the Cleveland Indians.
Buehrle (10-3) didn't allow a runner until Omar Vizquel lined a 3-2 pitch out of the reach of shortstop Jose Valentin with one out in the seventh inning. Buehrle struck out four, walked none and was aided by two double plays in his first complete game since last Aug. 8.
"It was the most impressive outing against us all year," said Cleveland first baseman Lou Merloni. "He didn't have to make many pitches to get us out. He got an early cushion and then was throwing strike after strike."
Carlos Lee homered twice and Valentin added a two-run shot for the White Sox, who blew open the game with a six-run fifth. Chicago had lost nine of its previous 15 games.
Cliff Lee (10-2) allowed seven runs in four innings, losing for the first time in nine starts.
"They put it to me pretty good," Lee said. "I wasn't that bad, they were that good. They hit any pitch in any count."
Rangers 3, Angels 2
In Arlington, Texas, Ryan Drese pitched seven innings in another impressive home start, and Michael Young's go-ahead double gave Texas the victory over slumping Anaheim.
Alfonso Soriano homered for the American League West-leading Rangers (54-38), who have their best record through 92 games. They are a season-high 16 games over .500 and 5-1 since the All-Star break.
Drese (6-5) allowed two runs on five hits and beat Kelvim Escobar (5-7) while lowering his home ERA to 1.98. Young's two-out hit in the seventh off Francisco Rodriguez drove in Gary Matthews Jr.
Francisco Cordero got his 30th save, handing the Angels to their fifth loss in six games.
Yankees 10, Blue Jays 3
In New York, Gary Sheffield hit a three-run homer, and Enrique Wilson also connected for New York, which battered Toronto in their first meeting of the season.
The AL East-leading Yankees play the last-place Blue Jays in 19 of their final 70 games. Despite playing minus injured Derek Jeter and ailing Jason Giambi, New York handed Toronto its eighth loss in nine games. Slumping Bernie Williams added a pair of RBI singles for the Yankees.
Javier Vazquez (11-6) pitched six innings to Pat Hentgen (2-9), and the former AL Cy Young pitching award winner extended the longest losing streak of his career to seven decisions.
Orioles 10, Red Sox 5
In Boston, Pedro Martinez gave up a season-high eight runs and lost for the first time since May 16, with Miguel Tejada driving in five runs to lead Baltimore over Boston.
David Newhan was 4-for-5 with an inside-the-park, two-run homer, a double and two singles -- his third four-hit game since the Orioles signed him June 18. Tejada had a triple and two singles.
Martinez (10-4) had been 6-0 at Fenway Park this season, but gave up nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. The runs were the most since he allowed a career-high 10 on April 12, 2003. He lost to Erik Bedard (4-4), who allowed four runs in six innings and struck out eight.
Gabe Kapler hit a three-run homer and Kevin Millar had a solo shot for the Red Sox.
Tigers 4, Royals 2
In Detroit, Ivan Rodriguez, Rondell White and Marcus Thames homered to help Detroit and Mike Maroth beat Kansas City.
Maroth (7-7) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.
Jamie Walker got the last two outs for his first save. He struck out Dee Brown with runners on first and third to end the game. Desi Relaford homered for the Royals in their third straight loss.
Darrell May (7-10) allowed four runs and eight hits in eight innings.
Twins 12, Devil Rays 2
In Minneapolis, backup catcher Henry Blanco went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs to lead Minnesota, which got a season-high 17 hits in routing Tampa Bay and John Halama.
Luis Rivas hit a three-run homer, Justin Morneau had three hits and an RBI, and Lew Ford homered and scored three runs for the Twins, who scored eight runs in the fourth inning.
Mariners 6, Athletics 5,
10 innings
In Seattle, Bucky Jacobsen homered in the 10th inning to give Seattle a win over Oakland.
Jacobsen connected off Justin Duschcherer (4-2), getting his third homer of the season in just 21 at-bats.
In the top half of the inning, the A's put runners on second and third with one out. But Bobby Madritsch (1-0), making his major league debut, got Bobby Kielty to hit a sharp liner to third baseman Justin Leone, who tagged the bag for a double play.
Mark Kotsay, Bobby Crosby and Damian Miller hit home runs for Oakland.
Sammy Sosa hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning following a rain delay, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a two-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 Wednesday and stop a three-game losing streak.
Sosa reached Todd Van Poppel (3-4) for his 18th homer.
"He threw me a high pitch, and I made my mind up to go out there and swing," said Sosa, who homered during a light rain. "We're not struggling. We just lost a couple of games."
Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings, stranding three runners in the seventh when he threw a called third strike past John Vander Wal in the pouring rain just before a 54-minute delay.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched ninth for his 13th save. Derrek Lee and Moises Alou hit two-run homers for Chicago.
"Hopefully it can be a turning point," Cubs starter Matt Clement said. "You lose that game, and the negatives just keep going."
Wily Mo Pena and Jason LaRue homered for the Reds, and D'Angelo Jimenez had two RBIs.
Pirates 4, Braves 2
In Atlanta, Kris Benson made another enticing start before the trade deadline, allowing five hits in eight innings to lead streaking Pittsburgh over Atlanta. Jose Mesa worked the ninth for his 27th save.
Tike Redman had three RBIs for the Pirates, including a two-run homer.
Benson, in the final year of his contract and not expected to re-sign with the Pirates, is being scouted by about a half-dozen teams as the July 31 deadline approaches for trades without waivers.
After the first, Benson (8-7) didn't give up a hit until Andruw Jones' opposite-field single with one out in the eighth. Pittsburgh, a winner for the 17th time in 22 games, beat Paul Byrd (2-3).
Phillies 2, Marlins 1
In Philadelphia, Ricky Ledee hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, and Kevin Millwood pitched seven strong innings to help Philadelphia beat Florida and end the Phillies' nine-game losing streak against the Marlins.
Ledee, starting in left field for struggling Pat Burrell, also made an outstanding leaping catch on a drive by Damion Easley in the fifth that appeared headed over the wall.
Millwood (8-5) allowed one run, seven hits and struck out six. Billy Wagner got the last four outs for his 16th save in 18 chances. Loser A.J. Burnett (1-5) allowed two runs and eight hits in 7 2-3 innings.
Cardinals 1, Brewers 0
In St. Louis, Woody Williams threw seven innings of five-hit ball in 93-degree heat, singled twice and scored as St. Louis beat Milwaukee for its 14th victory in 16 games.
Edgar Renteria hit a sixth-inning sacrifice fly for the Cardinals (60-34), who have the best record in the major leagues and have won 11 of 12 at home. Williams (7-6) outpitched Victor Santos (9-4).
Jason Isringhausen, the third St. Louis pitcher, worked the ninth for his 25th save in 29 chances. Williams reached on a bloop hit to start the sixth, went to third on a fielding error by second baseman Bill Hall and scored on Renteria's one-out fly to right field.
Mets 5, Expos 4
In New York, Montreal's Nick Johnson dropped a routine throw to first base with two outs in the eighth inning, allowing Ty Wigginton to score the go-ahead run in New York's win over Montreal.
Shifted from third base to first when the Mets called up prized prospect David Wright earlier in the day, Wigginton reached base five times on three walks and two errors. He also made a nice scoop at first to complete a game-ending double play.
Richard Hidalgo hit a three-run homer for the Mets, who blew a 4-0 lead when reliever Mike Stanton gave up a three-run shot to Endy Chavez in the seventh. Orber Moreno (3-1) won in relief. Braden Looper worked the ninth for his 20th save, retiring Tony Batista on a double-play grounder to end it. Joe Horgan (3-1) took the loss.
Rockies 6, Dodgers 5
In Los Angeles, Shawn Estes won for the fourth time in five decisions and Vinny Castilla homered as Colorado snapped Los Angeles' eight-game winning streak.
Estes (10-4) allowed four runs on five hits and struck out five in 6 1-3 innings. It was his third victory of the season over the NL West-leading Dodgers, who lost for only the second time in 16 games.
The Dodgers' Adrian Beltre hit a sacrifice fly -- which would have been a two-run homer if not for a leaping grab at the fence by left fielder Jeromy Burnitz in the sixth. Kazuhisa Ishii (11-5) allowed six runs in 3 1-3 innings.
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