NOTES—Minnesota’s win moved them to within 1/2 game of the first place Sox…..Edwin Jackson joined his new team, a day after the White Sox acquired him from Arizona. Jackson is scheduled to start Wednesday against one of his four former teams, the Detroit Tigers. “It’s a great group of guys. They come out and play hard every day. I’m excited to be here and to be able to be thrown in the mix and make a playoff run,” Jackson said. …..Mark Teahen was 3 for 4 with two RBIs in his first rehab game. Teahen was placed on the DL with a broken right middle finger on June 1. 

The Cubs backing up the truck started up big time left-hander Ted Lilly was traded to the Dodgers by the Cubs on Saturday along with infielder Ryan Theriot for infielder Blake DeWitt and minor league right-handers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach. Lilly pitched for Torre with the New York Yankees.Los Angeles also received approximately $2.5 million cash to cover part of what remains in Lilly’s $12 million salary. Los Angeles general manager Ned Colletti was looking to bolster his starting rotation by the trade deadline.Third in the NL West, the Dodgers already acquired former White Sox center fielder and leadoff man Scott Podsednik from Kansas City on Wednesday. Theriot is slated to be the team’s everyday second baseman, while Lilly could make his Los Angeles debut as soon as Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium against the first-place San Diego Padres.

“Hopefully it makes us better,” Torre said before the Dodgers played the San Francisco Giants. “That’s all you can do. I just talked to Theriot and he’s excited. Hopefully Ted Lilly will give us a little more stability in our rotation. I had Teddy before and I’ll tell you one thing, he’s a competitor.”

Lilly is 3-8 with a 3.69 ERA and hasn’t won since June 13. He pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Houston on Tuesday and has allowed four earned runs over his last 16 innings. He is eligible for free agency after the season.Theriot has a .284 average with one homer and 21 RBI.The 24-year-old DeWitt, a first-round pick in the 2004 amateur draft who bats left-handed, is batting .270 with 15 doubles, one homer and 30 RBI. He hit .295 with a triple, three doubles and six RBIs in 21 games in July.DeWitt isn’t sure what to expect with the Cubs, considering this is the first trade of his career.

“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. It definitely comes as a little surprise,” DeWitt said shortly after receiving the news. “I haven’t really had time to gather my thoughts yet. … It happened. I appreciated the opportunity I had here. I had a lot of fun here and I look forward to the opportunity in Chicago.”

Also, the New York Yankees have found a deal in Cleveland to acquire former Cub Kerry Wood.The deal has cleared the last hurdle, approval by the Commissioner’s Office, and Wood is on his way to the Bronx. The Yankees will send a player to be named later or cash to the Indians.The Yankees also reportedly will cover $1.5 million of the $3.6 million the Indians still owe Wood on his $10.5 million 2010 salary.Wood is the third player scooped up by the Yanks in the past 24 hours, following Houston’s Lance Berkman and Wood’s former teammate in Cleveland, outfielder Austin Kearns.Wood simply will add depth to a Yankees’ bullpen as they gear up for the stretch run. In 23 appearances for the Indians this season, Wood was 1-4 with a 6.30 ERA and eight saves in 11 opportunities. He recently returned from the disabled list, where he was placed because of a blister on his finger.

When Lucas Harrell woke up in the morning, he was preparing to make a start for Triple-A Charlotte. He ended the day with his first major league victory.Harrell pitched six strong innings in his major league debut, Dayan Viciedo had three hits, and the White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 6-1 Friday night to get their 12th straight win at home.Harrell’s morning started with a call from White Sox director of player development Buddy Bell informing him of the news.Gordon Beckham also had two hits and drove in two runs for the AL Central-leading White Sox, who are 19-1 at home since June 9. With the win, The Sox moved to a eason-high 14 games over .500.The day was set up for Harrell when the White Sox acquired right-hander Edwin Jackson from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Friday night’s scheduled starter Daniel Hudson and prospect David Holmberg.After losing two out of three games to at Oakland last weekend, the White Sox have won five in a row and have their longest home-winning streak since they a 13-game stretch July 1-Aug. 5, 1989.Harrell (1-0) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and then coasted behind a strong offense for his first victory. He allowed one run on four hits and pitched around five walks with one strikeout. After the game, Harrell was optioned back to Charlotte. Kurt Suzuki had two hits for Oakland who have lost three of its last four after going 9-2 in its previous 11 games.Oakland starter Brett Anderson (2-2), who made his first start since June 3, gave up five runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings. Anderson was activated from the disabled list before the game with left elbow soreness. Inflammation in his pitching elbow has limited Anderson to three starts since April 24.Juan Pierre led off the first inning with a bouncer to shortstop Cliff Pennington, who fielded the ball on the run near second base and bobbled it, allowing Pierre to reach safely with a hit. Pierre then stole second and scored on Alex Rios’ single to give Harrell and the White Sox an early lead.Harrell got into trouble in the second inning. He walked leadoff hitter Mark Ellis, but retired the next two batters. He then walked Pennington and Coco Crisp to load the bases. Daric Barton lifted a long fly ball to center, but Rios hovered under just a step from the center-field wall and made the catch.Ellis led off the fourth with a single and moved to second and third on a pair of infield grounders. He then scored after Pennington hit a liner off Harrell’s glove to tie the score.The White Sox regained the lead in the fourth as Paul Konerko led off with a double to center and scored on A.J. Pierzynski’s single. Viciedo followed with a double off the wall in center advancing Pierzynksi to third. Pierzynski scored on Andruw Jones’ infield groundout and Viciedo scored on Beckham’s single to make it 4-1. Beckham gave the White Sox an insurance run in the sixth with an RBI single and Alexei Ramirez scored on Konerko’s sacrifice fly in the seventh. Jackson was 6-10 with a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts for the Diamondbacks this year, coming off an All-Star season in which he went 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 33 starts covering 214 innings for Detroit. Jackson is scheduled to start Wednesday at Detroit.

NOTES—Before the game, the Athletics placed closer Andrew Bailey on the disabled list with a strained right rib cage muscle. Bailey, coming off his second All-Star appearance in as many years, hasn’t pitched since July 20 with the injury. He has 20 saves in 23 opportunities with a 1.56 ERA. The club expects him back Aug. 6 against the Rangers. … Jackson issued eight walks in his 149-pitch no-hitter against the Rays on June 25, and averages more than four walks per nine innings, well above the league average.3 opportunities with a 1.56 ERA. The club expects him back Aug. 6 against the Rangers. … Jackson issued eight walks in his 149-pitch no-hitter against the Rays on June 25, and averages more than four walks per nine innings, well above the league average.

DENVER—Leading 5-2, the Colorado Rockies were looking for an insurance run with two outs in the eighth. Fourteen batters later they were comfortably ahead.Carlos Gonzalez, Ian Stewart and Dexter Fowler homered and Colorado used a record-setting 12-run eighth inning to rout the sinking out of sight Cubs 17-2 on Friday night.

“I’d never seen an inning like that,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “We had two outs and two strikes on a hitter and they score 12 runs. I’d never seen an inning like that.”

Gonzalez had four hits, two in the eighth when the Rockies set a major-league record with 11 straight hits in the inning. The Rockies had 13 hits in the inning, a franchise record.Fowler and Stewart both hit two-run homers in the eighth as the Rockies piled up a club-high 12 extra base hits in the game. The Rockies batted around twice in the inning against relievers Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner and Brian Schlitter. Troy Tulowitzki had two doubles and three RBI, Clint Barmes and Melvin Mora also had two hits and Brad Hawpe and Chris Iannetta reached base twice in the inning.Every batter got at least one hit in the eighth.It was a welcome explosion for a Colorado offense that has struggled of late. In the last four games of their losing streak that reached nine Wednesday, the Rockies scored 11 combined runs — or one less than they did in the eighth inning Friday.Jeff Francis (4-3) had his second straight quality start in picking up just his second win since June 13. He gave up two runs and four hits, struck out five and walked one in six innings.The Cubs have lost three straight and four of five.The Rockies got to starter Ryan Dempster (8-8) in the third. With one out Francis singled to center, Fowler hit a ground-rule double to center and Seth Smith doubled to score both runners.Dempster struck out Gonzalez but then walked three consecutive batters to allow Smith to score and make it 3-0.The Rockies padded the lead in the fifth. Gonzalez led off with his 20th home run, Tulowitzki singled and Hawpe and Iannetta walked to load the bases with no outs.James Russell relieved Dempster and gave up an RBI single to Stewart to make it 5-0. Russell retired the next three batters to end the rally.Dempster allowed five runs and seven hits, struck out five and walked five in four-plus innings.

“I wasn’t aggressive. It was embarrassing,” Dempster said. “I would rather have given up the 11-straight hits than to not be aggressive.”

The Cubs got two back in the sixth off Francis. Jeff Baker led off with a single, Tyler Colvin tripled and then scored on Derrek Lee’s groundout to make it 5-2.

NOTES—The Cubs reinstated RHP Carlos Zambrano from the restricted list. Zambrano was placed on the restricted list June 29 after getting into a verbal altercation with teammates during a June 26 game against the White Sox.Piniella will miss the last two games of the series and the opener of the home series with Milwaukee on Monday to attend his uncle’s funeral in Tampa. Bench coach Alan Trammell will manage the team in Piniella’s absence.Rockies 1B Todd Helton (back stiffness) began a rehab assignment with the Casper Ghosts of the Rookie League.

The Rush will open the 2010 Arena Football League playoffs with a National Conference semifinal game against the Milwaukee Iron next weekend at U.S.Cellular Arena(former Milwakee Arena) since the Bradley Center is under renovation and not available. The playoff matchup was determined after the Iowa Barnstormers defeated the Arizona Rattlers 67-47 Friday night in Phoenix. Arizona’s loss gives the Rush and Rattlers identical 10-6 records at the close of the regular season. Since the Rush swept the season series from Arizona, the Rush wins the tiebreaker between the teams and earns the No. 3 seed in the National Conference, while the Rattlers fall to the No. 4 seed. As the No. 3 seed, the Rush now faces the No. 2 seed Milwaukee (10-5), while Arizona must travel to Spokane to take on the top seeded Spokane Shock (13-3).The Rush and Iron split their 2010 season series, with the Iron winning 71-48 on May 7 in Milwaukee and the Rush evening the series with a 63-56 win June 19 at Allstate Arena.More details regarding the date and time of the game will be available soon. Fans should continue to check the Rush Web site for more information.We’ll also update here on grobber.com

SEATTLE—The Seattle Storm showed the Sky how much they have improved since a rare loss two months ago at Allstate Arena.Swin Cash had 16 points to lead five players in double figures as the Storm beat the Sky 80-60 Friday night for their 13th consecutive win.Lauren Jackson added 14 points, Svetlana Abrosimova had 13, Sue Bird 11 and Camille Little 10 for Seattle (22-2). Bird also had eight assists as the Storm, who have already clinched the Western Conference title, improved to 13-0 at home.The Storm, who lost 84-75 in Rosemont on May 27 to end Seattle’s 4-0 start and give the Sky its first win after opening 0-4, have won 18 of 19 since then. Seattle is also undefeated since a 72-65 setback at Indiana on June 17.

“They are clicking,” said Fowles, who led the Sky with 13 points. “They’ve put all of the puzzle pieces together. Everyone on that team is a threat, not just Lauren and Sue. You have to guard everybody.”

The Sky (12-14) has lost three of four to drop to last place in the Eastern Conference.Bird hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter as Seattle built a 55-31 lead at halftime. The Storm shot 8 of 14 on 3-pointers in the first half and finshed with 10 3s.Seattle increased the advantage to 27 points in the third and fourth quarters.The Storm are closing in on the best start in WNBA history – 25-2 set by Houston in 1998. The Comets finished that season 27-3 en route to its second of four straight titles in the league’s first four years.Cash scored 10, Jackson eight and Little seven to help give the Storm a 27-13 in the first quarter.Jackson and Cash sat out the fourth quarter as the Storm held on to the large lead. The Sky now have to visit Los Angeles and Phoenix to complete thi9s extended road trip. The Mercury are the only team the Sky has still never beaten.

 

NOTES—The White Sox have seven series sweeps, their most in a season since they took 12 in 2005, when they went on to win the World Series. … Mariners DH Russell Branyan sat out with back spasms as a “precautionary day off,” Don Wakamatsu said. Branyan had played the previous two games after missing most of two weeks…. Wakamatsu also sat 3B Jose Lopez (tight left hamstring), OF Milton Bradley (knee stiffness) and DH Mike Sweeney (sore back), saying all three should play at Minnesota over the weekend. 

Bobby Jenks just overpowered the heart of Seattle’s lineup, firing fastball after fastball into A.J. Pierzynski’s mitt as the crowd roared.Just another fun night at home for the White Sox. Alex Rios hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning, Jenks struck out the side for an electric save and the slugging White Sox rallied to beat the Mariners 6-5 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight win at U.S. Cellular Field. Gordon Beckham, Paul Konerko and Alexei Ramirez went deep for the White Sox, who hit three homers for the second straight day. Konerko’s tying solo shot in the fifth was his third in three games and No. 24 for the season.But Jenks supplied the most impressive power, touching 99 mph as he mowed down Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan and Justin Smoak for his 21st save in 23 chances. Gutierrez and Smoak went down swinging and Branyan looked at a called third strike during Jenks’ 13-pitch ninth.Jenks went through a rough stretch earlier this month, and manager Ozzie Guillen talked about taking him out of the closer’s role for a while to let him regroup.The Sox (56-44) had won three straight and four of six to move 12 games over .500, tying a season high. The AL Central leaders also earned their 17th win in their last 18 home games.Chone Figgins hit a rare homer for slumping Seattle, which has dropped 19 of 25. Ichiro Suzuki went 2 for 5 and scored two runs.Juan Pierre, who reached base three times, started the winning rally with a leadoff walk against Jamey Wright (1-3). He took second with his major league-best 38th steal and moved to third on Ramirez’s sacrifice.Brandon League came in to face Rios, who bounced a single past a drawn-in infield and into left field, making it 6-5. Rios also singled in a run in the first.Matt Thornton (3-3) got Michael Saunders to fly out with the bases loaded to end the seventh. J.J. Putz worked the eighth before Jenks came on for the ninth, much to the delight of the crowd of 25,126.The White Sox overcame a rough outing by Buehrle to improve to 8-1 against Seattle this season. They will go for the four-game sweep Thursday when Freddy Garcia faces Mariners right-hander David Pauley.Figgins went deep in the second inning, increasing Seattle’s lead to 5-1 with a drive to left after Suzuki’s two-out single. It was the first homer for the speedy infielder since Sept. 22 for the Los Angeles Angels against the New York Yankees.The White Sox erased the deficit with the long ball: Beckham’s two-run homer in the second, Ramirez’s leadoff drive in the fifth and Konerko’s shot later in the same inning.Ramirez connected for the second straight day and is 10 for 15 with six RBI in his last four games.Suzuki and Figgins got the Mariners off to a fast start after they were outscored 17-1 in the first two games of the series. Each of them singled and scored in Seattle’s three-run first, with Figgins swiping home after Branyan was picked off first.Jason Vargas allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings for Seattle. He hadn’t allowed more than one homer in a single start this year.Buehrle, who had tossed two consecutive complete games, gave up five runs and nine hits in five innings. Much of the game was played with three umpires after Brian Runge left before the top of the third. He took a foul tip off his mask in the bottom of the first. A White Sox spokesman said he was removed as a precaution and taken to a hospital for observation.Hunter Wendelstedt took over behind the plate after a 10-minute delay and there was no umpire in the middle of the field    

NOTES—With the trade deadline coming up on Saturday, Guillen brought a homemade sign to his pregame meeting with reporters. It read: “Don’t ask me about trades. I don’t know. Ask KW,” referring to general manager Kenny Williams. Guillen grinned as he showed off the sign….Mariners INF Jose Lopez, who left Tuesday’s game with a tight left hamstring, was held out and is day to day.