American League notebook -- April 30, 2012
Baltimore: RH closer Jim Johnson said he was available to pitch. Johnson, who spent four days in a Baltimore hospital because of food poisoning last week, had thrown two bullpen sessions since returning to the Orioles on Friday. He hadn't appeared in a game since April 22. ... LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (elbow) was examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles, and the Orioles were awaiting the diagnosis. Wada, who hasn't pitched in a game this year, could be facing ligament-reconstruction surgery.
Boston: CF Jacoby Ellsbury has been making slow but steady progress in his recovery from a partially dislocated right shoulder. Ellsbury accompanied the Red Sox on a weeklong trip to Minnesota and Chicago, and each day he went through a set of exercises designed to help him regain normal range of motion. He still has not started baseball activities. ... LH reliever Rich Hill on Sunday made his first major league appearance since blowing out the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow last season and undergoing Tommy John surgery. Hill allowed one run on one hit and two walks in the eighth inning.
Chicago: 1B Paul Konerko used Monday's off day to rest his strained neck, and he planned to get treatment at the park Tuesday before determining if he can play. Konerko missed Sunday's game because of the injury, as the White Sox decided to be cautious because it had acted up for several days and wasn't going away. ... RH reliever Addison Reed has made 10 consecutive scoreless appearances to start the season. Reed is chasing RH reliever Sergio Santos' rookie team record of 12 straight to start a season, a mark Santos set in 2010.
Cleveland: OF Johnny Damon will be added to the roster Tuesday, the Indians announced. Damon signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract on April 17 and had been working out with the club's extended spring training program in Goodyear, Ariz. He is expected to platoon in left field with Shelley Duncan. The Indians will make a roster move Tuesday to create a spot for Damon. ... C Carlos Santana hit the Indians' last home run in the fifth inning April 17 at Seattle. Since then, the Indians have gone 11 games, 101 innings and 365 at-bats without a home run. It's their longest homerless streak since they went 14 games without one in April 1983.
Detroit: OF Delmon Young was suspended seven games without pay by Major League Baseball in relation to his arrest early Friday in New York. Young, who was charged with aggravated harassment, will also have to participate in a treatment program, MLB announced in a statement. He will be eligible to come off the restricted list and play for the Tigers on Friday. ... 2B Ryan Raburn (left hamstring) was not in the starting lineup Monday. "He's not at full speed yet, but he's OK," manager Jim Leyland said. Raburn missed Saturday's game but played left field Sunday, when Leyland took him out in the seventh inning. ... DH Brad Eldred wasn't in the starting lineup Monday, but it wasn't because he has been hitless in two starts after getting two hits in his first game with Detroit on Friday in New York. "I wanted to get another left-handed bat in there," said Leyland, who added that Eldred would probably be the DH on Tuesday.
Kansas City: RHP Felipe Paulino pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings Monday in a rehab start for Class AA Northwest Arkansas (Springdale, Ark.), allowing four hits, striking out five and walking none. Paulino threw 89 pitches, 60 for strikes. Paulino, who went on the disabled list at the end of spring training because of a strained forearm, will rejoin the Royals on Tuesday in Detroit and probably will be activated by the end of the week. ... RH reliever Greg Holland threw 18 pitches in a bullpen session Monday. Holland has been on the disabled list since April 21 because of a left rib stress reaction.
Los Angeles: IF Jorge Cantu, who did not make the Angels' roster as a non-roster invitee to spring training, opted out of his minor league contract. Cantu was batting .291 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 21 games for Class AAA Salt Lake (Salt Lake City). ... The Angels ended April having won consecutive games only once during the month, April 20-21. It was only the fifth time since 1970 that the Angels have gone a calendar month without winning back-to-back games more than once. The others were June 1974, June 1980, September 1983 and July 1998.
Minnesota: LHP Francisco Liriano, whose last scheduled start was skipped because he has struggled this season, will pitch Tuesday against the Angels. Liriano, 0-3 with an 11.02 ERA, has worked on his mechanics since his last start. "He says he feels great," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Now it's just wait and see." ... Gardenhire will not be with the Twins for a three-game series this weekend in Seattle. He will be in Marshall, Minn., for his daughter's college graduation ceremony. Bench coach Scott Ullger will manage the games against the Mariners.
New York: RF Nick Swisher left Sunday's game because of a left hamstring injury, and he is likely to be sidelined for a week. Swisher hopes to avoid going on the 15-day disabled list, and manager Joe Girardi said he hoped Swisher would be ready to return May 8 for the series opener against Tampa Bay. ... SS Derek Jeter snapped an 0-for-9 skid Sunday by going 2-for-3, giving him 36 hits in April, his career high for the first month of the season. Jeter entered Monday with 12 multi-hit games this season, the most by any Yankee.
Oakland: IF Luke Hughes was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for 3B Brandon Inge, who signed a one-year contract with the A's and started at third in Boston. The A's have been looking for an answer at third since Scott Sizemore was lost for the season because of a torn ACL in his right knee in March. ... RHP Bartolo Colon extended his scoreless-innings streak on the road to start the season to 23 innings before allowing two runs in the ninth inning Sunday. Colon is 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA. Opponents are batting .206 against him.
Seattle: CF Franklin Gutierrez, on the disabled list because of a right pectoral muscle injury, was shut down for a few days by plantar fasciitis, a heel injury. Manager Eric Wedge said he hoped Gutierrez might be able to resume running Tuesday. Gutierrez is close to going on a minor league rehab assignment. ... RHP Blake Beavan has allowed only two walks in four starts this season. His average of 0.7 walks per nine innings was the best in the AL through Sunday.
Tampa Bay: OF/DH Hideki Matsui was signed to a minor league contract, and he will report to extended spring training in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Wednesday. Matsui, who will be 38 in June, hit .251 with a .321 on-base percentage, a .375 slugging percentage and 12 home runs for Oakland last season. ... RH reliever Wade Davis said his transition from starter to reliever has been easiest when he is actually pitching. "I'm able to be relaxed on the mound when I get out there," he said. "In between times, it's the more mental prep and physical prep ... I'm going to have to get used to."
Texas: CF Josh Hamilton left Sunday's game because of back stiffness, and he was not in the lineup the next day. He is day-to-day. Hamilton finished the weekend with 25 RBI, tied for the fourth-highest total in April in Rangers history. ... Manager Ron Washington turned 60 on Sunday and celebrated by being ejected from the game in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Dan Bellino. It was Washington's 13th career ejection.
Toronto: C Jeff Mathis was making the most of his infrequent appearances, batting .313 (5-for-16) with two home runs and five RBI in six games, five of them starts, through Sunday. Mathis has been working with hitting coach Dwayne Murphy to open his stance and get the barrel of the bat through the strike zone quicker instead of trying to hit to the opposite field. "I'm happy with the results so far and with the way I feel in BP," Mathis said. ... Entering Monday, Toronto starters had pitched at least five innings in 24 consecutive outings, dating to last Sept. 27, the Blue Jays' longest such streak since 2007.
