American League team-by-team notebook -- Sunday, September 9, 2012

Baltimore: RF Nick Markakis likely will undergo surgery Tuesday to put a plate in his broken left thumb. Manager Buck Showalter said the operation could expedite the recovery for Markakis, who was initially looking at a six-week recovery. Markakis will fly to Sarasota, Fla., to visit with the same surgeon that performed a procedure on a broken hamate bone in his right hand in June. ... OF Endy Chavez is expected to join the team Tuesday to help provide depth with Markakis out. Chavez began the year as a part-time left fielder but was on the disabled list twice before being demoted to Class AAA Norfolk (Va.).

Boston: Manager Bobby Valentine said that DH David Ortiz (strained right Achilles tendon) almost certainly will be shut down for the duration of the season. Ortiz has resumed wearing a protective boot on his foot after aggravating the injury Aug. 24. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection nearly two weeks ago but has not yet resumed baseball activities. ... RHP John Lackey (Tommy John surgery) threw 15 pitches of batting practice Saturday. It may be the precursor to a rehab appearance before the end of the season.

Chicago: DH Adam Dunn (strained right side muscle) has missed three consecutive games, and there is concern that he could be sidelined all week. Dunn said he tweaked the injury Wednesday against Minnesota, but it got worse heading into the weekend series with the Royals. ... SS Alexei Ramirez was scratched from the starting lineup after arriving late to the park. He entered as a seven-inning pinch runner and hit a single in the ninth.

Cleveland: 3B Lonnie Chisenhall, who had been out since late June with a broken right forearm, was activated from the 60-day disabled list. RHP Josh Tomlin, who had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 22, was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a spot for Chisenhall on the 40-man roster. ... RH closer Chris Perez's save Friday was the 95th in his Indians career. That moved him past Mike Jackson and into fourth place on the club's all-time list.

Detroit: RHP Justin Verlander's streak of starts with a minimum of 100 pitches thrown ended at 80 outings Saturday. Verlander got nicked for four first-inning runs but lasted six innings in a 6-1 loss to the Angels. He threw 97 pitches. ... The Tigers have gone 23 innings without scoring while RHP Rick Porcello was the pitcher of record, dating back to the sixth inning of his Aug. 12 outing against Texas. Porcello, who starts tonight against the first-place White Sox, has lost five consecutive starts.

Kansas City: C Salvador Perez had two hits Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest by a Royal this season and Perez's career best. He is 21-for-59 (.356) during the streak. ... LHP Bruce Chen struck out White Sox SS Alexei Ramirez in the second inning Saturday for his 1,000th strikeout; he finished with 1,005. However, Chen took the loss, yielding three home runs and five runs in six innings. In his past two starts, Chen has allowed seven home runs in 12 innings.

Los Angeles: RHP Jered Weaver (biceps and shoulder tendinitis) played catch from 90 feet Saturday and Sundyay. He has not pitched since Sept. 2, but the Angels are optimistic that Weaver will be ready to rejoin the rotation Wednesday. ... OF Mike Trout led off the Saturday and Sunday games with homers. He has 27 home runs on the season, all from the leadoff position, breaking the team record shared Brian Downing and Tony Phillips for the most home runs by a leadoff hitter in a season. Downing (1982) and Phillips (1995) each had 26.

Minnesota: Josh Willingham (sore right hamstring) hopes to be back in left field Tuesday. He sat out Sunday, and his past four starts have been as the designated hitter. ... RHP Liam Hendriks is winless in the first 16 starts of his major league career, which is tied for the fifth-longest career-opening streak in history. "I'm trying not to think about it too much," said Hendriks, who is 0-7 with a 6.20 ERA in 12 starts this year after going 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in four starts last year.

New York: 1B Mark Teixeira will undergo an MRI exam Tuesday after aggravating the strained left calf that had sidelined him for 10 games before Saturday. Teixeira was sore and tight after his return Saturday, and he didn't play Sunday. ... LHP Andy Pettitte will be examined Tuesday and is hoping to be cleared to begin running. Pettitte, who threw a 45-pitch simulated game Saturday, will increase his workload to 60 pitches Wednesday in Boston. Manager Joe Girardi said Pettitte may come back five days later.

Oakland: RHP Brandon McCarthy showed good signs Saturday in his recovery from emergency surgery for an epidural hematoma, bleeding that caused pressure on the brain. McCarthy, who was hit in the head by a line drive by Angels SS Erick Aybar on Wednesday, was more verbal Saturday, according to a medical report provided by the A's. The team expected that he would be moved out of critical care to a transitional unit soon. ... LHP Brett Anderson is 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. He allowed one unearned run in six innings Saturday at Seattle.

Seattle: Manager Eric Wedge rested 2B Dustin Ackley and 1B Justin Smoak in the series finale against the A's. Ackley, who grounded out as a pinch hitter, hit .235 (8-for-34) on the just-concluded nine-game homestand, while Smoak hit .200 (5-for-25). They combined for no homers and three RBI. ... RH relievers Erasmo Ramirez and Hector Noesi both will get two starts the final four weeks of the season, Wedge said. Ramirez (one innings) and Noesi (two innings) pitched scoreless relief Friday, their first appearances since being recalled from the minors this month.

Tampa Bay: LF Desmond Jennings has missed the past two games because of lower back stiffness. With the team off Tuesday, he is expected to return Tuesday in Baltimore. ... RHP Chris Archer filled in well Saturday for LHP David Price (shoulder soreness), striking out 11 Rangers in his third big-league start. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Archer became the second major league pitcher in the last 25 years to strike out at least 25 in his first three starts. Washington's Stephen Strasburg had 32 strikeouts his first three outings in 2010.

Texas: RHP Roy Oswalt left his start after two innings with flexor muscle soreness in his right forearm near the elbow. Oswalt said he felt some tightness in the area in the first inning and tried to "gut" through it, but the elbow tightened up too badly. However, he did not expect it to be a long-term injury. ... C Mike Napoli (strained keft quadriceps) will begin a rehab assignment with Class AA Frisco (Texas) when the Texas League finals begin Tuesday. Napoli is expected to play three games for Frisco, and he could rejoin the Rangers by Friday.

Toronto: 3B Brett Lawrie was back in the lineup and batting leadoff Sunday after sitting out the previous day. He returned Friday after missing 30 games due to a strained right side muscle. ... RH reliever Jason Frasor, who had been out since mid-July due to a strained right forearm, returned to action Saturday. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings at Boston.