SCOREBOARD

Friday, Sept. 19

Philadelphia at Florida (7:10 p.m. EDT). In the opener of a key three-game series the Phillies send rejuvenated starter Brett Myers (10-11, 4.06) to the mound against Josh Johnson (5-1, 3.30). Myers has won five of his last six starts, including a two-hitter against Milwaukee on Sunday.

STARS

Wednesday

-Prince Fielder, Brewers, hit a three-run double as Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 to end a five-game losing streak.

-Carlos Beltran, Mets, homered from both sides of the plate to help New York beat Washington 9-7.

-Jose Guillen, Royals, hit a key two-run single after being sick the night before, helping the Royals to their sixth straight win with a 5-2 victory over Seattle.

-J.A. Happ, Phillies, tossed six shutout innings to lead NL East-leading Philadelphia to a 6-1 victory over Atlanta.

-Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks, tossed seven solid innings and hit a key two-run double to lead Arizona to a 7-6 win over the San Francisco Giants.

-Freddy Garcia, Tigers, pitched five innings to win in his first game since June 2007, and Detroit scored nine runs in the fifth to beat Texas 17-4 and snap a six-game losing streak.

-Adam LaRoche, Pirates, hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in Pittsburgh's 15-8 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

-Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, homered twice before departing with an injured shoulder, helping Florida beat Houston 14-2.

-Aaron Harang, Reds, tossed a six-hitter as Cincinnati beat St. Louis 3-0 for its fourth straight win.

-Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, was 4-for-5 and hit a three-run homer - his 34th - to help Detroit beat Texas 17-4.

MILESTONE

Alex Rodriguez became the first player to hit 35 homers and drive in 100 runs in 12 seasons, surpassing Babe Ruth's record by one. Rodriguez hit his 553rd homer in the eighth inning of the Yankees' 5-1 victory over Chicago. A-Rod also became the first player to have at least 35 in 11 consecutive seasons (1998-2008), snapping a tie with Sammy Sosa (1995-2004).

MILESTONE II

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki matched Willie Keeler's major league record of eight straight 200-hit seasons, beating out an infield single in the eighth inning for his third hit against Kansas City. The Japanese star came into the game three hits short of the record set by Keeler from 1894-1901. Suzuki matched Keeler in the eighth when he hit a grounder up the middle and beat shortstop Mike Aviles' throw by a half-step.

GETTING HEALTHY

White Sox left fielder Carlos Quentin had the soft cast removed from his broken right wrist, an encouraging sign the MVP candidate could return for the postseason. Quentin, out since Sept. 2, had his surgically repaired wrist examined in Chicago while the team was in New York to play the Yankees. The club said the broken bones have lined up but it's still not fully healed.

GETTING IT DONE

Brandon Webb pitched seven solid innings and added a key two-run double, helping Arizona beat San Francisco 7-6 and gain ground in the NL West. The Diamondbacks trimmed the Dodgers' division lead to 3.5 games. Webb (21-7) allowed three runs - two earned - and eight hits. His double in Arizona's five-run second tied it at 3.

YARDWORK

Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate and Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado also went deep in the Mets' 9-7 win at Washington. Reyes led off the game by homering off Shairon Martis (0-3), and Delgado also hit a solo shot in the first. Beltran hit a two-run drive in the third, and a solo homer in the eighth. … Andy Phillips, Jay Bruce and Paul Janish homered in the fourth inning of Cincinnati's 3-0 victory over St. Louis. Phillips and Bruce opened the fourth with consecutive home runs and Janish added the first of his career later in the frame.

STUCK ON 22

Cleveland starter Cliff Lee failed in his first chance to become the second pitcher in 108 years to start the season 23-2. He took a 4-2 lead into the seventh before the Twins tied the game, leaving Lee with a no-decision. The Indians went on to win 6-4.

STATS

The Rays (90-60) became the sixth team in major league history to win 90 games immediately following a stretch of at least 10 consecutive losing seasons. The others are the 1912 Washington Senators, 1914 Boston Braves, 1956 Cincinnati Reds, 1979 Montreal Expos and 2006 Detroit Tigers. … Oakland's Jack Cust struck out three times, leaving him one shy of the American League single-season record of 186 Ks set by Rob Deer of Milwaukee in 1987. … Oakland's Joey Devine hasn't allowed an earned run in 20 outings (19 2-3 innings) since coming off the DL on Aug. 2. … Detroit's Curtis Granderson was 0-for-5 in the 17-4 win over Texas and is 1-for-22 the past five games.

HOME SWEET HOME

Tampa Bay beat Boston 10-3 to improve to a major league-best 55-22 at home and needs two more wins to finish with the most home victories by a team since the Yankees went 65-16 in 1998.

OUCH

Right-hander Ben Sheets left the Brewers' 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs after only two innings with pain in his right elbow. … Hanley Ramirez homered twice before departing Florida's 14-2 victory over Houston with a strained left shoulder. A team spokesman said he was day to day, and Ramirez was hopeful about playing Thursday.

SPEAKING

"The way this team is put together, it isn't put together like the Yankees. It isn't a hoard of superstars that are expected to do well. This team is built on solid pitching and unity. Nobody sticks out. To see us win a game, everybody comes in and does something. We don't have the personalities that stand in the way of that." - Tampa Bay rookie Fernando Perez, who homered in the AL East-leading Rays' 10-3 victory over Boston.

SEASONS

Sept. 19

1925 - Ted Lyons lost his bid for a no-hitter when Bobby Veach singled with two outs in the ninth inning. The Chicago White Sox routed the Washington Senators 17-0.

1926 - The St. Louis Cardinals pounded the Philadelphia Phillies 23-3 in the first game of a doubleheader and beat them again in the nightcap, 10-2.

1949 - Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates became the first NL player to hit 50 home runs in two different seasons.

1955 - Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs set a major league record with his fifth grand slam of the season in a 12-inning, 6-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

1968 - Denny McLain won his 31st game, the most in the AL since Lefty Grove's 31 in 1931. The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 6-2 while Mickey Mantle hit his 535th and next-to-last career homer.

1973 - Frank Robinson hit his first home run in Arlington Stadium, as a member of the California Angels. It was the 32nd major league ballpark in which he had homered.

1984 - Pete Rose reached the 100-hit plateau for a record 22nd consecutive year. He also tied the NL record for doubles with 725 as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2.

1995 - San Diego's Ken Caminiti became the first player in major league history to homer from both sides of the plate three times in a season as he went 4-for-4 with a career-high eight RBIs in a 15-4 win over Colorado.

1997 - Mark McGwire hit his 54th homer and became the first major leaguer to hit 20 or more homers for two teams in the same season.

1998 - Seattle's Alex Rodriguez hit his 40th homer to become the third player in baseball history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.

2001 - Roger Clemens became the first pitcher in major league history to go 20-1, pitching the New York Yankees to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

2001 - Albert Pujols set a National League rookie RBI record as St. Louis beat Milwaukee 8-2. Pujols drove in three runs to give him 120 RBIs, breaking the mark of 119 set by Wally Berger in 1930 for the Boston Braves.

2002 - Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro of Texas tied a major league record by homering in the same game for the 15th time this season. Rodriguez and Palmeiro equaled the mark set by Barry Bonds and Rich Aurilia for San Francisco last season.

Today's birthday: Scott Baker 27; Lenny Dinardo 29; Nick Johnson 30; Javier Valentin 33.