SCOREBOARD

Tuesday, Sept. 2

New York Mets at Milwaukee (8:05 p.m. EDT) Mets pitching prospect Jonathon Niese makes his major league debut in the heat of a playoff race against Milwaukee. Niese will take the rotation spot left vacant when right-hander John Maine was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

STARS

Monday

-Cliff Lee, Indians, became the club's first 20-game winner in 34 years, pitching a five-hitter for his second career shutout in a 5-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.

-Roy Oswalt, Astros, allowed four hits and came within two outs of a complete game in Houston's 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.

-Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, had four RBIs, sparking a scoring barrage with a two-run single in the first inning and adding an RBI in each of the next two in a 13-9 win over Detroit.

-Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies, pitched seven shutout innings and had an RBI single in a 4-0 win over San Francisco.

-Greg Maddux, Dodgers, tied Roger Clemens for eighth on the career list with his 354th victory, leading Los Angeles to a 5-2 win over San Diego.

CYCLICAL

Stephen Drew and Adrian Beltre became the first players to hit for the cycle on the same day since Bobby Veach of the Detroit Tigers and George Burns of the New York Giants did it on Sept. 17, 1920, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Beltre homered in the second off Texas Rangers starter Matt Harrison, then singled in the fourth and sixth off Harrison. He doubled in the seventh off Luis Mendoza and tripled in the eighth off Josh Rupe to become the fourth Mariners player ever to hit for the cycle. Drew singled in the first, tripled in the third and homered in the fifth against St. Louis Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro. Drew then added a pair of doubles.

TURNAROUND TWENTY

Cliff Lee (20-2) became the first Indians pitcher to reach 20 wins since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry went 21-13 in 1974. The left-hander's milestone win - his ninth straight - came exactly one year to the day that he was recalled from the minor leagues. Lee joined Perry and Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Bob Lemon in Cleveland's record book as the only 20-game winners, and he's only fourth 20-game winner in the American League since 2004.

SIDELINED

Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets was removed from the team's game against the Mets after five innings with "very, very slight" tightness in his left groin. Sheets said it first tightened while he was warming up for the third inning, and manager Ned Yost removed him after 54 pitches and the Brewers up 1-0. The Mets rallied to win 4-2. … The Yankees expect to activate RHP Joba Chamberlain (rotator cuff tendinitis) from the DL on Tuesday. They plan to use him in the bullpen for the rest of this season, letting him build up arm strength before becoming a starter again in the future.

STATS

The Braves have lost four straight and 17 of their last 21 games to fall 20 games under .500 for the first time since 1990, after losing 4-3 to the Marlins. It was the 29th consecutive one-run loss on the road since August 10, 2007, for the Braves, a major league record. … Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia continued his torrid hitting, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Pedroia, who hit .374 in August and closed the month going 9-for-12, scored 33 runs last month, the most for the Red Sox since Dom DiMaggio and Billy Goodwin had 35 in 1950, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Pedroia has 184 hits, a record for Red Sox second basemen, breaking Del Pratt's 1922 mark.

SPEAKING

"Watching him pitch, I've admired what he's done. He has never been overpowering, but he's always managed to keep the game at a manageable speed for himself. And when other guys maybe rear back and throw harder, he goes the other way. He tries to do it with finesse and feel, really plays on the hitter's emotion." -Dodgers manager Joe Torre on pitcher Greg Maddux, who tied Roger Clemens for eighth on career wins list with 354.

SEASONS

Sept. 2

1952 - Miguel Fornieles of the Washington Senators, in his major league debut, pitched a one-hitter for a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader.

1965 - Ernie Banks hit his 400th home run as the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 at Wrigley Field. The blow came off Curt Simmons in the third inning.

1971 - Cesar Cedeno's 200-foot fly ball in the fifth inning fell for an inside-the-park grand slam as second baseman Jim Lefebvre and right fielder Bill Buckner of the Dodgers collided. The hit helped the Houston Astros beat Los Angeles 9-3.

1972 - Milt Pappas of the Chicago Cubs retired 26 consecutive San Diego Padres before walking pinch-hitter Larry Stahl on a 3-2 pitch. Pappas then retired Gary Jestadt to finish an 8-0 no-hitter.

1987 - Houston's Kevin Bass went 4-for-4, including home runs from both sides of plate, and drove in three runs as the Astros posted a 10-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Bass became the first NL player to homer from both sides of the plate twice in one season.

1990 - Dave Stieb, who lost three no-hit bids with one out to go in the previous two seasons, finally pitched one as the Toronto Blue Jays beat Cleveland 3-0. It was the record ninth no-hitter of the season.

1993 - The expansion Colorado Rockies drew 47,699 fans for their 6-1 loss to Montreal to set a single-season NL attendance record with a 62-game total of 3,617,863. Los Angeles set the previous record of 3,608,881 in 1982. Toronto set the major league record of 4,028,318 in 1992.

1996 - Mike Greenwell set a major league record by driving in all nine Boston runs, the final one on a 10th-inning single to give the Red Sox a 9-8 victory over Seattle.

1999 - Cal Ripken hit his 400th career home run, joining an exclusive circle of sluggers. Ripken connected off right-hander Rolando Arrojo in the third inning of the Baltimore Orioles' game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Today's birthdays: Rich Aurilia 29; Luis Gonzalez 33.