Micah Owings was to start tonight for Arizona, but after experiencing tightness in his glute as the result of covering first base in Friday's start versus Florida, he will have his turn skipped tonight. Owings struggled during a bullpen session yesterday.

Instead, Yusmeiro Petit will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks. The right- hander went 0-1 with a 4.70 earned run average during six relief outings earlier in the season and will make his first start of 2008 after being recalled last week.

The Padres won the opener of this series on Monday to snap an eight-game skid while running the Rockies' slide to eight games as well. However, it was Colorado's turn on Tuesday, as it halted its losing streak with a 4-0 victory behind a gem from Aaron Cook.

Cook (11-5) yielded just five hits and struck out four batters en route to posting his first career shutout. Garrett Atkins and Willy Taveras each had a hit and an RBI for the Rockies, who plated all four of their runs during the fifth inning.

The club gets one player back tonight, with more coming on the horizon, when it resumes a four-game series with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Expected to be contenders in the National League West this year after adding Joe Torre as manager, the Dodgers instead have watched player after player land on the disabled list. The latest was outfielder Juan Pierre (left MCL) on Monday, and he joins a list that includes Brad Penny (right shoulder), Andruw Jones (right knee), Rafael Furcal (back), Nomar Garciaparra (left calf) and Jason Schmidt (right shoulder).

Ponson was 4-1 with a 3.88 earned run average in nine starts with the Rangers before being designated for assignment on June 6 by the club after a series of transgressions.

Those include a reported incident at a bar in Florida and a poor reaction to being taken out early of a June 4 test in what ended up being his final start with the team.

Meche has yielded a total of just six runs -- five earned -- over a span of 20 innings in consecutive wins over Arizona, San Francisco and St. Louis. Factor in a six-inning no-decision against Texas on June 10 in which he gave up only one run, and the right-hander has produced a 2.08 earned run average through a four-start stretch.

In Friday's 7-1 home win over the Cardinals, Meche allowed just one run and six hits while issuing only one walk in seven innings of work.

Tampa Bay entered this set with a slim half-game edge on the Red Sox for the top spot in the division, but the upstart Rays have extended the margin with back-to-back wins in the first two tests of this set. Matt Garza led the way for Tampa in Tuesday's matchup, with the talented young pitcher throwing seven outstanding innings to give his club a 3-1 decision.

Garza (7-4) allowed one unearned run and just five hits in his second straight dominating start. He struck out 10 Florida Marlins in a complete-game effort during Tampa Bay's 6-1 victory at Dolphin Stadium last Thursday.

The American League Central contenders hope to keep that streak intact in this afternoon's rubber match of a three-game set with the division-rival Detroit Tigers from the Metrodome.

Since dropping two of three games at home to the Baltimore Orioles from June 3-5, the Twins have won nine times in 11 tries at the Metrodome and posted series victories over Washington, Arizona and Milwaukee.

Chicago kept up its winning ways by putting together a tremendous late comeback in Tuesday's tussle with the Tribe. The White Sox scored twice with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to pull out a 3-2 victory.

Joe Borowski (1-3) came on for Cleveland in the 10th to protect a 2-1 lead and retired the first two Chicago hitters before serving up a game-tying homer to Alexei Ramirez.

Martinez, who had major shoulder surgery last season and was limited to just five starts, began the 2008 season with a 3 1/3-inning outing against Florida on April 1. He then went back on the shelf before returning on June 3 against San Francisco.

He won his initial two decisions over three starts by mid-June, but has since lost two straight trips to the hill while allowing 12 runs and 15 hits in 10 innings against Colorado and the New York Yankees.

Dempster battled through his shortest outing since joining the Chicago rotation on Friday against the rival White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, yielding eight runs and seven hits in just 2 1/3 innings of work.

The 10-3 defeat dropped Dempster to 0-3 in seven road starts this season, and 9-3 with a 3.26 ERA in 17 trips to the mound this season. Dempster was unbeaten (4-0) in six starts before taking on the Pale Hose. The left-hander and former closer is 2-6 with a 4.50 earned run average and four saves in 17 career appearances (seven starts) against San Francisco.

Philadelphia swept a three-game set in Dixie from June 6-8, then handed the Braves an 8-3 loss on Tuesday in the series opener. Shane Victorino homered and drove in four runs to lead the Phillies, who won for just the third time in 12 tries, but still maintain a 1 1/2-game lead over the Florida Marlins for the top spot in the National League East standings.

Pat Burrell also homered and knocked in two runs, while starter Kyle Kendrick allowed three runs and seven hits over six-plus innings of work to record the win. The right-hander tossed six scoreless frames before allowing three runs in the seventh inning for Philadelphia, which is 3-4 on a nine-game road trip and 23-21 away from the City of Brotherly Love in 2008.

The 22-year-old, an eighth-round draft pick of the Montreal Expos in 2003, debuted with five innings of scoreless ball in the Reds' 6-0 defeat of the New York Yankees in the Bronx on June 21.

He returned six days later and suffered his first loss, allowing eight hits and four runs in five innings of a 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Seattle has won four of five and six of its last eight games, including Tuesday's 7-6 victory over the Jays in the second test of this series. Willie Bloomquist was the hero with the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, as the Mariners rebounded from a 2-0 loss in the series opener.

Adrian Beltre finished 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while Richie Sexson also homered for the Mariners, who are 1-1 on a seven-game homestand and 16-25 in the Emerald City this season. Yuniesky Betancourt added a pair of RBI in the win and starter Ryan Rowland-Smith surrendered three runs on four hits in just 3 2/3 innings. Brandon Morrow earned the win in relief with a scoreless ninth.

Saunders has been a huge surprise for the AL West-leading Angels this season, having pitched to an 11-4 mark with a 3.06 earned run average through 16 starts. He hasn't dropped back-to-back trips to the hill all season and had a personal two-start winning streak come to an end the last time out on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was reached for three runs -- two earned -- on five hits in five innings of a 6-0 defeat.

The left-hander, who sports a 4-0 record with a 2.22 ERA in four outings against division opponents in 2008, is 3-1 with a 4.24 earned run average in six career starts against the Athletics. Saunders defeated the A's on April 29 this season at Angel Stadium with eight sh

A 25-year-old Californian and former fourth-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs (2001), Nolasco is unbeaten in four starts since June 5, winning three of them while allowing 23 hits and six earned runs in 29 2/3 innings.

He was 1-3 over his first seven outings of the season, then improved his record with a 7-3 defeat of the Nationals May 9 in Washington. In that game, Nolasco gave up four hits and a run while striking out six in six innings.

Scott Baker (5-2) earned the win after he allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts for the surging Twins, who rebounded from Monday's 5-4 loss in the series opener and have won 12 of their last 14 games. In the process, Minnesota also halted the Tigers' six-game win streak. Alexi Casilla added three hits, an RBI and a run scored in the win.

"This was big, especially within our division," said Baker. "These games hold the same amount of value as wins late in the season. We want to continue to win these games and end the first half (of the season) on a good note." Marcus Thames homered for the Tigers, who lost for only the second time in their last 10 games overall. Carl

Russell Martin was 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and three runs scored, including a two-run homer, while Kent finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. James Loney added two hits and an RBI for Los Angeles, which snapped a two-game slide.

Chan Ho Park (4-2) picked up the win with 1 1/3 scoreless frames.

Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - The Tampa Bay Rays placed reliever Troy Percival on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain following Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Percival, who was on the shelf earlier this season with the same injury, left Monday's 5-4 win over the Sox with two out in the ninth after aggravating the strain attempting to cover third base.

Raul Ibanez worked a walk off Scott Downs (0-2) to lead off the inning and moved into scoring position when Jose Vidro laid down a bunt.

After intentionally walking Adrian Beltre, who was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the game, Jays manager Cito Gaston went to the bullpen and Shawn Camp. But, Bloomquist greeted the reliever by lacing the game-winner into the gap in left-center.

Cain (5-6) fanned 10 Cubbies on just two hits and three walks for San Francisco, which has won three of four overall.

"He's only going to get better and I think he's learning how important it is to use his pitches and his command," Giants skipper Bruce Bochy said of Cain. "He was on, and a couple of games ago he threw a ballgame against a hot team. He had a rough outing and wasn't on his game, but he bounced back well and pitched another great game." Fred Lewis was 2-for-4, scoring both San Francisco runs, including a swipe of home plate while Randy Winn recorded the team's lone RBI.

Jeff Suppan (5-6) benefited from Hardy's big night, collecting the victory after surrendering five runs on nine hits with two walks in five frames. Joe Dillon hit a two-run home run with two runs scored and Corey Hart ended 3- for-5 with two runs scored for the Brewers.

Arizona still hasn't won back-to-back games since June 18-19 after Randy Johnson (4-7) was hit for seven runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 frames. Conor Jackson did most of the damage, as he finished 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI.

Under Major League Baseball service time rules, Myers, who has five-plus years of big league experience, had the right to accept or decline the assignment.

"I can't say enough about Brett's willingness to accept this assignment," said Phillies general manger Pat Gillick. "He understood and is eager to get back on track again. He is struggling right now, but he is a quality major league pitcher who we are going to need in the second half of the season." After moving to the bullpen in 2007 and saving 21 games for the NL East champion Phillies, Myers transitioned back to the starting rotation this season, but never found a groove.

Cintron left Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals in the seventh inning when he pulled up holding the back of his left leg after reaching on an infield single immediately after touching first base with the same leg.

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican was hitting .275 with one home run and seven runs batted in over 26 games with the Orioles before the injury.

The Cubs had lost four straight overall and six in a row as the guest before handing the Giants a 9-2 setback in Monday's series opener. Mark DeRosa was a huge lift for the NL Central-leading Cubs last night, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a two-run homer.

Matt Murton had two doubles and two RBI for the Cubs, who haven't won consecutive games as the visitor since taking two straight from Toronto at Rogers Centre from June 14-15. Kosuke Fukudome had the other Chicago RBI, while starter Ted Lilly got the win with eight-plus strong innings. Lilly allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.

Toronto notched its third consecutive victory with a 2-0 victory in Monday's series opener, as ace Roy Halladay tossed a four-hitter for his 10th career shutout.

Halladay did not walk a batter and fanned six for his first shutout since July 22 of last season, also against the Mariners.