Padres ruin Nomar’s 1st game back

Brian Lawrence pitched five innings of shutout ball to help the San Diego Padres spoil Nomar Garciaparra’s return to the Boston Red Sox with an 8-1 victory on Wednesday night in Boston.

Neither Lawrence (8-3) nor Garciaparra remained in the game after a rain delay of 2 hours, 21 minutes, which came in the middle of the sixth.

Garciaparra missed the first 57 games of the season with Achilles tendinitis, but he returned to a rousing cheer from the sold-out crowd at Fenway. The All-Star waved and saluted the fans when he took his position in the first and got a standing ovation when he singled in his first at-bat of the 2004 season.

Mark Loretta had three hits and scored twice, Brian Giles had two hits and walked twice and Khalil Greene had three hits and a pair of RBIs for the Padres.

San Diego led 4-0 when the game was delayed, and Phil Nevin added a two-run homer in the seventh to help put the game away.

Garciaparra finished 1 for 2.

Playoffs won’t expand

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has changed his thinking on the merits of expanding the playoffs.

“We had a serious discussion this past winter. I went into it thinking I want to add two more teams. But the more I looked at it, the more we talked about it, it was so great last October, this time I’m not sure,” Selig said.

“Everybody is kind of convinced that we’ll just let it sit and leave it as it is.”

Cubs-Cardinals feud rekindled

The harsh feelings between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs didn’t go away over the winter.

Both benches cleared in the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday after Cardinals starter Matt Morris sent Derrek Lee sprawling in the dirt with a fastball near his head. No punches were thrown and no one was ejected, but the game was delayed for about 5 minutes before umpires restored order.

So Taguchi and Jim Edmonds had been sent sprawling on 0-2 pitches earlier in the game. But Lee took offense when Matt Morris – vocal in his dislike of the Cubs last year – buzzed him with two fastballs. The second rose as it neared Lee, and Lee had to hit the ground to avoid being hit in the head.

“Albert Pujols ran for about 10 minutes and took part in a ground-ball drill, his first time on the field since injuring his left hamstring last weekend.

While last year’s N.L. batting champ is listed as day to day, it seems doubtful he’ll play in Chicago. A more likely return would be this weekend, when the Cardinals go to Texas for an interleague series and Pujols could be the designated hitter.

“Sammy Sosa will go on his first injury rehabilitation assignment since 1992 when his sore back feels better.

The Chicago Cubs slugger has been on the disabled list since May 16 with a sprained ligament in his lower back brought on by two violent sneezes. He took batting practice for the first time Tuesday, and said Wednesday he felt a little sore.

Sosa wouldn’t put a timetable on his return, but said it would include a minor league trip.

Mondesi goes on DL

Raul Mondesi was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in his right quadriceps muscle after just eight games with the injury-riddled Anaheim Angels.

The 34-year-old outfielder played all 17 innings of Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to Milwaukee and grounded out for the final out of the game. He is 4 for 34 since signing with Anaheim as a free agent, after Pittsburgh terminated his contract on May 19.

Clearing the bases

Shortstop Matt Bush, the first player taken in the baseball draft, signed a deal with the Padres that includes a $3.15 million signing bonus… . The Diamondbacks placed catcher Brent Mayne on the 15-day DL with a strained back. Arizona purchased the contract of catcher Juan Brito from Triple-A Tucson… . Orioles pitcher Kurt Ainsworth underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow and will probably be sidelined until August.