Bell gets his cycle with call
David Bell stood on third, waiting to see if he had the cycle.
Bell had to endure a conference by the umpires before learning that his triple would count giving him the cycle, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the visiting Montreal Expos 14-6 Monday night.
“The thing is it’s just rare,” Bell said while standing several feet away from an unopened bottle of champagne. “You’re playing the game and you’re trying to get hits and win the game. That’s the part you’re happy about, then you realize (the cycle) is something that doesn’t happen very often.”
Bell doubled in the second, homered in the fourth, singled in the sixth and hit a controversial triple in the seventh inning to complete the feat also accomplished by his grandfather, Gus Bell, who hit for the cycle for Pittsburgh on June 4, 1951.
Bell drove a 2-2 pitch off Rocky Biddle to left-center that appeared to deflect off the outreached hands of a fan in the first row. The ball caromed toward center field and away from Montreal’s Brad Wilkerson.
Bell, who had a career-high six RBIs, easily strolled into third base to a standing ovation from the crowd. But Wilkerson and Montreal manager Frank Robinson protested the call for several minutes. The umpires convened and allowed the three-base hit to stand.
Devil Rays trade Bautista to KC
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded infielder-outfielder Jose Bautista to Kansas City for cash.
Bautista had been designated for assignment Friday. He hit .167 with no homers and one RBI in 12 games for the Devil Rays.
Bautista, 23, opened the season with Baltimore and hit .273 in 11 at-bats over 16 games.
The Devil Rays also optioned pitcher Chad Gaudin to Triple-A Durham.
Brown’s pitching return delayed
Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown won’t be ready to pitch against Boston on Thursday, and his spot in the rotation will be filled by rookie Brad Halsey. Recovering from a back spasm that forced him out of a start June 9, Brown threw his second bullpen session of his rehabilitation Sunday night.
“He just didn’t have the life he had last time out,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “The physical part of it is fine. He’s just not there, yet.”
Clearing the bases
Reds first baseman Sean Casey had his strained right calf examined and his return to the lineup was uncertain. Casey, tied with San Francisco’s Barry Bonds for the NL batting lead at .352, left Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh because of the injury. Casey’s status was listed as day-to-day. … Brewers third baseman Wes Helms was activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing more than a month because of an injured right knee. … Braves left-hander Horacio Ramirez, on the disabled list since May 26 with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder, threw off the mound in the bullpen Monday and reported no problems. … The St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a contract on Monday with right-hander Chris Lambert, their first-round draft pick out of Boston College. Lambert, the 19th pick in the draft, agreed to a signing bonus of about $1.5 million. … The Arizona Diamondbacks activated right-hander Shane Reynolds from the 60-day disabled list, and started him at home against the San Diego Padres. … The Kansas City Royals placed third baseman Joe Randa on the 15-day disabled list night with torn cartilage in his right knee.