but in the fourth, the yanks tee off on john smoltz. cabrera -- the no-doubter -- three-run home run, his 11th. smoltz tagged. nine hits, eight earned in 3 1/3 -- his e.r.a. is 8.32. jorge posada off former yankee billy traber, and that's gone for a three-run home run -- his 14th. yanks score eight in the fourth. they lead 9-3. normally, it's joba throwing at kevin youkilis, but on thursday night it was mark melancon throwing at dustin pedroia. it will be interesting to see if on friday night there will be any retaliation. it will be interesting to see if the yankees win it 13-6. they lead boston by 3 1/2 games in the a.l. east. they beat the red sox for the first time this season. they snap a nine-game losing streak to them going back to last season. joba chamberlain wins four straight starts for the first time in his career, even though he had walked a career-high seven. joe girardi and the yanks are 15-5 since the all-star break. >> fortunately, we won the game, and joba made some big pitches when he had to, but that's something you d

john smoltz gave it all back in the fourth. melky cabrera. the no-doubter. three-run home run. smoltz lit up -- nine hits, eight earned in 3 1/3. his e.r.a. is 8.32. in the fourth, jorge posada off billy traber. that's gone for a three-run home run, his 14th. the yankees score eight in the fourth. they lead 9-3. normally it's joba throwing at kevin youkilis. on thursday night, it was dustin pedroia -- as it always is between these two old rivals, interesting, chippy, 13-6 the final, yanks lead the a.l. east by 3 1/2 games. they beat boston the first time this season, snap a nine-game losing streak to them dating back to last season. joba chamberlain walked a career-high seven. johnny damon and the yanks are 15-5 since the all-star break. >> it's definitely better to be 1-8 than 0-9, but obviously, we're still not happy about it, but those are eight games that we can't get back, but we went out, we played all right, we walked too many guys but we swung the bats ok. >> you lefties were good but second time through against smoltz did you feel like you got more of a handle? >> i thi

but in the fourth, the yanks tee off on john smoltz. cabrera -- the no-doubter -- three-run home run, his 11th. smoltz tagged. nine hits, eight earned in 3 1/3 -- his e.r.a. is 8.32. jorge posada off former yankee billy traber, and that's gone for a three-run home run -- his 14th. yanks score eight in the fourth. they lead 9-3. normally, it's joba throwing at kevin youkilis, but on thursday night it was mark melancon throwing at dustin pedroia. it will be interesting to see if on friday night there will be any retaliation. it will be interesting to see if the yankees win it 13-6. they lead boston by 3 1/2 games in the a.l. east. they beat the red sox for the first time this season. they snap a nine-game losing streak to them going back to last season. joba chamberlain wins four straight starts for the first time in his career, even though he had walked a career-high seven. joe girardi and the yanks are 15-5 since the all-star break. >> fortunately, we won the game, and joba made some big pitches when he had to, but that's something you d

john smoltz has a new home. why that means he may have a new role as well. and brett favre continues to settle into his new digs. "espnews" starts now. >> what's up? welcome in to this half-hour of "espnews." helping you stay current with all the latest news, scores, and highlights, will selva alongside j.w. stewart. there's the man with the golden gun. seven of wednesday's starting pitchers have an e.r.a. below 3 this season. >> jeremy bonderman, is not one of them, neither is dr. no, but doc halladay is. roy halladay going for his 14th run. >> nice work. >> thank you. top of the fifth, jason bay off halladay, halladay shaken and stirred, two-run home run for bay. >> they just keep coming. >> they do, clay buchholz gets encarnacion to fly out, 0 for 4, batting .190, stupid bat. buchholz six innings, one earned, four ks, the red sox win it 6-1. buck holts is 2-0 against jays this year. david ortiz hit his sixth home run off halladay, the most he's hit to any pitcher and the most halladay has allowed to any batte

also ahead, pitcher and future hall of famer john smoltz has a new home in st. louis. that means he may have a new role as well with the cardinals. we'll tell you what it is. and brett favre continues to settle into his new digs. why he hasn't won over everyone linked to the vikings. espnews starts now.

so john smoltz will try his luck with the redbirds.eased by boston, the 42-year-old signed with the n.l. central-leading cardinals on wednesday. for now, the future hall of famer will be the cardinals' fifth starter but he could be moved to the bullpen. going back to the national league may be just what smoltzy needs. >> he had some tough numbers. i had a couple guys that i know in boston, they said the arm's got good life. you don't just walk back in after being out and have an e.r.a. in the 2.00's, i think he needs some work and i know he's anxious to have dunc take a look at him, he knows a lot about himself and there are a lot of pluses here so i think it's just good for both of us. >> he will join us tomorrow? >> be in uniform tomorrow, starts sunday. >> smoltz won nearly 60% of his games with the braves and opponents batted a meager .235 against him. in eight starts with the red sox he had an e.r.a. above 8.00. john kruk on how this helps the cards in the stretch run. >> the signing of john smoltz with the st. louis cardinals to

contender is in the cards for john smoltz. and the president of the united states getting a visit from others who often go to the left. that's next on news. captioning by captionmax

. >> and john smoltz, well, he is released by boston. more details. tigers woods remains at par. phil mickelson finds an eagle at the wbc. >> ♪

for eight earned runs and three an one-third innings against the yankees last night, 42-year-old john smoltz for assignment. red sox g.m. travelled to new york personally to tell smoltz the team designated him for assignment. they have ten days to trade or release him. courage his 20 previous seasons with the atlanta brais, smoltz won nearly 60% of his games and opponents batted .235 against him. this year with the red sox he's 2-5 with an e.r.a. above 8 and opponents batting a career high .343 against him. >> welcome to espnews. we'd like to keep you current with the latest breaking news, scores and highlights. along with mark morgan, i'm michele lafountain. as always, we've got packed half hour for you. thanks for joining us. >> that's right. let's tee things off with the bridgestone invitational. both tiger woods and phil mickelson in action in this event. tiger has won the bridgestone six times. he was four shots off the pace as second-round play began today, and woods shot an even par 70 today and is at minus two, currently five shots in back of padraig harrington. harrington the defend

i'm not saying he will be the john smoltz of old. but better than the fifth-starter they've been using and as good a competitor, and as smart as any pitcher today, and i think he can pitch five innings and give up three runs, and that's all fifth starters give anybody today, anyway. >> he's one of the few players, that would have firsthand experience about being a professional, about the next topic. he was in the majors when the 20th anniversary of the ban of pete rose took place. we know the whole story here. mike schmidt wrote a piece today, taking the stance it is time to reinstate him. he always bet on his team to win. so there was no shift there and if the steroid error greats are in consideration for the hall, who shamed the game more. >> i have to disagree with him, because he bet on his team to win, doesn't necessarily get him out of this. the days he didn't bet on them to win, he probably thought they were going to lose. that's a very unsavory subject. i don't think he'll be reinstated anytime soon. there was no indication,

the red sox rolled the dies on john smoltz and his rebuilt arm, hoping he would be the missing link ifheir rotation. but it was smoltz's consistency that was missing and the sox let him and his hefty e.r.a. go, cutting the veteran loose. smoltz was an unemployed -- wasn't unemployed long, agreeing to a contract with the cardinals today. tony la russa and the red birds hoping the former cy young award winner can be a setup man for closer franklin. john kruk, is he a good fit? >> the signing of john smoltz to the st. louis cardinals to me gives st. louis the advantage going into the division. we know he was a dominant closer and a dominant starter in his days in atlanta. it didn't work out in boston. why? one is because he wasn't ready to pitch. two, the division he was pitching in, the american league east, is the best offensive division on the planet. to ask john smoltz to be at his advanced age coming off injury and say get these guys out, to me it was the wrong move for the boston red sox. i think what st. louis is getting is a guy who can be very versatile. he can be a fifth starter

after being dismissed in atlanta and cut by the red sox, cardinals signed john smoltz. they hope the 42-year-old can serve as their fifth starter or provide some relief in the bull pen. finally, check this out from college basketball. clement turned in a shot you have to see to believe. off the scoreboard, off the floor. nothing but net. a shot that certainly reminds us of the old larry bird, michael jordan commercials. no word on how many times it cook him to make it. but he's a definitely ringer in a game of horse. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >>> billy joel has millions of reasons not to feel too bad over the breakup of his third marriage. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus, it's as american as apple pie. well, sort of anyway. >>> it's one woman's celebration of food on a stick. you're watching "early today." >>> welcome back to "early today." another day with pretty good chance of showers and thunderstorms across much of the east, especially west of the appalachians. chicago, good chance of

john smoltz made his debut for the cards against the padres. it was a good one. five innings of work. pujols continued his mvp campaign. cards beat the padres 5-2. they have now won 9 of the last 11. mets and phils. angel drove one to the wall. ball got stuck in the padding. shane victorino thought it was a ground-rule double. all the way around for an inside the park homer. top 9, eric bruntlett with a shot to right. made the grab. or did he? umpire said no. he showed his glove. i caught it right here. he indeed made the play. the umpires had a meeting and made the right call. he was out but he would have the last laugh. bottom nine, francouer lined out to bruntlett at short. stepped on second for one and tagged the other for a triple play. triple play to end a game since 1927. phils beat the mets in dramatic fashion, 9-7. >> thank you, fred. >>> this weekend's box office winner was number one around the world. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus, saying thanks to california's firefighters and don't forget the hot sauce. you'r

. >> you brought up john smoltz. he struggled.ns of him turning the corner or more signs of concern? >> i think there is a lot of signs of concern here. the reality still is that he is coming off major surgery. he hasn't been consistent. when he misses, the hitters don't miss. you can see the home runs and the era being high the last few starts. i faced this guy many years ago when he was so incredible and sharp. he had 4 pitches. the reality is that he has to win by being sharp. not by throwing hard or having the nasty slider. almost like a guy coming back for the philadelphia phillies in pedro martinez. if they are off, they will get in trouble. >> mark gardner told me it's about getting the guys to hit the ball where you want them to hit it? >>. joba chamberlain things turned for this young man. 3 and 0 with an era under 1. what has been working for him since the break? >> again, a lot of different things. namely, i think and i talked to his agent right after the all-star break. he said i watched joba chamberlain. the all-star

louis tonight and it will be against futurer hall of famer john smoltz.-old was cut as you'll recall by the red sox earlier this month after struggling in their rotation but the coaching staff in st. louis has fixed mechanical problems with smoltz and lights out ever since on sunday and five shutout innings and allowed three hits against the padres. harris will start in center for morgan who has lost for the season last night with that broken hand. finally tonight, sometimes the most dangerous guy on a field is your own teammate. this is from the nats and cubs last night. chicago's ryan will make the relay throw hem and watch him nail him in the melon. he should have ducked in all fairness and now he has a baseball-shaped welt. watch this again. >> he didn't duck. >> he ducked but as dick cheney's hunting partners will tell you he didn't duck enough. that's sports. we will see you on tailgate at 7:30. >> you are harsh. >> only when deserved. >>> last look. >> most showers are south and east of us. redskins will be fine after an hour and then warmer over t

john smoltz making his yankee red sox debut. bottom four here. new york down 3-2.rera, skies this to right field. a three-run shot. his 11th home run of the year. bottom four here, it's now 6-3 yankee lead. jorge posada, getting ahold of that one. yankees on top, 9-3. moving to the eighth, yankees leading 13-8. dustin pedroia almost gets hit there. just for good measure. things getting heated here. yankees cruise, 13-6. >>> to the links. the bridgestone invitational. it's round one here. tiger woods laz won six times. phil mickelson playing for the first time since the u.s. open. he had that deal with his wife, amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. on 18 here, putting for par. phil shot 3 over 38 on the front nine. back nine, though, started to turn things around. lefty getting it to go down. mickelson shot 3 under 32 on the back nine to finish at even par. tiger, though, started the die on the front nine. here on 5, chipping from the rough for birdie. looks like it goes in. oh, boy. tiger can't believe it. and to be honest, neither can i. tiger on the par 4 1

part of an eight-run 4th inning that knocked boston starter john smoltz out of the game. yankees win 13-6. >>> one week from tonight the ravens take on the washington redskins in the first preseason game, but sever mark clayton will it not be playing. in fact, he will be out for awhile. it's an injury to clayton's left hamstring that has the team saying he will miss two or three preseason games and practice time. this time the injury is worse than first thought. >> we're not going to be in any hurry bringing him back. he had had significant bleeding. he's gotten plenty of work in the off-season. of course you'd like to have him, obviously, but we have plenty of receivers to look at, so we're not going to be in a rush. >> also hobbled, ben grubbs, sidelined with ankle pain. ravens back on the field tomorrow morning at 8:45. >>> the golf tour rolls into akron, ohio, the firestone country club where tiger woods is a six-time winner. tiger woods, a birdie putt on the 13th hole. woods shot two under par 70, four shots behind the leader padraig harrington, and phil mickelson is

to baltimore, red sox pitcher john smoltz having fun. bottom three. os trail 7-4.y wiggington getting his bat on. off the foul pole. that's a two-run shot. os cut the lead to one. eighth home run of the season. top four. newly acquired

his counterpart, john smoltz, on top of his game, throws a nasty o off-speed pitch. making the only mistake of the night, a solo shot. green'sixth of the year. bottom of the ninth, still tied at two. over, he tosses it like toothpick. pujols 45th homer. and cards win it in dramatic fashion. >>> in golf, in the mix in bar clay. trail s simpson by two strokes. we start with the first hole, started on the back nine and the birdie putt, it drops. mari marineo even on the day. long birdie putt, very, very nice. drains that, mickelson, for over par. 14th, smooth, gets the birdie to go, eight under for the tournament. where's tiger woods? how about eight strokes back. tiger makes this putt, he was one over for the day and he's even par for the tournament. he's got a lot of work to over the weekend. that's your morning sports. have a great day. >> thanks akim. you probably heard that expression, one man's trash is another man's treasure. california held the great california garage sale yesterday. people showed up to buy everything from office furniture to kayaks and watches

john. he certainly has the kind of stuff to. it's like smoltz and glavine. smoltz was the power guy.finesse guy. both of them won just about the same amount of games each season, but he's the guy that hitters aren't going to want to deal with. >> he got hit by a pitch in the hamstring so he's nurse that go a little bit and that elbow is a little tight. they're going to watch him this next week. hopefully, he'll be ready to go. nationalities-marlins counting down getting ready for the matchup as they try to get two in a row against florida after losing 10 straight. it's about the mentality about a team like florida. >> i think last night kind of busted all that stuff. forget about everything that happened in the past. we won one game and we're able to come back in big time fashion. >> don't forget you can help out the nationals and their cause saturday. there will be a blood drive here at nationals park from 8:00-2:00. they're try to get 250 piendz of blood. for more information, go to my-redcross.org here at anita marks. lannan take on vandenhurk.   >>> welcome back. "nats

possible on that friday we could see john smoltz.ho the nats have beaten once this year. >> bob: the only game of the boston series the nats were able to salvage. the nats only run scored. marquis is getting outs quickly. most on the ground. he's only given up dunn's infield hit since bard's clean single back in the second.   >> 11 ground ball outs.   >> bob: outside, 2-1.   the cubs are six back of st lou miss the the central. milwaukee 9 back. high in the air. deep to right, and that ball is up against the wall, that is a guaranteed triple! in some ballparks that's a home run. >> rob: that ball came back to the inner half, down and in on i alefty is not where you want to throw the pitch. brad hawpe made it close throwing the ball almost from the wall to 3rd base on a hop. he's showing it off. >> bob: morgan tied for 6 in the league with 7 triples this year. and a 2 out rbi for guzman to pick up.   >> rob: like to get the hom run, run back from last inning on rivera by ba

red sox starters john smoltz only goes 3 and a third. meeting this season. >> hello, everyone. welcome to espnews. we help you stay current with the latest news, highlights and scores. i'm mark morgan. we'll update you you throughout the evening on the yankees-red sox showdown. but first we tee off in the bridgestone invitational. tiger woods and phil mickelson both in action. s. >> woods has won this event six times. phil, playing for the first time since the u.s. open. mickelson struggled on his front nine.ne started on the back. here on 11, chipping from the rough. doesn't get a good piece, then putting for bogie on 11, misses. double bogie for phil on the 11th hole. on 18, that was for par. another bogie. a plus 3, 38 on his front nine for mickelson. but on the back nine, lefty gets it going. his third shot onth the par 5, second. nice. mickelson would make the birdie putt. then, on number 7, that is a birdie. a 3 under 32 on the back nine for mickelson. he finishes at even par. shot of the day, ernie els, second shot on the par 4, f

wouldn't be surprised if you seen john smoltz pitching before the year is over. >> the dodgers theirlead has gone down to four games. it is the dodgers lead is the closest it has been since may 13th. four and a half games. oh just robbed by pickens. you can't hit a ball harder than that. two men down. >> tell you what, it is off to the side and still a tough play. there is your shortstop, aybar, what has played well and will be a free agent along with john lackey, who pitched last nature. along with abreu. > >> jim: i think obey might have a better time finding a job this off season. >> jim: he stole some bases, .296. >> just wanted a three-year deal. >> jim: luke has gotten his first at bat, jim. maybe he is beginning to find that stroke. >> jim: i think for him, everybody talks about it, it is hard to do when you are struggling get a good pitch and hit it. that is exactly what he did. right there a little bit extra. getting just a little out of the strike zone. the double was just his fifth extra base hit since the all-star break in just his 12th hit overall. obviously there are st

i think john smoltz has so much pride. heard him firsthand about how he needed to pitch better if he was going to stay in the bigs. eight home runs in eight stars and an e.r.a. over 8.00 for smoltz. >> gary: that will be taken outside. the orioles are on top now, 4-3 lead over the jays. wells, the home run, his 11th, came in the second inning. he has also flied out. the orioles, while they hold the edge here, 5-4 in the season series and have yet to win a ballgame here. they're 0-3 in the games played in toronto. the jays won the series last year, 12 games to six and the jays have won the season series four years in a row. berken's pitch growned to third. a nice play by melvin mora. and he will get the out. wells retired. now our legendary performance brought to you by cabot wood stains. our performance is legendary. it was on this date in 1969, dave mcnally runs his record to 16-1. how about that one? he had a two-run homer. 16-1 for mcnally on this date in 1969. >> buck: he was a marvelous pitcher and he was able to stre

tonight, is john smoltz interested in going to st. louis and the interest is mutual. in phillie. taking on the diamondbacks. leadoff batter of the game. steven drew gone. 11th home run of the season for him. third career leadoff home run. then the rains came in philadelphia. brought out in the bottom of the third inning after three innings of work for martinez. jamie moyer brought in. and moyer strikes out. john garland getting his 100th career loss. he has seven r.b.i. in his last eight games. >> sean better thanet would come in in relief for the nationals with the score tied at 2 against the rockies. top 8, facing carlos gonzalez, and the shot, deep to right field. sets it up for gonzalez. taking a 3-2 lead on their way to the win. 4-3 the final. colorado puts an end to the three-game win streak. rockies have won two straight. they lead the nl wildcard by one game over san francisco who also won tonight. >> top story in the nfl, brett favre is now a viking. vikes will pay favre 12 million this year, and 16 million next season. the contract is straight salary, no per

. >> in my life, the only, i've had who had similar skills was maybe john smoltz who had above averagetive juices. deceive. has that pope tential, but a lot has to happen between now and then. the hype has been too much, though one could possibly live touch to his hype, but fortunately, we don't need that, we just need him to fulfill some of his athletic pope tential, be a front of the order rotation, we will be happy with that. >> debbie: mike rizzo said he won't be pitching this year, but what would you like him to take away from washington d.c. after being here this week. >> i just want him to have a blast. it's the greatest city in the world. he's a public affairs major. it's a great city for him, and i know he's be real excited to get back into a baseball variety. he hasn't pitched since may. he's going to hang around the team, meet our players, work out with our time, and get ready to get into his professional career. it. we have heard how these negotiations were so tough, and you came out on the winning side of it. what does that mean for mike rizzo and his candidacy for this sp

louis cardinals have signed john smoltz.olt sailed to victory but the story has been south african, officials have asked them to conduct a gender verification test amid concerns she may be a he. if she doesn't meet the requirements to compete as a woman, she or he will be stripped of the gold medal. >> tennis player sisters have been the latest celebrities to own a stake of the dolphins, there could be more tal ept in the owner's box than in the field in miami. >>> president obama welcomed three-time nascar champ jimmie johnson to the white house. he called it a uniquely american sport. >>> the twitter evolution took a unexpected turn. giving a blow by blow account of being pulled over and getting sent to jail. >>> a shot you have to see to believe. off the score board, off the floor, nothing but net, a shot that reminds us of the old larry bird michael jordan commercials, no word on how many times it took him to make it. he is definitely a ringer in the game of horse. we'll talk to you tomorrow. >> that is impressive. you h

during the red sox/orioles game josh beckett distracted rookie george, john smoltz placed bubble gumcap. he never knew the difference, trying to fit in, gain knowledge from the guys in the dugout. all they could do was laugh behind his back. after a few more minutes, he realized what was going on. all i can say, george, don't let them steal your suitcase. that reminds me of the time i put salt in willie's coffee. let's just say he spit it out. his computer screen never the same. you guys have a good monday. >> that was a good laugh, fred. those red sox. coming up next, news you can't use. why is vladimir putin leering through the port hole of a submarine? small business specialist, tom. now, i know the catering business but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah". woah ! only verizon wireless has small business specialists in every store to help you do business better. you're like my secret ingredient. come in today and connect up to five devices on