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BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Bird Dog Works, Plays in Milwaukee

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Associated Press

Dozens of sea gulls visited County Stadium for a second night Saturday, chasing moths that are hatching in the playing field’s grass.

This time, the Brewers recruited Gus, a dog from a water fowl association. He enthusiastically worked to chase the birds off the field between innings but visibly exhausted himself trying.

The birds’ invasion Friday night amused players and spectators, but only temporarily because they were a distraction for someone trying to watch a fly ball.

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With the birds forced to circle overhead Saturday to stay away from Gus, players tossed the dog the ball and the crowd cheered his outfield sprints.

And when Gus relieved himself in left field in the middle of the sixth inning, the grounds crew was there in a hurry with a scoop.

“I thought at first when everyone started screaming that he finally caught a bird. Then I saw they brought the shovel out and I thought, ‘Oh well, it was a matter of time,’ ” said Milwaukee center fielder Darryl Hamilton.

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Atlanta Brave outfielder Otis Nixon was given permission to leave the club after his brother’s wife collapsed at her North Carolina home.

Sheryl Nixon, wife of former major leaguer Donell Nixon, was found slumped over in her kitchen in Evergreen, N.C., and taken to the New Hanover Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., for tests, a family member said. Mrs. Nixon was listed in stable condition, a hospital spokesperson said.

Otis Nixon said he asked to be at his sister-in-law’s side because his brother, a player-coach with Charlotte of the International League, was in Rochester, N.Y., and couldn’t get there immediately.

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Seattle’s protest of a brawl-filled game June 6 at Baltimore was denied by American League President Bobby Brown. Baltimore won the game, 5-3, in which a seventh-inning brawl erupted and seven players were ejected and subsequently suspended. . . . The Oakland Athletics broadcast their game at Minnesota in Chinese. Tony Luh and Rod Auyang called the game against the Minnesota Twins on KCNS-TV in Mandarin and Cantonese. . . . Met third baseman Howard Johnson was put on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 11, because of a viral infection.

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