Ex-Trojan Prior Faces Ex-Titan Saarloos

Two pitchers from local colleges will square off today when the Houston Astros play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Mark Prior, a former Golden Spikes Award winner from USC, will start for Chicago and Kirk Saarloos, a former Cal State Fullerton All-American, will start for Houston.

The rookies were the first two players from the 2001 amateur draft to appear in the major leagues. Saarloos and Prior never faced each other in college.

Saarloos is 5-0 with a 2.90 earned-run average since being recalled from triple-A New Orleans last month. Prior has given up only two runs in his last 15 innings, and he has 15 strikeouts in that span and two wins over Colorado.

*

New York Met catcher Mike Piazza was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game Wednesday, missing a start against the San Diego Padres after being diagnosed with tendinitis in his left wrist.

Piazza, who is hitting .285 with 23 home runs and 73 runs batted in, said his wrist began to bother him before batting practice Tuesday. He took a few swings, decided not to hit and was scratched from the lineup shortly before the start of the game.

*

The Arizona Diamondbacks put infielder Craig Counsell on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore neck. Counsell missed the last four games with a pinched nerve. He has started 88 games at third base, 11 at shortstop and 10 at second base, and is batting .282 with two home runs and 51 RBIs.

Arizona replaced Counsell on the roster by activating catcher Damian Miller, who had been disabled since July 24 with a strained lower back.

*

Houston Astro shortstop Julio Lugo will be sidelined for the rest of the season following surgery to repair a broken left forearm. Lugo was injured after being hit by a pitch from Kerry Wood during Monday’s game at Chicago.

Lugo, who had six screws and a plate put in his arm, will be in a soft cast for two to four weeks and is expected to need 10 weeks to recover. Houston recalled shortstop Adam Everett from triple-A New Orleans.

*

Jose Rijo hasn’t started a game in a pennant race since 1994, when the players’ strike wiped out his last opportunity for postseason prominence. But Rijo will start for the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday against Houston, which moved ahead of the Reds into second place in the NL Central this week.

Manager Bob Boone figures to use several relievers behind Rijo, who hasn’t pitched more than two innings at a time since his return from the disabled list on July 13.

“I’m going to feel real happy to get three innings, miraculous if we get five,” Boone said. “I’m not planning on five. We’ll get what we can get. But sometimes, he amazes.”

*

Milton Bradley underwent an appendectomy and was put on the 15-day disabled list by the Cleveland Indians. The operation took place at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Indians were playing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was scratched from the lineup Tuesday night with what the Indians said was stomach discomfort. Bradley could return in three to four weeks.

To take Bradley’s place on the roster, the Indians recalled outfielder Covelli Crisp, 22, from double-A Akron. Crisp, obtained in the trade with St. Louis for Chuck Finley, was the Cardinals’ minor league player of the year in 2001.