Schedule Leaves Off Big Games

The Dodgers drew the American League East for interleague play next season, but the matchups could hardly be less attractive.

The Dodgers are not scheduled to play the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees or the Baltimore Orioles. They are scheduled to play six games against the Toronto Blue Jays, three home and three away, and three games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Dodger Stadium.

Under a tentative draft of the 2007 schedule, the hugely popular Red Sox would have come to Dodger Stadium and the Dodgers would have played at Yankee Stadium. But, to reconcile the schedule with the need to minimize coast-to-coast travel, some attractive games were eliminated, said Katy Feeney, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of scheduling and club relations.

The Dodgers are scheduled to open next season at home, against the Milwaukee Brewers, and close the season at San Francisco.

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If Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton was tipping his slider, Terrmel Sledge said he had no idea.

After Sledge singled home the winning run Sunday by connecting on a slider, Broxton said he suspected the San Diego Padres could tell when a slider was coming. On Monday, Broxton said a teammate alerted him that he altered his delivery when throwing a slider. Broxton said he had checked out the video and picked up the flaw immediately.

Sledge said Monday that no one in the Padres clubhouse told him Broxton might be tipping his slider. The sliders Sunday simply were not as good, Sledge said, as the ones Broxton threw to strike him out Friday.

“His slider wasn’t as nasty,” Sledge said.

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If the Dodgers and Padres tie for the NL West title, there might not be a playoff. If both teams qualify for postseason play, then the Padres would be designated the division champion and the Dodgers the NL wild-card team, since the Padres won the season series between the clubs.

If the Dodgers and Padres tie, with the same record as the Philadelphia Phillies, then the Dodgers and Padres would play Oct. 2 at Dodger Stadium to determine the NL West champion. The loser would fly to Philadelphia and play the Phillies for the wild card the next day.

If the Padres win the NL West and the Dodgers and Phillies finish with the same record, the Dodgers would fly to Philadelphia for a wild-card playoff game Oct. 2.

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First baseman Nomar Garciaparra returned Monday, three days after straining his left quadriceps muscle. If he aggravates the injury, his season could be over. “It’s a gamble,” Dodgers Manager Grady Little said.... Andre Ethier, who struck out twice Sunday and did not start three of the previous four games, sat out again. Marlon Anderson replaced Ethier in left field, and Little said daily matchups could determine who plays there the rest of the season. Anderson entered play with three hits in nine at-bats against Padres starter Jake Peavy, then homered and singled in two at-bats against the pitcher.