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THE BOTTOM HALF

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Looking back

* The San Francisco Giants ran out of position players Friday night, forcing Manager Bruce Bochy to use starting pitcher Noah Lowry in right field. Backup catcher Eliezer Alfonzo, who had replaced Bengie Molina in the fifth inning, was knocked out of the game during a fifth-inning collision. Third baseman Pedro Feliz took over at catcher -- the first time he had played there. Right fielder Randy Winn then moved to third and Lowry went to right. It was the first time since April 10, 2004, that a pitcher had played another position, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Looking ahead

* Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox has been sitting on 99 wins since April 23 against Kansas City. He’s had seven starts since, going 0-3 with a 4.73 ERA in those games. He’ll try again today, against Houston. Tom Glavine of the New York Mets continues his pursuit of 300 as he goes for victory No. 296 today against the Detroit Tigers. He’ll be opposed by Andrew Miller, who is seeking career victory No. 2.

It’s a fact

* The Tigers went with an “All in the Family” theme during last week’s draft, when they selected the grandson of Tigers legend Al Kaline in the 25th round, the son of third base coach Gene Lamont in the 29th round and the brothers of current pitcher Joel Zumaya in the 42nd and 43rd rounds. Others who kept things in the family: Pittsburgh selected Manager Jim Tracy’s son in the 20th round; Baltimore selected Manager Sam Perlozzo’s son in the 35th round, the White Sox selected Manager Ozzie Guillen’s son in the 36th round and the Angels selected Manager Mike Scioscia’s son in the 41st round.

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MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

CS FULLERTON TITANS IN THE MINORS

KURT SUZUKI, C

Sacramento; triple A

Suzuki, 23, a second-round pick in 2004, has made a rapid rise through the minors because of his solid bat and top-notch defense. He is batting .280 with three home runs and 27 runs batted in. This is his first season above double A, so the Oakland A’s are hesitant to rush him to the big leagues, but with starting catcher Jason Kendall batting .197 and backup Adam Melhuse at .231, the A’s have a hole in their lineup. Suzuki, who won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation’s top collegiate catcher while helping Fullerton win a national title in 2004, has hit at every level. He batted .277 with 12 home runs at Class A in 2005 and hit .285 with seven home runs at double A last season.

BRIAN WOLFE, P

Syracuse; triple A

Wolfe, 26, was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the off-season after spending the previous seven-plus seasons in the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers organizations. A sixth-round pick in 1999, he has taken awhile to develop but has impressed enough at Syracuse to receive a call up to the majors May 30. He pitched in four games -- all in relief -- giving up five hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings before being sent back down June 6. He has been dominant as a relief pitcher at triple A this season, compiling a 2-0 record with an 0.78 earned-run average in 15 games. He has pitched 23 innings and has 22 strikeouts with only four walks. Before this season, he was 43-46 with a 4.29 ERA.

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