Orioles dismiss Perlozzo

Sam Perlozzo was fired as manager of the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, the result of his inability to bring the last-place team out of a lengthy funk culminated by an eight-game losing streak.

Bullpen coach Dave Trembley will be the interim manager when the Orioles begin a six-game trip in San Diego today. One of the leading candidates to fill the position full time is Joe Girardi, voted NL manager of the year in 2006 before being fired after a dispute with Florida Marlins ownership.

Baltimore was 27-27 and second in the AL East on May 31 before losing 13 of 15 in June.

Perlozzo is the second consecutive Baltimore manager to be fired in midseason. He took over after the Orioles dismissed Lee Mazzilli on Aug. 4, 2005. After guiding Baltimore to a 23-32 record that season, Perlozzo signed a three-year contract in October 2005. He finished 122-164, including 70-92 last season.

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Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee and San Diego pitcher Chris Young were suspended for five games each for a bench-clearing brawl last weekend. Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry was suspended for three games for his role in Saturday’s fight at Wrigley Field.

Philadelphia third-base coach Steve Smith was suspended for three games and catcher Carlos Ruiz for one for an argument in Sunday’s game against Detroit.

In Saturday’s game at Wrigley, Lee was hit by a pitch from Young, walked to first, had words with the pitcher, then threw a punch. Young swung back and the benches emptied.

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Kenny Rogers will make his first start of the season Friday when the Detroit Tigers begin a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Manager Jim Leyland made the decision after meeting with Rogers on Monday. Leyland said Rogers would not be on a pitch count in his return.

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The New York Yankees’ Jason Giambi has until Thursday to agree to a meeting with steroids investigator George Mitchell or else face possible discipline from Commissioner Bud Selig.

Lawyers from the players’ union and Major League Baseball resumed talks Monday after a weekend break to set rules for a Giambi-Mitchell meeting.

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The Yankees signed two Chinese players, saying they were the first players from China signed by a major league team with the approval of the country’s baseball association. Kai Liu, a 19-year-old left-handed pitcher, and Zhenwang Zhang, a 19-year-old catcher, will be introduced at a Yankee Stadium news conference July 6, then report to the team’s minor league complex in Tampa, Fla.

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Brandon Watson’s International League-record hitting streak ended at 43 games after he was 0 for 5 with three strikeouts in Columbus’ 6-0 victory over Rochester. Columbus is the triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.