Suspended Piniella awaits decision

Baseball
Lou Piniella wasn't around for a rare enjoyable day for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the Braves, 10-1, yesterday at Wrigley Field to snap a six-game losing streak. The Cubs manager was suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball for his dirt-kicking tirade and ejection in the eighth inning of Saturday's 5-3 loss to Atlanta. After Angel Pagan was thrown out trying to steal third on a pitch that bounced away from the catcher, Piniella stormed out of the dugout and kicked dirt as he argued and tossed his cap, leading to his ouster by third base umpire Mark Wegner. MLB also said Piniella made contact with Wegner during the outburst -- which Piniella denied. The length of Piniella's suspension will be determined today after a meeting with John McHale Jr., the MLB executive vice president for administration. Bench coach Alan Trammell managed the Cubs yesterday. Piniella's outburst came one day after catcher Michael Barrett and pitcher Carlos Zambrano fought in the dugout and clubhouse.

In a significant step on his road to a return to the lineup, three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martínez is scheduled to throw off a mound for the first time tomorrow in Port St. Lucie, Fla., the New York Mets said. "Everything with Pedro is a positive," Mets manager Willie Randolph said about the pitcher, who is recovering from rotator cuff surgery . . . The Detroit Tigers released righthander Jose Mesa, who ranks 13th on the career list with 320 saves. The 41-year-old Mesa, signed as a free agent in December, went 1-1 with a 12.34 ERA in 16 appearances for Detroit . . . Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman Akinori Iwamura (left eye) is expected to miss 4-5 games. He was hurt Saturday when a foul ball he was chasing bounced off the ground and struck him in the eye . . . Dave McKae allowed five hits over seven scoreless innings, leading the visiting Connecticut Defenders to a 4-3 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs . . . In the NCAA San Diego regional, Fresno State pitcher Tanner Scheppers was rushed to a hospital after a line drive hit by Minnesota's Kyle Baran struck him above the eye. Team officials said Scheppers was alert and moving after he was taken by ambulance to a trauma unit.

Softball

Monica Abbott led Tennessee to the Women's College World Series finals, throwing her third straight shutout in the Lady Vols' 3-0 victory over Northwestern in Oklahoma City. In the best-of-three championship series beginning tonight, the Lady Vols will face defending champion Arizona, which beat sixth-seeded Washington twice, 2-0 and 8-1. Abbott (49-3) struck out 17 in a two-hitter to help Tennessee reach the championship series for the first time. Top-seeded Arizona rallied for two runs in the sixth inning of the first game against Washington. In the next game, Arizona got to Danielle Lawrie early with Jenae Leles's two-run double in the first inning . . . Desiree Serrano pitched a complete-game five-hitter, leading the host Washington Glory to a 6-1 victory over the New England Riptide.

Tennis

Venus Williams played the French Open on a bad knee, according to her father. Williams had her left knee checked out by a doctor when she flew home to the US after a straight-set loss to Jelena Jankovic in the third round Friday, Richard Williams said . . . Bill and Stephanie White of Jamaica Plain won the USTA National Senior Father-Daughter tennis championship, beating Bill and Ellen Berlinghof of Dresher, Pa., 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the final.

WNBA

The host Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics redefined sloppy basketball. Their 52 combined turnovers was a WNBA record for a non-overtime game, and the Fever set another league record by going the first 13:32 without a field goal. Still, Indiana got a season-high 20 points from Tan White and rallied to beat the Mystics, 70-66. The Fever had 10 of their franchise-record 29 turnovers in the first quarter and did not make a field goal until Tully Bevilaqua's layup at 6:28 of the second period . . . Jessica Davenport's 3-point play with 6.9 seconds left helped the host New York Liberty remain unbeaten (4-0) with an 83-82 victory over the Phoenix Mercury . . . Candice Dupree had 20 points and 11 rebounds to help the host Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx, 78-72.

Miscellany

Nate Coolidge, who once played on the Sandwich High girls' field hockey team because there wasn't a boys' squad, was named to the 16-member US men's team that will compete at the Pan American Games next month in Brazil . . . Daniel Yego, a 27-year-old Kenyan, pulled away from the lead pack just after the Mile 19 marker and ran away with the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, finishing in 2 hours 9 minutes 4 seconds . . . Danilo Di Luca won the 90th Giro d'Italia, completing the 2,166-mile, 21-stage race in 92 hours 59 minutes 39 seconds . . . Emirates Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa and extend its lead to 3-0 in the best-of-nine Louis Vuitton Cup final off Valencia, Spain . . . Sultan Ibragimov routed Shannon Briggs Saturday night to win the World Boxing Organization's heavyweight title in Atlantic City.