Rays bolster bullpen with Bradford

Anticipating their first postseason appearance, the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday acquired a reliever who hasn't allowed a run in 17 playoff games. Durable setup man Chad Bradford, who was 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 31 games for the Red Sox in 2005, was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles via a waiver claim for a player to be named. Bradford, 33, a submarining righthander, is 3-3 with a 2.45 ERA this year. Bradford has a 0.00 ERA in 15 1/3 innings of playoff action. No active reliever has pitched more innings in the postseason without giving up a run. Bradford signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Orioles in November 2006. He is 34-28 with 11 saves with a 3.31 ERA in 11 seasons . . . Lefthanded reliever Scott Eyre was acquired by the Phillies from Chicago for minor league righthanded pitcher Brian Schlitter in the trade between NL division leaders. Eyre was 2-0 with a 7.15 ERA in 19 games over two stints with the Cubs. The 36-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week. Eyre didn't allow a run in his first 14 games (nine innings) and has held lefthanded hitters to a .259 batting average . . . Cito Gaston will return as manager of the Blue Jays next year. The Blue Jays fired John Gibbons June 20 and gave the job to Gaston for the rest of this season. When they made the move, general manager J.P. Ricciardi said he would sit down with Gaston after the season to discuss his status for 2009. The Blue Jays are 24-17 since Gaston took over . . . Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui began a running program for his sore left knee. Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano, trying to come back from elbow ligament replacement surgery, allowed one hit and struck out four during a rehabilitation start with Double A Trenton . . . Roger Clemens asked US District Judge Keith Ellison to let a Texas jury decide if his former trainer, Brian McNamee, slandered him with accusations the pitcher used performance-enhancing drugs.

The Dodgers anticipate reinstating Brad Penny from the 15-day disabled list today to start at San Francisco. Penny has been on the DL since June 17 with right shoulder tendinitis and bursitis. He made his lone rehabilitation start Sunday for Triple A Las Vegas, allowing two runs in four innings . . . Rangers outfielder David Murphy, who leads AL rookies with 74 RBIs and 114 hits, was placed on the 15-day DL with a sprained knee . . . Connecticut's Shelton National will face New Hampshire's Manchester North tomorrow in Bristol, Conn., for a berth in the Little League World Series. Manchester North ousted West Roxbury, 5-2, and Shelton knocked out Williston, Vt., 12-0, in the semifinals . . . Canton advanced to next week's Junior League World Series in Taylor, Mich., with a 12-3 win over North Wall of Wall Township, N.J., in the final of the East Regional in Freehold, N.J.

Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram will miss the season because of a torn knee ligament. Ingram, who considered skipping his senior season to jump to the NFL after last season, will undergo surgery within the next week . . . Sophomore safety Mario Edwards, a transfer from Virginia Tech, was cleared by the Atlantic Coast Conference to play for Georgia Tech this season . . . Former LSU offensive lineman Jarvis Jones transferred to Oklahoma but must sit out this season . . . Kansas State football coach Ron Prince signed a five-year contract . . . Indiana University will not request a second hearing in front of the NCAA infractions committee, but will send a written response to the newest allegation of failing to monitor the men's basketball program.

The former racing official who has accused NASCAR of racial discrimination and sexual harassment in a $225 million lawsuit had a restraining order filed against her by a former boyfriend and was arrested for driving under the influence. Mauricia Grant, who filed her suit against NASCAR in June, also was charged with driving with a suspended license while still employed as a technical inspector for NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series. An attorney for Grant said previous actions have no bearing on the suit that alleges 23 specific incidents of sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of racial and gender discrimination during her time working for NASCAR.

NHL veteran Sean Hill, who in 2007 became the first player suspended for violating the league's drug policy, signed a one-year contract to play for the Swiss club Biel. The 38-year-old defenseman played 876 regular-season NHL games since 1992, ending last season in his home state with the Minnesota Wild . . . The Los Angeles Clippers signed free agent point guard Jason Williams, who averaged 8.8 points per game last season with the Miami Heat . . . Toronto FC midfielder Amado Guevara was suspended one game by Major League Soccer's Disciplinary Committee for hitting FC Dallas midfielder Pablo Ricchetti in the face Sunday . . . Joe Calzaghe will face Roy Jones Jr. Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden in a light heavyweight fight that was rescheduled after Calzaghe sprained his wrist . . . Eileen Canney struck out 10 as the New England Riptide beat the host Rockford Thunder, 5-1, in a National Pro Fastpitch game.