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Former major leaguer Otis Nixon faces drug charges

54-year-old former ballplayer was jailed over the weekend after cops say they found crack, drug pipe in his vehicle.

FORMER major league outfielder Otis Nixon has been arrested on drug charges following a weekend traffic stop in suburban Atlanta.

Nixon was pulled over just after midnight Saturday after another driver called police to report a Dodge Ram truck weaving all over the road, according to an incident report from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. The 54-year-old remained in jail yesterday afternoon on $11,880 bond.

Officers found a pipe for smoking crack cocaine in Nixon's pants pocket and found a suspected crack rock in the driver's seat, the report says. They later found another pipe and more suspected crack rocks in the floor board of the driver's side, as well as other paraphernalia.

A sheriff's deputy arrested Nixon on charges of possession of cocaine and possession of a drug-related object. It wasn't immediately clear yesterday whether Nixon had a lawyer.

Nixon told officers he was driving a friend home and didn't believe he was weaving. He told the sheriff's deputy that the substance officers found in the car was crack cocaine but said the pipes and drugs belonged to his son and that he had been planning to get rid of the pipe.

"Otis said he was always finding drugs and drug objects left by his son," an officer said in the police report.

Officers conducted field sobriety tests and determined Nixon wasn't under the influence of crack cocaine or alcohol.

The speedy Nixon collected more than 600 stolen bases in 17 seasons from 1983-99. He played for several teams including the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Montreal Expos.

Noteworthy * 

Chicago White Sox righthander Gavin Floyd will have surgery today to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and a torn flexor muscle in his right elbow and will miss the next 14 to 19 months, the team announced.

Floyd, 30, was 0-4 with a 5.18 ERA in five starts for Chicago this season before going on the disabled list April 28 with what was initially diagnosed as a flexor muscle strain.

Floyd is 70-70 with a 4.48 ERA in 10 major league seasons with the White Sox and Phillies.

* The Houston Astros designated outfielders Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez for assignment and reinstated outfielder J.D. Martinez from the disabled list. Ankiel hit .194 with five homers and 11 RBI, while Fernando Martinez hit .182 with a homer and three RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians placed reliever Vinnie Pestano on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right elbow. The Indians called the injury tendinitis, but the 28-year-old said he has been treated for discomfort the past two seasons.

* The Braves activated Brian McCann off the disabled list, completing the catcher's comeback from surgery on his throwing shoulder last October.

In AL games * 

At St. Petersburg, Fla., J.P. Arencibia hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Fernando Rodney and the Toronto Blue Jays completed their comeback from a seven-run deficit, beating the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-7. Evan Longoria hit his third career grand slam, helping Tampa Bay build a 7-0 lead that Jeremy Hellickson and four Rays relievers failed to hold.

* At Boston, Stephen Drew drove in three runs, including the game-winner in the 11th inning and the Red Sox topped the Minnesota Twins, 6-5. Drew also homered for Boston, which also got homers from Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia.

* At Kansas City, Jordan Danks atoned for a baserunning blunder in the ninth inning by hitting a solo home run in the 11th that lifted the Chicago White Sox over the Royals, 2-1. Danks entered the game as a pinch-runner in the ninth, and later got caught in a rundown between third and home.

Jesse Crain (1-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win in what had been a duel between starters James Shields and Chris Sale. Addison Reed worked the 11th for his 11th save in 12 opportunities.

Shields threw eight shutout innings and handed a 1-0 lead to Greg Holland starting the ninth. The White Sox immediately loaded the bases on singles by Jeff Keppinger, Alex Rios and Dunn, setting up the tying sequence.

* At Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera homered twice and Mark Reynolds hit one to the deepest reaches of Progressive Field, leading the Indians to a 7-3 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Jason Kipnis and Cabrera hit consecutive homers in the first inning off Jarrod Parker (1-5). In the fifth, Cabrera homered again and Reynolds launched a 460-foot shot - his 10th - that nearly cleared the leftfield bleachers.

The four homers backed Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2), who had his second straight solid outing. Jimenez struck out a season-high eight in 5 2/3 innings as Cleveland won for the seventh time in eight games.

In an NL game * 

At Cincinnati, Andrelton Simmons homered twice and drove in a career-high four runs, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 7-4 victory that ended the Reds' winning streak at three games. Paul Maholm (4-3) allowed four hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

In an interleague game * 

At Chicago, Anthony Rizzo homered and drove in four runs, and Scott Feldman (3-3) shut down the Texas hitters for seven solid innings as the Cubs beat the Ranges, 9-2.