If you don't know him, you can't hit him

Chicago White Sox lefthander Mark Buehrle is 19-6 in interleague play, having won 15 of his last 17 starts against NL teams after beating Cincinnati, 4-1, yesterday.

"Maybe it's just that some of these guys haven't seen me before," he told the Associated Press. "You just go out there and [use] some of the pitches they haven't seen. It's worked to my advantage."

The Reds spent the afternoon beating Buehrle's sinkers into the ground for outs. Buehrle is 7-2 this season.

On the same day that Ryan Howard's NL-leading 343-game streak came to an end, the top AL streak also was halted.

Minnesota's Justin Morneau had his first day off since June 27, 2007, ending his streak of 319 consecutive games played that was second in the majors.

CC Sabathia left the New York Yankees' game against Florida in the second inning with tightness in his left biceps.

A trainer went out to watch Sabathia while he warmed up before the inning. Sabathia gave up a one-out double to Brett Carroll, then manager Joe Girardi and a trainer came out to check on the lefthander again before taking him out of the game.

The team said that Sabathia (6-4) is day-to-day, and that no medical tests are planned.

The Boston Red Sox put struggling righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list, citing weakness in his shoulder. An MRI exam and other tests revealed no injury.

Manager Terry Francona said Matsuzaka had shoulder weakness, referring to his pitching in the World Baseball Classic as a root cause.

Matsuzaka, asked if he regretted pitching in the WBC, said flatly, "No."

Texas righthander Kevin Millwood struck out 10 in seven innings yesterday even though he lost a 3-2 duel with San Francisco's Barry Zito. It was the 13th time in his career that the former Phillie had reached double digits in strikeouts. . . . David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in Boston's 6-5 win over Atlanta, giving him 999 career RBIs. . . . New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett's suspension for throwing high and tight to Texas' Nelson Cruz has been reduced to five games from six, Girardi said. . . . Cleveland Indians first baseman Ryan Garko was out of the lineup against the Chicago Cubs because of a sprained left wrist. . . . Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span is set to make two rehab appearances at triple-A Rochester. Span is on the DL retroactive to June 10 with a condition in his right ear that caused dizzy spells.