Donovan Osborne

St. Louis Cardinal left-hander Donovan Osborne, out most of last year because of a torn groin muscle, probably will be sidelined for the start of this season because of the same injury. General Manager Walt Jocketty said Osborne, 28, won't throw for at least a week while he takes anti-inflammatory drugs. Osborne, beginning the second season of a three-year, $12.75 million contract, had been scheduled to make his first start of the spring Sunday. He was 3-7 with a 4.

St. Louis Cardinal left-hander Donovan Osborne, out most of last year because of a torn groin muscle, probably will be sidelined for the start of this season because of the same injury. General Manager Walt Jocketty said Osborne, 28, won't throw for at least a week while he takes anti-inflammatory drugs. Osborne, beginning the second season of a three-year, $12.75 million contract, had been scheduled to make his first start of the spring Sunday. He was 3-7 with a 4.

The San Diego Padres should be a tough team to pitch to, but rookie Donovan Osborne just mows them down. Osborne pitched seven shutout innings and beat the Padres for the third time in the St. Louis Cardinals' 2-0 victory Tuesday night. He's 3-0 against the league's best hitting team with a 1.23 ERA and has allowed 21 hits in 29 2-3 innings. The Padres lead the league with a .

The St. Louis Cardinals put pitcher Donovan Osborne on the disabled list Saturday because of a groin injury. Osborne aggravated the injury in Friday's 7-4 loss to the New York Mets. He first experienced pain in his groin 10 days ago in a start against the Dodgers. The 27-year-old left-hander pitched two innings Friday despite feeling pain while warming up. Osborne is 1-2 with a 3.60 earned-run average this season. He was 13-9 in 1996 and led Cardinals' starters with a 3.53 ERA.

The St. Louis Cardinals put pitcher Donovan Osborne on the disabled list Saturday because of a groin injury. Osborne aggravated the injury in Friday's 7-4 loss to the New York Mets. He first experienced pain in his groin 10 days ago in a start against the Dodgers. The 27-year-old left-hander pitched two innings Friday despite feeling pain while warming up. Osborne is 1-2 with a 3.60 earned-run average this season. He was 13-9 in 1996 and led Cardinals' starters with a 3.53 ERA.

I saw the wife of one of the St. Louis Cardinals' owners get struck with a foul ball during Saturday's game at Busch Stadium. To me, the surprising thing was not that something bad had happened to someone connected with the Cardinals, but that it didn't happen to Donovan Osborne. Thus far this season, the 27-year-old pitcher from Carson City, Nev., has nearly been killed in a car crash, has been tossed into jail, and has cut his finger on a champagne bottle during a Cardinal celebration.

Curt Schilling, the subject of much recent trade speculation, will finish the season with the Philadelphia Phillies, General Manager Lee Thomas said Sunday. Thomas made his remarks during the third inning of Sunday's game against the Dodgers, who beat Schilling and the Phillies, 4-1, on Saturday night. The announcement ended speculation that Schilling would be going to a pennant contender before the July 31 trading deadline. "I'm just happy that it's over with," Schilling said.

Opponent--St. Louis Cardinals, two games. * Site--Dodger Stadium. * Tonight--7. * TV--Fox Sports West 2, tonight. * Radio--KABC (790), KWKW (1330). * Records--Dodgers 10-6, Cardinals 6-11. * Record vs. Cardinals--(1996) 8-4. DODGERS' PEDRO ASTACIO (2-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. CARDINALS' DONOVAN OSBORNE (0-2, 3.79) * UPDATE: Los Angeles represents the final stop on a 10,300-mile trip through six time zones for the Cardinals, who will have gone from St.

Freddie Garcia broke out of a slump with three run-scoring singles as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 13-3, Thursday night for their fifth win in six games. Fernando Tatis hit his 11th home run for St. Louis, a two-run shot in the second, to tie Matt Williams for the major league lead. He also tied Williams for the National League RBI lead with 32. "I am surprised at how well I am hitting the ball," Tatis said. "Today I hit another home run just right.

The Florida Marlin season ticket-holders are so angered by their 1997 World Series champion's payroll purge, they are taking the team to court. Two separate class-action lawsuits were filed Monday--the first day court was open after Friday night's seven-player trade with the Dodgers that left Florida's roster with few of last year's players.

I saw the wife of one of the St. Louis Cardinals' owners get struck with a foul ball during Saturday's game at Busch Stadium. To me, the surprising thing was not that something bad had happened to someone connected with the Cardinals, but that it didn't happen to Donovan Osborne. Thus far this season, the 27-year-old pitcher from Carson City, Nev., has nearly been killed in a car crash, has been tossed into jail, and has cut his finger on a champagne bottle during a Cardinal celebration.

The San Diego Padres should be a tough team to pitch to, but rookie Donovan Osborne just mows them down. Osborne pitched seven shutout innings and beat the Padres for the third time in the St. Louis Cardinals' 2-0 victory Tuesday night. He's 3-0 against the league's best hitting team with a 1.23 ERA and has allowed 21 hits in 29 2-3 innings. The Padres lead the league with a .

Catcher Javier Lopez and the Atlanta Braves agreed to a one-year contract worth $2,025,000, nearly seven times his $290,000 salary last season. Lopez, 26, has been the Braves' regular catcher since 1994 and was voted most valuable player of the 1996 NL championship series. * Left-hander Donovan Osborne and the St. Louis Cardinals avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to a $12.75-million, three-year contract that makes him the team's second-highest paid player.

The St. Louis Cardinals never got a chance to work on Brian Williams' confidence Thursday night. After experiencing some tense moments in a three-game losing streak earlier this season, Williams was steady with a five-hitter over eight innings, leading the Astros to a 5-1 victory at the Astrodome. "My confidence was down after that three-game losing streak, but now I'm not going to let things bother me," Williams said. "Every time they tried to get something started, I came up with a good pitch."