Nationals Acquire Rockies’ Wilson

Trying to bolster their chances of hanging on to their lead in the National League East, the Washington Nationals acquired outfielder Preston Wilson from the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

The Rockies sent Wilson to the Nationals for right-hander Zach Day, outfielder J.J. Davis and a player to be named or cash.

The Rockies were busy Wednesday, also sending pitchers Joe Kennedy and Jay Witasick to Oakland for outfielder Eric Byrnes and prospect Omar Quinanilla.

Wilson was one of Colorado’s most popular players and led the majors in runs batted in two years ago, but is due $5.7 million the rest of this season and will become a free agent when it’s over. Although he has 15 home runs and 47 RBIs, Wilson has been plagued by a sore knee and hit only .258 with 77 strikeouts.

Day started the season in Washington’s rotation and was moved to the bullpen after struggling. He was 1-2 with a 6.75 earned-run average before going on the disabled list May 31 because of a broken right wrist. Davis opened the season with the Nationals before being sent to triple-A New Orleans in May.

Byrnes earned a $2-million contract from the Athletics after setting career highs in nearly every offensive category in 2004, but seemed to fall out of favor with Manager Ken Macha and has been the subject of trade rumors since the off-season. He hit .266 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs for the A’s.

Kennedy was Colorado’s opening-day starter after setting a team record for wins by a left-hander with 11, but was about to be moved to the bullpen after going 4-8 with a 7.04 ERA.

The Nationals also signed left-hander Mike Stanton to shore up their bullpen.

Stanton, 38, was cut two weeks ago by the New York Yankees after going 1-2 with a 7.07 ERA in 28 games.

In other moves, the Nationals activated outfielder Ryan Church off the disabled list, put infielders Junior Spivey (broken right wrist) and Tony Blanco (vertigo associated with a sinus infection) on the 15-day disabled list, and moved infielder Henry Mateo (right shoulder) from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

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Curt Schilling was activated after spending 2 1/2 months on the disabled list, and will be in the bullpen when the Boston Red Sox begin the second half of the season tonight against the Yankees.

Schilling is expected to work in relief until he’s ready to pitch long enough to reclaim his spot in the rotation after going on the disabled list April 29 because of a bone bruise in his right ankle.

The Red Sox also were expected to activate reliever Chad Bradford, acquired Wednesday from Oakland for outfielder Jay Payton.

To make room on the roster, Boston optioned third baseman Kevin Youkilis to triple-A Pawtucket and sent pitcher Scott Cassidy outright to Pawtucket.

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Ratings for the All-Star game hit a new low for the second consecutive year.

The American League’s 7-5 victory over the NL in Detroit received an 8.1 rating and 14 share on Fox, Nielsen Media Research said, down 8% from the 8.8 rating for the AL’s 9-4 win last year in Houston.

Although baseball’s All-Star rating has declined, it easily remains the strongest among the major U.S. sports -- and the only one this year that has been televised by an over-the-air network.

The NBA All-Star game, played in Denver on Feb. 20, got a 4.9 cable rating on TNT; the NFL’s Pro Bowl at Honolulu in Feb. 13 got a 4.1 cable rating on ESPN.

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Cuba’s top sports official said he doubts the nation will participate in next year’s World Baseball Classic, calling the event commercialization of the sport.

“Cuba doubts it will participate, primarily because the reasons and the interests behind the event have yet to be stated clearly,� Humberto Rodriguez, president of Cuba’s National Institute of Sports, told Associated Press.

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Right-hander Rob Bell cleared waivers and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays outrighted him to triple-A Durham. The Devil Rays also optioned left-hander Joe Beimel to Durham.... The Texas Rangers sent right-hander Juan Dominguez to triple-A Oklahoma.