MLB Notebook | Maddux returns to Dodgers from Padres

Greg Maddux is back with the Los Angeles Dodgers for another stretch drive after a 120-mile trip up the California coast.

The Dodgers reacquired Maddux from the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, getting the future Hall of Famer and cash for two minor-leaguers to be named or cash.

"It's nice to be back," Maddux said with a smile. "Last to first. It's pretty cool. One off day and I make up 16 games, so I'm excited."

The 42-year-old right-hander first joined the Dodgers on July 31, 2006, and went 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in 12 starts to help them win an NL wild-card berth. The Dodgers entered Tuesday night's action tied for the Arizona Diamondbacks atop the NL West, while San Diego languished in last place, 16 games off the pace.

"You never really want to leave your team and your teammates and all that, but it's nice to be back in a pennant race," Maddux said. "It was fun playing in San Diego, and I loved it there. But I'm looking forward to the last month and a half here. It was great last time I was here, it was fun and it was exciting. I had a lot of good memories then, and I look forward to making some new ones."

Notes

• Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, the last player to hit for the Triple Crown, was resting comfortably after having triple-bypass heart surgery in Boston.

Yastrzemski, who turns 69 on Friday, had the operation at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he underwent tests after experiencing chest pains in the morning, said his spokesman, Dick Gordon.

"He just got out of surgery, had his triple bypass and is resting comfortably," Gordon said at about 8:30 p.m. "The operation was a success."

The popular Yaz was an 18-time All-Star and spent his entire career with the Boston Red Sox, taking over left field for Ted Williams in 1961 and playing through 1983.

• Billy Wagner has more pain and swelling in his pitching elbow, and the New York Mets' All-Star closer is out indefinitely.

Wagner had an MRI exam that revealed additional inflammation in his left elbow — an alarming sign after he spent most of the past two weeks resting his ailing arm. Now, the NL East leaders don't know when he might be able to return to the mound, if at all, this season.

"I'm very frustrated, but there's not much for me to do," Wagner said. "I want to play. I want to compete. There's only so much time in a career, and I want to get out there and help my teammates."

• St. Louis reliever Jason Isringhausen, twice demoted from the closer role this season, could miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury, the team said. "I don't think it's career-ending," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "It's one of the tough breaks that a team goes through."

• Baltimore closer George Sherrill was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder inflammation, a disappointing setback for the All-Star pitcher who has 31 saves and has already exceeded a career high in innings pitched. Sherrill, 31, had an MRI on Tuesday, 24 hours after complaining of stiffness in his pitching arm.

Sherrill came to the Orioles in the deal that sent pitcher Erik Bedard to Seattle.

• Josh Beckett's next start has been pushed back a few days while the Boston Red Sox try to determine the cause of lingering numbness in the his right hand.

• Kip Wells, who started on opening day for Colorado before getting demoted and later cut, signed with Kansas City.

• B.J. Upton apologized for a "mental lapse" on the bases, saying he didn't want to become a distraction for the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. "There's no excuse for it. It can't happen, especially in the middle of a pennant race," the 23-year-old center fielder said a day after his gaffe.

Benched three times in the past two weeks for not hustling, Upton looked shocked Monday night when he was thrown out at second base on what should have been a routine double.

• The New York Yankees activated outfielder Hideki Matsui off the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Justin Christian to Class AAA. Matsui started as the designated hitter, batting seventh against the Toronto Blue Jays, and was 0 for 3.