High & Inside: NL Notes

Not that it should be construed as a bribe to stay in Houston, but the Astros got righthanded ace Roy Oswalt a replacement for the trophy he won as MVP of the 2005 NL Championship Series.

The original award was destroyed when a tornado hit his parents' house in Mississippi in April.

Oswalt said he plans to send the new one to his parents.

The pitcher has been one of the most coveted players in baseball over the last month, as contenders add pitching for the stretch run. Cliff Lee went to Texas on July 9 and Dan Haren was traded from Arizona to the Angels on Sunday, so Oswalt is the big prize among pitchers still out there.

Atlanta's Brooks Conrad hit a pinch-hit grand slam Saturday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is only the fifth player to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in the same season. Davey Johnson did it for the Phillies in 1978.

Scott Rolen has missed the last eight games with a strained right hamstring, but the Cincinnati third baseman said he could be ready to return on Monday.

Reds manager Dusty Baker isn't so sure.

"I've just learned over the years that if a guy tells me tomorrow, I think the day after tomorrow," Baker said. "If he's not 100 percent then ... I don't want to force it. When I get him back I want him back and not in and out."

Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks, who was hit in the head by a Collin Balester fastball on Saturday night against Washington, homered against the Nationals on Sunday and is on pace to become the second hitter in major-league history to drive in 100 runs from the leadoff spot.

Weeks has 64 ribbies in 100 games, which projects to 103 or 104 for a full season. Darin Erstad had exactly 100 RBIs in the leadoff spot for the Los Angeles Angels in 2000.

Dodgers pitcher Carlos Monasterios was struck on the right side of the head by a foul ball off the bat of Carlos Beltran while sitting in the Los Angeles dugout in the fourth inning of a game against the New York Mets.

A Dodgers spokesman said Monasterios never lost consciousness. He was examined by team physician Neal ElAttrache and, the spokesman said, did not appear to have any signs of a concussion.

The accident occurred less than 24 hours after San Francisco's Eugenio Velez was struck on the left side of his head by teammate Pat Burrell's foul ball while he was in the dugout. Velez sustained a concussion and spent the night in the hospital. He traveled home with the team after Sunday's game.

The Pirates sent rookie pitcher Brad Lincoln to triple-A Indianapolis and designated veteran righthander Brendan Donnelly for assignment. Righthander Daniel McCutchen will replace Lincoln and lefty Wil Ledezma will replace Donnelly. Both were at Indianapolis.