Monday’s TV schedule, complete with channels and times, customized for the Boston sports fan. Click on any team’s name for complete schedules, scores, and previews, plus an active community devoted to your team. All times ET.    

Major League Baseball

More sports on TV Monday after the jump.

Softball

World Cup Championships: United States vs. Japan, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
UPI.com contains copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information
of United Press International, Inc. (“UPI”) and its third-party licensors, including, but not limited to, text, photos,
videos, and graphics. Visitors to UPI.com may use this Web site solely for their own personal and non-commercial use.
Any reproduction, republication and/or redistribution of any content on the Web site is expressly prohibited without the
prior written consent of UPI or its applicable third-party licensors. UPI and United Press International are registered
trademarks in the United States and in other countries.

PHOENIX — Takashi Saito stood on the mound at Maryvale Baseball Park on Sunday and thought of his family in Japan.

Saito pitched the first inning of the Milwaukee Brewers’ 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out two. He said it was difficult to get into a good rhythm.

The Brewers had given him some time off to check on his family in Miyagi City, but he returned to the club on Sunday.

“I have gotten more information about what’s going on, and I am in a better place (emotionally),” Saito said through an interpreter.

The 41-year-old Saito’s wife and three daughters were OK in his current home in Yokohama, but the whereabouts of other family members were initially uncertain.

It turned out his mother and father were safe, too. They stayed with his brother. There were rumors that his boyhood home had been severely damaged, but that could not be confirmed. He worried about friends such as one of his high school baseball teammates and his family. As of midday Sunday, they were still unaccounted for.

“We haven’t given up hope yet,” Saito said.

Compared to the past few days, Saito said he was able to sleep on Saturday night. He will sleep even better when his wife and daughters arrive in the United States on March 19.

He said his family “has a strong will to recover from the damage. They told me not to worry.”

Saito’s teammates and the coaching staff have been very supportive. As he talked to manager Ron Roenicke before the game, first baseman Prince Fielder came over and embraced him.

After his outing, Saito said he threw some quality pitches. He hopes to establish better communication with his teammates.

He said he would prefer not to be a starter. He has not started in the major leagues, although he did start in Japan. Saito was 2-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 56 games for Atlanta in 2010 before signing as a free agent with the Brewers over the winter.

Roenicke said he likely will give Saito two days off, then pitch him every other day after that.

(Page 2 of 3)

“We’re just happy to have him out here,” Roenicke said. “If you think about it, you really have no idea what he’s going through.”

Carlos Gomez hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run second inning for the Brewers.

Gomez had a double to go with his second home run of the spring and is hitting .364 as he battles for a starting outfield spot.

“Some of our other younger guys have been swinging the bat well, too.”

Shortstop Alcides Escobar, who was acquired by the Royals when they sent pitcher Zack Greinke to Milwaukee, hit an inside-the-park homer in the second.

Notes

The Brewers optioned RHP Amaury Rivas to Triple-A Nashville and LHP Dan Merklinger and RHP Cody Scarpetta to Double-A Huntsville, Ala., RHP Robert Hinton, RHP Roque Mercedes and C Anderson De La Rosa were sent to minor league camp for reassignment. … SS Yuneisky Betancourt was removed from the game with a strained quadriceps and is day to day. … The Royals have an off day today. … INF Mike Aviles had two hits for the Royals on Sunday, his 30th birthday.

Brewers 7, Royals 5

KANSAS CITY MILWAUKEE

ab r h bi ab r h bi

L.Cain cf 3 0 1 0 Weeks 2b 3 0 0 0

Dyson lf 2 0 1 0 E.Farris 2b 2 0 1 0

Aviles 3b 3 1 2 0 C.Gomez cf 3 2 2 2

Moustakas 3b 1 0 0 0 L.Schafer cf 2 0 1 1

B.Butler dh 2 1 1 1 Almonte 1b 3 0 1 0

Betemit dh 2 1 0 0 S.Halton 1b 1 0 1 0

Ka’aihue 1b 3 0 2 0 McGehee 3b 3 0 1 1

Hosmer 1b 2 0 2 1 Z.Wheeler 3b 1 0 1 0

Francoeur rf 3 0 0 0 Betncrt ss 1 0 1 0

Maier rf 2 0 0 0 Maysonet ss 3 1 0 0

Me.Cabrera lf 2 0 1 1 Counsell dh 3 1 1 0

(Page 3 of 3)

G.Blanco cf 3 0 0 0 Mi.Rivera dh 1 0 0 0

S.Perez c 3 0 1 0 B.Boggs rf 3 0 0 1

M.Pina c 2 0 1 0 C.Gindl lf 0 0 0 0

Getz 2b 4 1 3 0 Reed lf 4 2 3 1

Zawadzki 2b 1 0 0 0 Nieves c 2 1 2 1

A.Escobar ss 3 1 1 1 A.de la Rosa c 1 0 0 0

I.Falu ss 1 0 0 0

Totals 42 5 16 4 Totals 36 7 15 7

Kansas City 210 000 110 — 5

Milwaukee 141 000 01x — 7

E—Z.Wheeler (2). DP—Kansas City 2. LOB—Kansas City 12, Milwaukee 10. 2B—B.Butler (2), Hosmer 2 (4), Me.Cabrera (4), Getz (1), C.Gomez (4), McGehee (1), Counsell (1), Nieves (1). 3B—Reed (1). HR—A.Escobar (1), C.Gomez (2). SB—L.Cain (2), Dyson (4), B.Butler (2), Getz 2 (3). SF—B.Boggs.

ip h r er bb so

KANSAS CITY

Davies L,1-1 2 8 5 5 0 4

Jeffress 1 1 1 1 2 1

Crow 1 0 0 0 0 0

Tejeda 1 0 0 0 0 1

L.Coleman 1 2 0 0 0 0

G.Holland 1 1 0 0 1 2

J.Chavez 1 3 1 1 1 0

MILWAUKEE

Saito 1 4 2 2 0 2

W.Peralta W,1-0 3À 5 1 1 1 1

DiFelice 1¿ 2 0 0 0 1

S.Green 1 1 1 1 1 0

C.Scarpetta 1 2 1 1 0 0

P.Egan S,1-1 1 2 0 0 0 2

WP—Davies, Jeffress 2. A—5,419 (7,000).

Takashi Saito stood on the mound at Maryvale Baseball Park on Sunday and thought of his family in Japan.

Saito pitched the first inning of the Milwaukee Brewers’ 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out two. He said it was difficult to get into a good rhythm.

The Brewers had given him some time off to check on his family in Miyagi City, but he returned to the club on Sunday.

“I have gotten more information about what’s going on, and I am in a better place (emotionally),” Saito said through an interpreter.

The 41-year-old Saito’s wife and three daughters were OK in his current home in Yokohama, but the whereabouts of other family members were initially uncertain.

It turned out his mother and father were safe, too. They stayed with his brother. There were rumors that his boyhood home had been severely damaged, but that could not be confirmed. He worried about friends such as one of his high school baseball teammates and his family. As of midday Sunday, they were still unaccounted for.

“We haven’t given up hope yet,” Saito said.

Compared to the past few days, Saito said he was able to sleep on Saturday night. He will sleep even better when his wife and daughters arrive in the United States on March 19.

He said his family “has a strong will to recover from the damage. They told me not to worry.”

Saito’s teammates and the coaching staff have been very supportive. As he talked to manager Ron Roenicke before the game, first baseman Prince Fielder came over and embraced him.

After his outing, Saito said he threw some quality pitches. He hopes to establish better communication with his teammates.

He said he would prefer not to be a starter. He has not started in the major leagues, although he did start in Japan. Saito was 2-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 56 games for Atlanta in 2010 before signing as a free agent with the Brewers over the winter.

Roenicke said he likely will give Saito two days off, then pitch him every other day after that.

“We’re just happy to have him out here,” Roenicke said. “If you think about it, you really have no idea what he’s going through.”

Carlos Gomez hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run second inning for the Brewers.

Gomez had a double to go with his second home run of the spring and is hitting .364 as he battles for a reserve outfield spot.

“Some of our other younger guys have been swinging the bat well, too.”

Shortstop Alcides Escobar, who was acquired by the Royals when they sent pitcher Zack Greinke to Milwaukee, hit an inside-the-park homer in the second.

NOTES: The Brewers optioned RHP Amaury Rivas to Triple-A Nashville and LHP Dan Merklinger and RHP Cody Scarpetta to Double-A Huntsville, Ala., RHP Robert Hinton, RHP Roque Mercedes and C Anderson De La Rosa were sent to minor league camp for reassignment. … SS Yuneisky Betancourt was removed from the game with a strained quadriceps and is day to day. … The Royals have an off day on Monday. … INF Mike Aviles had two hits for the Royals on Sunday, his 30th birthday.

*CBSSports.com Baseball Commissioner is open to (a) Registered Users; (b) thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of registration. CBSSports.com Baseball Commissioner is subject to the complete applicable Terms of Use. Void where prohibited by law.

**NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. CBSSports.com Free Fantasy Baseball is open to persons who are: (a) Registered Users; (b) legal residents of one (1) of the fifty (50) United States, Washington DC, and Canada (excluding Quebec) (for purposes of clarity, Puerto Rico is expressly excluded); and (c) at least eighteen (18) years of age or the age of majority in their state of residence at the date of registration in the Sweepstakes.

***Fantasy Baseball Gold is open to: (a) Registered Users; (b) legal residents of one (1) of the fifty (50) United States, Washington DC and Canada (excluding Quebec) (for purposes of clarity, Puerto Rico is expressly excluded); and (c) at least eighteen (18) years of age or age of majority at the date of registration in the Contest. PLEASE NOTE: Notwithstanding the foregoing: (i) eligible legal residents of Canada (excluding Quebec), Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, and Vermont may play Fantasy Baseball Gold, but are not eligible to win any prizes.

***Fantasy Baseball Platinum and Diamond are open to: (a) Registered Users; (b) legal residents of one of the fifty (50) United States (excluding residents of Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, and Vermont) (for purposes of clarity, Puerto Rico is expressly excluded), and Washington D.C.; and (c) at least eighteen (18) years of age or age of majority at the date of registration in the Contest.

All CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball games are subject to the complete applicable Terms of Use and/or Official Rules. Void where prohibited by law.

The much-anticipated blockbuster trade involving 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke became official Sunday when the Kansas City Royals worked out a six-player swap with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Royals packaged Greinke with shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million in a build-for-the-future return that netted shortstop Alcides Escobar and three prospects: outfielder Lorenzo Cain and right-handed pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress.

Odorizzi and Jeffress were tentatively ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 and No. 3 prospects in the Brewers’ system before the trade. Escobar ranked No. 1 before 2009 and 2010. Cain ranked No. 8 before last season.

The likelihood of a deal surfaced in August when Greinke expressed doubt that the Royals’ rebuilding program — centered on a farm system roundly viewed as the best and deepest in baseball — would bear fruit before his contract expired after the 2012 season.

ETC.

Hollywood Park cancels seven races

Two consecutive days of heavy rain forced Hollywood Park to cancel the last seven races on the final day of the autumn meet.

Track President Jack Liebau said that concern for the jockeys’ safety and the transition area from the chute to the main track led to the cancellation.

Joel Rosario won the riding title, with 12 more winners than runner-up Rafael Bejarano. Doug O’Neill won the training title with 16 victories.

Horse racing in Southern California resumes Sunday, the opening day of Santa Anita’s winter meet.

—

Ryan Lochte won three more events in the short-course world championships at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and headed home with an impressive haul of six gold medals and one silver.

On the final night of competition, Lochte started off with personal victories in the 200 backstroke and 100 individual medley, and then pushed the United States ahead of Russia in the third leg of the 400 medley relay and celebrated as teammate Garrett Weber-Gale held on for the win.

Lochte won all five of his individual events, and six of his eight events overall.

—

Ernie Els won the South African Open at Durban for the fifth time, shooting a six-under-par 66 to beat Retief Goosen by one shot in a tournament shortened to 17 holes for each of the final two rounds.

The third and fourth rounds were played Sunday without the par-three fourth, where the green was water-logged and all players were given a par score.

—

Lindsey Vonn moved back to the top of the World Cup standings with another dominant performance in Val d’Isere, France, winning a super-combined race the day after a masterful downhill.

Vonn had the fastest time in the super-G in the morning and followed it up with an assured slalom run in the afternoon.

The victory gave Vonn 581 points in the overall standings, three more than rival Maria Riesch of Germany. Austria’s Elisabeth Goergl is far behind in third with 366.

—

Ted Ligety extended his domination in World Cup giant slaloms, winning his third straight race to take the lead in the overall standings at Alta Badia, Italy.

The American was second after the opening run behind Cyprien Richard, but the Frenchman lost time on the lower part of his afternoon run down the steep and icy Gran Risa course.

Ligety finished in a combined time of 2 minutes 31.99 seconds. Richard was 0.14 of a second back and countryman Thomas Fanara was 0.55 behind in third.