BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Indians Acquire Russell From Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox traded slumping relief pitcher Jeff Russell to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Chris Nabholz and Steve Farr.

Russell (0-5), who gave up one run and three hits while pitching the ninth inning of Boston’s 6-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Friday, has 12 saves in 15 opportunities this season with a 5.14 earned-run average.

He got his fifth loss Wednesday when he gave up a 10th-inning homer to Danny Tartabull in a 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees.

Nabholz, a left-hander who was 3-1 on a rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Charlotte while recovering from a strained upper back, is scheduled to start Sunday for the Red Sox.

Farr, a right-handed reliever who is on the disabled list because of a stiff neck, is expected to be ready to pitch for Boston on July 10.

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Red Sox Manager Butch Hobson, already under fire for his club’s recent woes, was suspended for five games for shoving an umpire. Hobson has appealed the decision by American League President Bobby Brown. A hearing is pending. . . . Houston Astro General Manager Bob Watson, 48, announced that he has prostate cancer and will have the gland removed Wednesday in St. Louis. He will be hospitalized for five days, then return to Houston to recuperate. Watson is expected to resume a limited work schedule after a recovery period estimated at 30 days. . . . Chicago Cub announcer Harry Caray remained hospitalized for treatment of a rapid heart beat. Caray, 77, was admitted to Northwestern Memorial in Chicago last Saturday after being discharged three days earlier from a Florida hospital, where he was taken after he fell while leaving a dugout at Miami’s Joe Robbie Stadium.