Orlando Cabrera made his Athletics debut and Jason Giambi hit his first homer of the spring in an 8-3 victory over a San Francisco Giants split squad Saturday, but the club also had to shut down All-Star pitcher Justin Duchscherer because of a sore elbow.Giambi belted a two-run homer against minor leaguer Joe Martinez in the first inning. Giambi started the spring 1-for-17, but has four hits in six at-bats, with two walks, in his past three games.
"The last few games I'm hitting the ball good, really starting to get locked in, just in time because we only have 21 games to go," he said. "I'm right where I want to be this time in the spring."
Cabrera had a single in three at-bats as the designated hitter, his first game with his new team. He is scheduled to make his debut at shortstop on Sunday, when Nomar Garciaparra will make his A's debut at third base. Garciaparra and Cabrera did not sign until March 6.
BURNETT SPARKLES IN SECOND SPRING START (6:45 p.m. ET)
A.J. Burnett threw four perfect innings in the New York Yankees' 3-1 split-squad win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Burnett struck out three during his 40-pitch outing. He has allowed one hit over six shutout innings in two spring training starts.
Burnett went 18-10 with Toronto last year. The Yankees signed him to an $82.5 million, five-year free-agent contract during the offseason.
TIGERS' ROBERTSON STRONG; BONDERMAN THROWS (5:43 p.m. ET)
Nate Robertson pitched three scoreless innings in the Tigers' 10-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing one hit while fanning one. With three weeks left to win the final spot in the Tigers' starting rotation, Robertson was pleased.
"Its my job to lose," Robertson said. "I am not putting pressure on myself. I am fighting for a job. No pressure."
Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are candidates for the final spot behind Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Armando Galarraga and Jeremy Bonderman. Zach Miner and Rick Porcello also are in the mix.
There could be two openings because Bonderman has a sore shoulder, but he threw 30 pitches Saturday in a game against Tigers minor leaguers and reported no pain. Bonderman will start Thursday against Atlanta.
TOP PROSPECT SHARP IN BID FOR ROTATION SPOT (4:15 p.m. ET)
Carlos Carrasco turned in a solid outing on Saturday, giving the top pitching prospect a boost in the race for the Phillies' open rotation spot.
His performance during the Phillies' 5-2 victory in Kissimmee, Fla., over Houston was bolstered by another sluggish offensive effort by the Astros.
Carrasco, who is competing with Kyle Kendrick, Chan Ho Park and J.A. Happ for the final spot in the rotation, allowed one run and four hits in three innings against a Houston split squad.
He faced a lineup that included Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee and was supposed to be bolstered by the return of Miguel Tejada from the World Baseball Classic.
Instead, Tejada and Lee went a combined 0-for-6 while Berkman fared a bit better with two hits and an RBI.
ORIOLES REASSIGN 7 TO MINOR LEAGUE CAMP (1:41 p.m. ET)
Prized Orioles pitching prospects Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta are among the seven non-roster players Baltimore has reassigned to its minor league camp.
Joining the right-handers at the minor league complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday are right-handers Fredy Deza and Ryan Keefer; catchers Jose Reyes and Adam Donachie; and infielder Craig Brazell.
BACKE SHELVED WITH STRAINED MUSCLE IN RIBS (11:15 a.m. ET)
Right-hander Brandon Backe has been sidelined for at least 10 more days with a rib injury, according to the Houston Chronicle.
According to the newspaper, a strained intercostal muscle in Backe's side is threatening his chances for a spot in the Astros' rotation for the start of the regular season.
"Not real promising, when you think about it," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said in Kissimmee, Fla., according to the paper.
Backe, 30, was injured Sunday in a spring training game against the Pirates.
"It's already been four or five days now and who knows how much longer," Backe said. "Worried? Not really worried. I'm more aggravated than anything."
WEEKS PLAYS THROUGH IT -- WITH HOMER (10:59 a.m. ET)
Second baseman Rickie Weeks shrugged off his well-documented struggles with his first homer of the spring Friday during a 5-1 win over the Royals in Phoenix.
Weeks said afterward he's looking past the harsh treatment from fans he's received in Milwaukee.
"I really don't care about it. I don't look into too much of it," Weeks said. "I couldn't care less about what people think or say. I'm going to do what I've got to do to help this team win, plain and simple."
Injuries haven't helped Weeks, the second pick of the 2003 draft who has 72 errors in 445 games, including 15 last year, and is a career .245 hitter. He hurt his wrist because of his hard bat waggle and his knee in the past three seasons. He struck out 116 times in 2007 and 115 times last year.
"Playing through injuries? I've been doing that pretty much my whole career to this point," Weeks said.
-- Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Houston's Mike Hampton had his best outing of the spring on Friday in Kissimmee, Fla.
He looked good and, perhaps more importantly, he felt good.
Hampton allowed three hits in four scoreless innings while striking out four as the Astros and Washington Nationals played to a 2-2 tie in 10 innings.
The injury-plagued lefty missed all of 2006 and 2007 and was limited to just 13 games last season because of various injuries, but is hoping to revive his career in his return to Houston, where he won 22 games in 1999.
The 36-year-old had allowed six runs combined in his two previous outings.
BEDARD CANCELS ANOTHER BULLPEN SESSION (10:36 p.m. ET)
Seattle left-hander Erik Bedard has canceled a bullpen session for the second consecutive day in Peoria, Ariz., raising concerns that the Mariners' ace may be hurt more than he's letting on.
Bedard was scratched from his scheduled start against Kansas City on Wednesday because of sore buttocks and missed his bullpen session on Thursday because of the same thing. He canceled again Friday.
Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu has downplayed the severity of Bedard's injury and says Seattle is taking a cautious approach with its top pitcher.
NATIONALS ADD TAVAREZ (8:30 p.m. ET)
Right-hander Julian Tavarez has agreed to a non-guaranteed, minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.
He's the second player the Nationals have brought aboard this week in Viera, Fla., joining Kip Wells as possible help for the bullpen.
The 35-year-old Tavarez is 85-75 with 22 saves and a 4.45 ERA over 16 seasons with 10 clubs in the majors, working as both a starter and reliever.
He went 1-5 with a 5.10 ERA in 52 appearances for Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta in 2008.
MORALES SHOWING SOME POP (7:33 p.m. ET)
Kendry Morales, who'll replace Mark Teixeira as Angels first baseman this season, is hitting .355 in 31 Cactus League at-bats. Morales hit a tape measure grand slam off Chad Gaudin for his first home run of the spring in Los Angeles' 8-2 victory over the Cubs on Friday.
While Morales has only 12 homers in his first 377 major league at-bats, he's coming off an impressive performance in winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
Manager Mike Scioscia will probably hit Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter in the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 spots unless Howie Kendricks works his way into the second spot and bumps everybody back a notch. That means Morales will bat either fifth or sixth in the order.
"He has big power,'' Scioscia said of Morales. "Whether that translates into 15, 20 or 30 home runs is impossible to say. What we need for Kendry is that production. He's going to be up there with a lot of guys on base.''
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
A'S OPTION HERRERA TO TRIPLE-A (3:39 p.m. ET)
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Outfielder Javier Herrera has been optioned from the Oakland Athletics to Triple-A Sacramento.
The 23-year-old went 3-for-6 with a double, two walks and scored twice in seven spring training games for the Athletics.
In 61 games at Double-A Midland a year ago, Herrera hit .267 with nine homers and 36 RBIs. Herrera is a .284 career hitter in five minor league seasons with 48 homers, 208 RBIs and 72 stolen bases in 90 attempts.
BREWERS EXPECT CAMERON BACK SOON (2:40 p.m. ET)
Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron could be swinging a bat as soon as Saturday and is expected to return in a few days from a strained rib cage muscle.
Manager Ken Macha said Friday that Cameron's injury to an intercostal muscle on his left side needs a few days of rest.
Cameron was upbeat in the clubhouse, but wasn't sure when he'd be back in the field after getting hurt during a drill.
"I feel good, but my ribs feel bad," he said.
Cameron, a three-time Gold Glove winner, hit .243 with 25 homers and 70 RBIs last year in his first season in Milwaukee.
ANOTHER VOTE FOR PEDRO (10:49 a.m. ET)
Jose Reyes, back in Mets camp after the World Baseball Classic, was singing the praises of Dominican Republic teammate Pedro Martinez and says the former Mets right-hander would welcome a return to Queens.
"He said he just wants to go somewhere he'd like to be comfortable," Reyes said, according to Newsday. "He'd like to pitch here. To be honest with you guys, he said he'd like to come back here, but I don't know what's the deal here."
The Mets have already said they're not interested in re-signing Martinez. But if they asked Reyes for his opinion, they'd get a ringing endorsement.
"Unbelievable, unbelievable," Reyes said of Martinez, according to Newsday. "He's fantastic. He's loose, comfortable on the mound. He threw a lot of strikes, bro. He throws hard, too. He looked great."
"Last year he had some tightness in his shoulder, but now he looks relaxed," Reyes added, according to the report. "He's ready. Whoever signs him, he's going to do good."
MARINERS SEND DOWN TOP DRAFT PICK FIELDS (10:19 a.m. ET)
Mariners right-hander Josh Fields, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, was one of five players
the team reassigned to its minor league camp Thursday.
Fields has not pitched in a Cactus League game since arriving in camp and has been relegated to side work, though manager Don Wakamatsu hasn't ruled out bringing him back up at some point.
"I was extremely proud of the way he handled himself and impressed," Wakamatsu said.
The move to send Fields down was expected and the 22-year-old didn't seem concerned about not pitching in a game while with the big league club.
The Mariners also sent right-hander Tracy Thorpe, catcher Israel Nunez and infielders Callix Crabbe and Oswaldo Navarro to the minor league camp. The moves leave Seattle with 58 players on its spring training roster.
-- Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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MARINERS SIGN RHP CORDERO (10:41 p.m. ET)
The closer-needy Seattle Mariners have signed veteran right-hander Chad Cordero to a minor league contact and invited him to the final weeks of their spring training camp.
The Mariners announced on Thursday evening they expect Cordero to report to camp Friday. He turns 27 next week.
Cordero has 128 career saves since 2003. He has been out since last May with a shoulder injury sustained while he was with the Washington Nationals.
He eventually had surgery in July and will continue rehabilitating in his first weeks with the Mariners.
Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said the team will be cautious and patient with Cordero's recovery. He added the Mariners are optimistic Cordero can help them this season.
HAREN FACES FORMER TEAM (8:03 p.m. ET)
Dan Haren was excited to face his former team, and it showed. Haren walked three in three innings of the Diamondbacks' 6-1 loss to the Athletics.
Haren, who has allowed six runs in nine innings so far this spring, said he was a little wild because of the extra adrenaline of facing his former team. But he only gave up one run and one hit and struck out four.
"I felt really good," Haren said. "My arm felt really live. The first couple starts of the spring you are really working the kinks out, but today my arm felt great."
PERCIVAL SEES FIRST SPRING ACTION (6:02 p.m. ET)
Troy Percival pitched a hitless inning in his first action of spring training in the Rays' 3-2 win over the Phillies. The 39-year-old closer is coming back from an injury-plagued season. He made three trips to the disabled list because of hamstring and knee injuries and missed most of September and the postseason because of a lower back injury that required surgery in November.
"It was a step," Percival said. "I was actually forcing myself to mentally throttle back and throw my pitches, but I'd let a couple go, so the next time I'll do a little bit more. I'm gonna take it a step at a time."
Percival, who is eighth in saves with 352, said he will be ready by Opening Day.
"There's not a doubt in my mind," he said.
Rays manager Joe Maddon is beginning to believe that.
"He looks very good to me," Maddon said. "I don't see any kind of hesitation or restriction. So, I think he's in really good shape."
CARPENTER COMEBACK ON TRACK (5:28 p.m. ET)
Chris Carpenter's comeback remains solidly on track after four more scoreless innings. The Cardinals' oft-injured ace shrugged off a triple by Josh Reddick on his second pitch of the game then allowed just one more hit in his third spring start as St. Louis beat the Red Sox 4-2.
"It was another step forward," said Carpenter, who threw 46 pitches. "I definitely felt like I was locating better with my fastball and I felt like I was in a little better control of my body."
The 33-year-old Carpenter doubled the inning total from each of his first two spring starts. He hasn't allowed a run in eight innings, giving up only four hits.
"Results-wise, it's obviously been pretty good," Carpenter said. "I'm getting back into the game situations and trying to execute pitches, so it's gone the way I would have hoped so far."
Carpenter has missed virtually all the past two seasons, pitching only 15 1/3 innings last year coming off reconstructive elbow surgery. He underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in September and had another procedure in November to transpose a nerve in his elbow.
JACK OF ALL TRADES INJURED (4:55 p.m. ET)
Utility player Alfredo Amezaga has a sprained left knee that's expected to sideline him four to six weeks.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez didn't rule out Amezaga returning before the season opener April 6, but baseball operations president Larry Beinfest wasn't optimistic.
"It's doubtful right now," Beinfest said. "He's very valuable to this team. It's tough."
Amezaga, who signed a $1.3 million contract in January, is the team's most versatile player. He played 79 games in center field last year, 19 at shortstop, 15 at third base and 10 at second.
RED SOX PROSPECT INJURES ANKLE (2:35 p.m. ET)
Boston Red Sox prospect Jonathan Van Every left an exhibition game against St. Louis after spraining his right ankle running the bases in the fifth inning.
Van Every, the ninth-place hitter, pulled up while going from first to third on Josh Reddick's two-out single Thursday.
The 29-year-old was batting .150 (3-for-20) after going hitless in two at-bats. He made his major league debut last year and had three stints with Boston, hitting .235 in 17 at-bats with five RBIs in 11 games.
BIG Z TO START OPENER FOR CUBS (2:00 p.m. ET)
Carlos Zambrano has been picked to make his fifth straight Opening Day start for the Chicago Cubs.
Manager Lou Piniella said Thursday he picked Zambrano over Ryan Dempster for the April 6 start against Houston after discussing the choice with pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Zambrano was 14-6 with a 3.91 ERA in 30 starts last season. Dempster was 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA and made the NL All-Star team.
RAYS' PEREZ OUT THREE MONTHS (1:58 p.m. ET)
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Fernando Perez will miss the next three months after dislocating his wrist.
Perez was injured in Tuesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays when he dove to his left for a fly ball.
"That's a play I make all the time, usually once a month or so," Perez said, according to MLB.com. "The whole trick to it is making sure you keep your glove from catching on the ground. My glove has never caught on the ground [before], then that. I'm using a little bit longer of a glove than I have been using, and it got caught under there. So it really surprised me."
"It's a dislocation, and it's unfortunate," Rays manager Joe Maddon said, according to the report. "I talked to him after it had happened, obviously he was very disappointed. He's really coming on as a young player, so it's difficult. But it could have been worse, so three months, we can live with that."
ANOTHER 'NO' VOTE FOR PEDRO (10:09 a.m. ET)
Baltimore Orioles president Andy MacPhail said after Wednesday's spring training game that the team has no intention of contacting Pedro Martinez's representatives about bringing the veteran right-hander aboard, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Martinez pitched for the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game last week and had a solid outing in an appearance against the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic. But that has yet to translate into offers from major league teams, including the New York Mets, for whom Martinez pitched the past four seasons.
The Orioles already have one veteran arm in camp in Adam Eaton. He has yet to appear in a spring game, but he is younger than Martinez -- and the Phillies are on the hook for all but $400,000 of Eaton's salary.
"Obviously, our pro scouts are out in other camps, looking at other pitchers," MacPhail said, according to the Sun, "but we would have to think it is a meaningful upgrade."
REYES RETURNS, LIKELY TO LEAD OFF (9:59 a.m.)
With Jose Reyes headed back to New York Mets camp from the World Baseball Classic, manager Jerry Manuel is once again faced with a lineup question: Should he continue tinkering with the lineup or put Reyes back at the top of the order?
The answer is it's "more than likely" that Reyes will lead off when the season starts next month in Cincinnati, Manuel said Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News.
"When push comes to shove, we have to get him back where he's comfortable," Manuel said, according to the report.
Reyes went 1-for-9 with two walks in the WBC, which he left earlier than expected thanks to the Netherlands' stunning upset of the Dominican Republic. Manuel will wait until Saturday to insert Reyes back into the lineup, according to the report.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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HARANG PUTS PAST BEHIND (7:08 p.m. ET)
Aaron Harang took another step in getting beyond his dismal 2008 season, pitching four scoreless innings Wednesday during the Cincinnati Reds' 8-2 victory over the Houston Astros.
Harang lost 17 games last season, by far the worst of his career, and slimmed down in the offseason. Cincinnati is counting on him to anchor a rotation that could be the team's strength this year.
Harang went 6-17 with a 4.78 ERA in 30 appearances last season. It was a huge decline for a pitcher who won 16 games each of the previous two seasons.
The Astros are 2-11-2 in spring training, including exhibitions against World Baseball Classic teams. Although the record is irrelevant, manager Cecil Cooper doesn't like the way his club is playing.
SCHUMAKER STRUGGLES AT 2B (7:05 p.m. ET)
Converted outfielder Skip Schumaker committed his fourth error of the spring at second base on Wednesday. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is sticking with the experiment for now, although he said Schumaker would be the designated hitter Thursday against Boston.
Schumaker is batting .333 in 30 at-bats after an 8-4 victory over the Florida Marlins, while getting a lot of playing time to familiarize himself with the new position. Moving to DH for a day offers Schumaker a chance to rest his legs a bit.
Schumaker batted .302 as the Cardinals' leadoff man last season while playing right field and center field. He found out not long before spring training that the team wanted him to try second base to ease a glut in the outfield.
MANNY TO GET BOBBLEHEAD (6:51 p.m. ET)
Manny Ramirez is getting his own bobblehead this season.
The slugger who recently agreed to a $45 million, two-year deal to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers will be commemorated with a dreadlocked version of himself. The first 50,000 fans in attendance will receive the doll July 22 against Cincinnati.
Third baseman Casey Blake will have his bobblehead giveaway on May 20 against the New York Mets. A third bobblehead night is scheduled for Aug. 19 against St. Louis, with the player to be named later.
SABATHIA, VERLANDER STRUGGLE (6:18 p.m. ET)
CC Sabathia allowed too many hits. Justin Verlander walked too many batters.
Despite struggling in the Detroit Tigers' 7-4 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday, both pitchers were not overly concerned.
"I felt like I was throwing the ball pretty sound," Sabathia said. "But they put the bat on the ball. It kind of snowballed."
All five runs off him came in the second, when Gary Sheffield hit the first of his two home runs.
"That was a big inning," Sabathia said. "I couldn't get out of the second inning. I'll get out and continue to keep working. I need to command both halves of the plate better."
He allowed five runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings and took the loss.
"He never seemed to find his rhythm today," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Verlander, the winner, gave up four runs -- two earned -- three hits and four walks in two innings. In the second, he walked three straight hitters.
"Obviously, I was erratic, but I wasn't missing by much," Verlander said. "The ball was jumping out of my hand better than it has in a long time."
Verlander said that while watching video of himself recently, he noticed his front foot was too stiff. He tried to keep his knee bent Wednesday when finishing his delivery.
"I'm not worried about him," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
MARLINS' AMEZAGA HURT (6:16 p.m. ET)
Florida Marlins utility player Alfredo Amezaga will be out four to six weeks because of a sprained left knee.
The Marlins don't know how Amezaga sustained the injury. He complained of knee stiffness after playing nine innings Sunday for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.
Amezaga returned to South Florida, and the injury was diagnosed Wednesday in Miami by Dr. Lee Kaplan.
Amezaga, who signed a $1.3 million contract in January, is the team's most versatile player. He played 79 games in center field last year, 19 at shortstop, 15 at third base and 10 at second.
He'll wear a protective cast for two weeks before resuming activity.
WHITE SOX PITCHERS IMPROVE (5:06 p.m. ET)
The White Sox are thrilled about the progress made by two of their rehabbing pitchers, Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon. Contreras is in terrific shape having lost nearly 30 pounds.
"I saw him throw," White Sox reliever Octavio Dotel said. "Wow. Wow."
If Colon and Contreras are healthy and ready to go by mid-April, the White Sox will have the best pitching in the AL Central. Colon is the wild card, but he trusts the White Sox staff, and they trust him. When he says he's going to be ready, the White Sox believe him.
The Sox have position battles going at second base with Chris Getz and Jayson Nix, and in center field with Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens. Best guess for today is that Getz and Anderson win those jobs.
Josh Fields is the leader at third base over 19-year-old Cuban Dayan Viciedo. Fields can hit, and his defense is improving. Viciedo is ready to hit in the major leagues right now; his power is remarkable.
The young player to watch in camp has been shortstop Travis Beckham, the Sox's No. 1 pick in last year's draft. "He is so impressive, he is so polished," Jim Thome said. "He has great balance at the plate. And I mean this in the most positive way: He's just cocky enough to think that he belongs here."
Beckham likely will start the year at Double-A, but there has been talk of trying him at second or third base since the White Sox have their shortstop of the future in Alexei Ramirez, whose natural position is shortstop. He will have much more range than Orlando Cabrera, Chicago's primary shortstop last season.
White Sox reliever Bobby Jenks is throwing so well, he jokingly says that he's worried. "I'm not a spring training pitcher," he said. "I have five strikeouts in four innings. Last year, I think it took me 20 innings to get my first strikeout."
Thome recalled his trip with his father to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown last summer. "It was one of the best days of my life," he said. "If I could freeze a day in time, that would be the day."
--ESPN's Tim Kurkjian
HALL ON THE MEND (5:06 p.m. ET)
The Brewers are encouraged that third baseman Bill Hall will be ready for Opening Day after suffering a partially torn calf muscle. He is expected to play in a game in the next few days.
Hall was injured doing conditioning drills on his own before the official start of spring training in the middle of February. He was expected to miss four to six weeks.
Hall batted .225 with 15 homers and 55 RBIs last season.
--ESPN's Tim Kurkjian
WELLS AGREES TO MINOR LEAGUE DEAL (4:43 p.m. ET)
Right-handed pitcher Kip Wells, who has been with six teams in 10 seasons, agreed to a nonguaranteed minor league contract with the Nationals.
Wells, 31, is 65-94 with a 4.67 ERA in 256 games (205 starts). He has pitched for the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh, Texas, St. Louis, Colorado and Kansas City.
MARLINS' VOLSTAD TAKEN OUT, JUST IN CASE (4:03 p.m. ET)
Pitcher Chris Volstad was taken out of Wednesday's spring training game against the Cardinals after absorbing a line drive off his thigh in the fifth inning.
Volstad walked off without effort after a liner by Joe Mather ended up in shallow right field for a single. It appeared to be a precautionary move given his replacement, Leo Nunez, had been warming up.
Volstad allowed two runs in four-plus innings in his third spring training start.
TIGERS PERSONNEL, INJURY UPDATE (3:17 p.m. ET)
Dane Sardinha was supposed to have been the Tigers' starting catcher Wednesday against the Yankees, but the team announced he "did not arrive at the ballpark due to a personal issue." Starting catcher Gerald Laird started in his place.
Outfielder Marcus Thames was unable to play because of an abdominal injury suffered in Tuesday's game against the Cardinals. He was examined by a doctor Wednesday morning, and the team was awaiting the results.
Manager Jim Leyland said Thames came up throwing after making a catch Tuesday and felt something in his abdomen. It was unclear how long he'll be out.
-- Jayson Stark, ESPN.com
ENCOURAGING OUTING FOR WOOD (3:12 p.m. ET)
Kerry Wood, the Indians' new closer, finally got to throw to someone not wearing a Cleveland uniform, and not just in front of the coaching staff's wary eyes.
Wood, who has been held back this spring because of soreness in his lower back, worked a scoreless inning with a strikeout in relief in the Indians' 8-4 loss to the Angels on Tuesday.
"It was nice to get a different uniform in the box," Wood said. "It always adds a new level of adrenaline."
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Wood was clocked between 91 mph and 94 mph.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang threw in the bullpen and will start Friday against Boston. He had his throwing session pushed back one day due to a bad cold. Meanwhile, closer Mariano Rivera (right shoulder surgery) will throw BP for the first time Wednesday and could pitch in a game around March 17.
HOLLIDAY FACES FORMER TEAM (9:11 p.m. ET)
Oakland outfielder Matt Holliday enjoyed facing his former team for the first time.
Holliday, the 2007 National League batting champion, had two singles but the Rockies earned a 14-7 victory.
"These guys are going to be my friends until I die, no matter where I play, what team they're on or what team I'm on," Holliday said. "They're my friends and it's good to see them, no matter what the circumstances."
Holliday, who established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the majors during his five-year stint with the Rockies, was traded for closer Huston Street, pitcher Greg Smith and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez in the offseason.
SHEETS REHABBING WITH RANGERS DOC (9:01 p.m. ET)
Ben Sheets still might have a future with the Rangers.
Sheets, who had surgery on his right elbow, is rehabbing in the Arlington offices of Rangers team doctor Keith Meister, according to several media outlets.
While general manager Jon Daniels said Texas might consider Sheets when he's healthy, he also said Sheets made the decision to work with Meister on his own.
"There's not a connection there," Daniels told MLB.com. "I think he lives in Dallas and our club is there. He could have chosen to rehab anywhere he wanted to."
WEAVER SEES FIRST ACTION (8:55 p.m. ET)
Angels starter Jered Weaver allowed four hits and a run in two-thirds of an inning in his spring training debut.
Weaver began throwing off a mound only 11 days ago and has been held out of Cactus League action because of soreness in his throwing shoulder.
With Ervin Santana dealing with elbow inflammation and unlikely to start the season on time and with the Angels waiting for Kelvim Escobar to return after missing all of 2008, Weaver's health is quite valuable to a team that already will enter the season with two starters out of action.
"He'll be ready for the start of the season," manager Mike Scioscia said after Los Angeles' 8-4 win over Cleveland. "He's on-pace if there are no setbacks. I thought he had really good stuff. The command needs to be a little crisper, but that's to be expected. We just need to get him out there a little more so he can fine-tune some things."
Weaver was happy with the feeling in his shoulder.
"I've been working my butt off trying to get [my shoulder] back in shape and it's felt good the last week and a half or so," he said. "They haven't found anything in there, so I'm happy about that."
WOOD DEBUTS WITH TRIBE (8:53 p.m. ET)
New Indians closer Kerry Wood worked a scoreless inning with a strikeout in relief in his first spring appearance.
Wood, who had 34 saves with the Cubs last season before signing a two-year deal with Cleveland, has been held back due to soreness in his lower back.
"It was good to see [Wood] get out there," manager Eric Wedge said after Cleveland's 8-4 loss to the Angels. "It was good for Victor [Martinez] to be back there catching him, too."
Wood agreed.
"It was nice to get a different uniform in the box," he said. "It always adds a new level of adrenaline."
MORROW STILL HURTING (8:50 p.m. ET)
Mariners right-hander Brandon Morrow continues to suffer from tightness in his pitching forearm and may have to postpone his next scheduled start.
The 24-year-old Morrow had a brief bullpen session Tuesday, but couldn't shake the pain in his pitching arm that has prevented him from appearing in a spring training game since March 1.
He was scheduled to pitch this past weekend, but was scratched after complaining of tightness in his pitching arm. The Mariners then hoped the inflammation would subside with rest and pushed Morrow's start back to Friday against the Cubs. But after his bullpen session today, the 24-year-old Morrow isn't certain he'll be ready by then.
The Mariners had hoped Morrow would secure a spot in their rotation this spring after they moved him from the bullpen to a starting role last summer. Now, they aren't certain where he'll wind up when the regular season begins April 6 at Minnesota.
CHAMBERLAIN STEPS IT UP (8:05 p.m. ET)
Joba Chamberlain was much better in his outing for the Yankees on Tuesday, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out three and walking none in three innings of work.
Before the game, manager Joe Girardi had said he wanted to see more out of Chamberlain -- more command, in particular.
Facing the Cincinnati Reds, Chamberlain needed just 29 pitches to get through three innings, throwing 20 strikes, and his fastball velocity ticked up a couple of notches; the range of his fastball was 89-94. In his previous outing, Chamberlain had walked four of the five batters he faced. His line: Three innings, three hits, one earned run, no walks, three strikeouts.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say it's a sigh of relief just because there is a sense of urgency to get going," Chamberlain said. "We're less than a month away. You understand there is work to be done, but you also had to have that sense of urgency, also."
-- Buster Olney, ESPN The Magazine
MR. INTENSITY (4:11 p.m. ET)
The Arizona Diamondbacks have a day off Wednesday, and manager Bob Melvin plans to spend it mountain biking with his bench coach and good buddy, Kirk Gibson.
Gibson went biking with D-backs bullpen coach Glenn Sherlock earlier this week in Tucson and broke the chain on his bike.
"I don't think it was for lack of leg strength,'' Melvin said. "He's a bit of a grinder. Gibby doesn't lack intensity when it comes to anything. When he has his mind set on doing something, he's all out."
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
CHAVEZ STARTING 'FROM SCRATCH' (3:33 p.m. ET)
Eric Chavez remains optimistic that he can play by Opening Day despite a setback in his shoulder rehabilitation.
The Athletics third baseman stopped baseball activities on Monday, a day after feeling right shoulder pain while swinging a bat.
"The big thing is getting pain-free and then kind of starting over slow," Chavez said Tuesday. "Take five swings. How does that feel? Take 10 throws. How does that feel? We have to start from scratch a little bit."
Chavez may try to hit or throw Thursday or Friday. He doesn't expect to play in a game for a while, not even as a designated hitter.
"I'm going to refrain from setting dates, but I'm going to try to recover as fast as I can and get back on the field as soon as I can, but meanwhile trying to get the shoulder healthy," he said.
PICKING THEIR SPOTS (3:23 p.m. ET)
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin is about to return from the World Baseball Classic, where Team Canada was eliminated by Italy on Monday.
In Martin's absence, veteran Brad Ausmus and 2003 draft pick A.J. Ellis have been logging the bulk of the time behind the plate. They had better enjoy the at-bats while they can, given that Martin has started 145 and 149 games the past two seasons, respectively.
Ausmus, who signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers over the winter, joked that the backup catching gig in Los Angeles is the easiest job in baseball.
"Or maybe the second easiest -- behind head groundskeeper in San Diego," Ausmus said.
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
UEHARA TO MISS NEXT START (2:40 p.m. ET)
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Koji Uehara was expected to miss his next scheduled start after straining his left hamstring during Monday's game against the New York Mets.
Uehara, the first Japanese pitcher signed by the Orioles, apparently got hurt while covering first base. He was scheduled to go four innings, but came out after two.
"He probably will be backed up from the next time he pitches by two or three days," manager Dave Trembley said Tuesday. "I think instead of him pitching on five days' rest, it probably will be seven."
The injury is not believed to be serious.
Uehara received treatment on his left leg in the trainer's room Tuesday at Fort Lauderdale Stadium while the Orioles traveled to Fort Myers to play the Boston Red Sox.
NATIONALS TRIM ROSTER TO 58 (11:36 a.m. ET)
The Washington Nationals optioned left-hander Mike O'Connor to Triple-A Syracuse and left-hander Ross Detwiler to Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday in their first round of spring training cuts.
O'Connor was 1-1 with a 13.00 ERA in five games, including one start, for Washington in 2008. Detwiler, who was 8-8 in 26 starts with Class A Potomac last year, was the Nationals' first-round draft pick in 2007 out of Missouri State.
The Nationals also reassigned eight players to their minor league camp: left-hander Justin Jones; right-handers Bobby Brownlie, Preston Larrison and J.D. Martin; catcher Javier Herrera; first basemen Chris Marrero and Matt Whitney; and outfielder Destin Hood.
The moves leave Washington with 58 players in camp.
JONES APOLOGIZES TO DODGERS FOR 2008 (9:23 a.m. ET)
Calling last year "the worst year of my life, by far," Andruw Jones offered an apology on Monday for his disastrous 2008 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I am sorry I didn't stand up to my reputation," he said, according to the Times. "I am sorry for what I put everyone through. I am sorry I did not make it work."
Jones, now with the Texas Rangers, is looking happier and fitter than last season, when he showed up at spring training overweight, batted a career-worst .158 with three home runs, was booed by Dodgers fans and left the team before the end of the season.
"I said I didn't care, but I heard them, and it wasn't any fun," Jones said of the booing, according to the Times. "I've never known a home player to be booed like that."
This year, things are starting off better. And Monday, after Jones homered off Claudio Vargas, Dodgers manager Joe Torre said he was glad Jones had turned things around.
"I'm happy for him," Torre said, according to the Times. "I hurt for him last year. He is certainly a lot better guy than he was portrayed to be."
VOTE FOR PEDRO? (8:54 a.m ET)
New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel is playing down speculation that the team will bring back Pedro Martinez as a fifth starter, saying the team is sticking with the pitchers it has in camp.
"Pedro is a Hall of Fame pitcher and one of the greatest pitchers of our time, but I feel very confident in the people we have in camp that [they] can get the job done," Manuel said. "Do you like Pedro? Of course, you love Pedro. But you have to be fair to the people that we have here."
According to ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney, a baseball source said there was "not a chance" the Mets will sign Martinez. The source said that the reasoning is not financial, but based on concerns about Martinez's pitching command.
Martinez, 37, who is pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, said Monday that he'd be interested in rejoining the Mets, but that he's not going to beg them for a job, according to the New York Daily News. Martinez went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts last season.
The Mets are currently auditioning Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, Freddy Garcia and Jonathon Niese for the No. 5 starting slot in the rotation.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Johan Santana tested his left elbow in another bullpen session Monday and the New York Mets ace is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday night against Florida at Tradition Field.The Mets got a pinch-hit grand slam from Nick Evans in the eighth inning and a game-winning solo shot by Rene Rivera in the ninth to beat the Orioles 9-8. But on a day when Miami Dolphins executive Bill Parcells and coach Tony Sparano visited camp, it was Santana who took center stage.
SIZEMORE HEATS UP (9:19 p.m. ET)
Grady Sizemore went 3-for-3 in his second game back after a groin injury and the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-3 on Monday.
Sizemore scored twice and drove in two runs. Victor Martinez also went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
John Danks pitched two innings for the White Sox, allowing six runs, five earned, and eight hits. He struck out three and walked one.
Fausto Carmona allowed three runs and five hits in three innings for the Indians.
CHOO HURTING (8:45 p.m. ET)
Shin-Soo Choo will be examined by team doctors at the Cleveland Indians' spring training camp on Tuesday.
The outfielder complained of a sore left triceps last week while playing for South Korea in Japan during the World Baseball Classic. Choo had ligament transplant surgery in his left elbow in 2007, but a Korean spokesman said Thursday that its team doctors attributed the soreness to the climate change from training camp in Hawaii to the cooler Japan.
"This will give our people a chance at taking a look at Choo," Indians manager Eric Wedge said.
Choo did not play Monday when South Korea defeated defending champion Japan 1-0 in pool play. He is 1-for-7 with a walk and three runs in three tourney games.
The Indians and South Koreans had agreed before the tournament that Choo would sit out one game in each round. It also was stipulated that he could play the outfield only once in the first round. In the second round, he can appear in the outfield in two games and they must not be consecutive.
LESTER MUM ABOUT DEAL (8:43 p.m. ET)
Jon Lester had much more to say about his changeup than he did about his future.
The left-hander threw 57 pitches in his third spring training start, and a makeshift Boston Red Sox lineup outslugged the Pittsburgh Pirates 15-14 on Monday in a 10-inning game that lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes.
Lester's outing came one day after Yahoo.com reported that he had agreed to a $30 million, five-year contract extension with a $13 million club option for 2014.
The Yahoo! Sports report cited an unidentified source close to the team. Lester, however, said no deal had been completed.
SAUNDERS IMPROVES (7:55 p.m. ET)
Joe Saunders pitched three innings in the Los Angeles Angels' 5-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Saunders allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits. He has been dealing with elbow tightness that has slowed his progress this spring, but said he felt a little better on Monday.
ZITO A WORK IN PROGRESS (7:49 p.m. ET)
Barry Zito, sporting a 5.19 ERA in 8 2/3 Cactus League innings, continues to work toward finding a comfort zone with the Giants.
Zito threw 67 pitches -- 42 of them strikes -- in four innings against Milwaukee on Monday. He's still working to get a feel for his changeup, but said his main objective at the moment is throwing the fastball for strike one.
"It really sets up everything," Zito said. "That's pretty much what I'm trying to do -- get ahead with that heater on both sides of the plate."
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
NELSON, DUFFY STEP IT UP (7:46 p.m. ET)
At the beginning of spring training, it looked as if Trot Nixon and Tony Gwynn Jr. were the leading candidates to win reserve outfield jobs in Milwaukee.
But that's changed over the past two weeks. First Gwynn went down with a shoulder impingement. And Nixon hasn't made much of a case for himself with only two hits in 20 at-bats.
Brad Nelson and Chris Duffy have both stepped in to make strong bids for jobs. Duffy, the former Pirate, is hitting .296 in the Cactus League, while Nelson has been on a tear in Arizona. He singled in his only plate appearance against San Francisco on Monday to raise his spring training average to .563 (9 for 16).
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
PETTITTE FEELS GOOD (7:18 p.m. ET)
Andy Pettitte felt so good that the Yankees let him pitch longer than his scheduled one-inning stint in his first spring training start.
Pettitte allowed one hit over 1 2/3 scoreless innings of the Yankees' 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.
Russ Adams and Travis Snider hit solo homers for Toronto. Rookie left-hander Brad Mills, bidding for a rotation spot, gave up two runs and four hits in 3 2/3 innings.
SCHMIDT BACK ON MOUND (7:17 p.m. ET)
Jason Schmidt was finally back on the mound for the Dodgers. Andruw Jones did something he rarely did in his only season with Los Angeles.
Schmidt, the $47 million pitcher who has had two shoulder operations since his last start in June 2007, threw two innings in Los Angeles' 13-7 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday.
Schmidt got through the first in 12 pitches. After a lengthy break while the Dodgers scored seven runs off Kevin Millwood, Schmidt walked two before Taylor Teagarden homered in the second.
Jones hit one of Texas' four homers. He had only three for Los Angeles last season.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Manny Ramirez will go through some baserunning drills in the next couple of days and is on schedule to make his spring debut Thursday.
YOUNG MOVE WORKING (7:15 p.m. ET)
Michael Young's transition from five-time All-Star and Gold Glove shortstop to third base is going well for the player and the Rangers.
"He's starting to get acclimated. He's beginning to find out that the balls get down there on you a little quicker," manager Ron Washington said Monday. "Catching the ball, moving into the hole, backhanding, coming in on slow rollers, he'll handle that."
Texas decided during the offseason to switch Young to third even though he had just won his first Gold Glove at shortstop. The move was made to make room for touted 20-year-old prospect Elvis Andrus to ascend from Double-A to the majors.
Young, the longest-tenured Rangers player, going into his ninth season, initially balked at the decision and asked for a trade. A few days after his request became public in mid-January, he rescinded it and started preparing to play a new position.
"It's going fine. The obvious stuff like ground balls isn't going to be a problem," Young said. "It's just kind of like letting your instincts take over, so I have a pretty good idea of where I want to play in certain situations."
Before a day off Monday, Young started nine of the first 11 spring training games and didn't have an error in his nine fielding chances.
YNOA MAKES DEBUT (7:13 p.m. ET)
Seventeen-year-old right-hander Michael Ynoa went through his first workout on U.S. soil since the Athletics gave him an eye-popping $4.25 million signing bonus in July. He set an optimistic timeline for reaching the majors.
"God willing, I believe two years, if I work very hard," Ynoa said Monday.
Last summer, the A's won a bidding war for Ynoa, who at the time was incorrectly referred to as "Inoa" in most reports. When they signed him, it was the largest bonus ever given to a non-Cuban international amateur player. It was the largest bonus the A's had paid to any amateur.
The 6-foot-7 Ynoa was referred to by the A's and other scouts as a "once-in-a-decade" talent. He was often compared to Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez.
Ynoa throws a fastball in the mid-90s, along with a curveball and a changeup. He finished Monday's 25-pitch session with a few changeups.
KAZMIR FEELS 'INCREDIBLE' (4:54 p.m. ET)
Scott Kazmir felt so good in his first spring training game that he had to concentrate on taking it easy.
Kazmir pitched two innings in the Tampa Bay Rays' 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Monday, yielding one run and three hits.
"Everything felt incredible; that's seriously the best my arm has ever felt," he said. "At the same time, I felt like I wanted to take it easy this first start. I knew once I got out there and got a hitter out there in a real game, the adrenaline was going to be there so I didn't want to overdo it."
Kazmir said he went "about 85 percent," and it caught up with him in the second inning. The All-Star left-hander allowed three hits in his last inning of work, including David Winfree's RBI double.
MOSS GOOD TO GO (4:22 p.m. ET)
The Pittsburgh Pirates say outfielder Brandon Moss has only a bruise and mild sprain of his right thumb and
should be ready for Opening Day.
Moss injured his thumb Saturday and was examined at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh on Monday. He will return to Bradenton and begin working to regain strength in his hand and reduce swelling.
The Pirates also optioned reliever Romulo Sanchez and assigned infielder Pedro Lopez, catcher Miguel Perez and left-hander Daniel Haigwood to minor league camp.
Sanchez, 24, had a 4.05 ERA in 10 appearances with the Pirates last season. He will go to Class AAA Indianapolis.
The camp roster is at 53, with 26 pitchers, five catchers, 13 infielders and nine outfielders.
A'S CHAVEZ SCRATCHED (1:53 p.m. ET)
Eric Chavez's surgically repaired right shoulder bothered him when he was hitting during Oakland's exhibition game Sunday, forcing the Athletics to push back his spring debut in the field.
Chavez was scheduled to play third base against the Angels on Monday but was scratched, and manager Bob Geren said there was no timetable for his return.
"He experienced some pain in his shoulder yesterday, so we're going to give him a few days off even from DH-ing," Geren said.
Chavez underwent surgery on his right shoulder in August. Although he said before spring training that he felt like he could do everything, the A's were cautious about putting him into a game at third. The club initially hoped he'd play last week, but that was pushed back to Monday.
RIVERA RIGHT ON TRACK (12:23 p.m. ET)
Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera threw 30 pitches off the mound Monday morning.
The Yankees say everything is on track. Rivera plans to throw batting practice on Wednesday and says he hopes to pitch in a game next week.
Rivera had surgery Oct. 7 on the AC joint in his right shoulder.
-- Bob Holtzman, ESPN
CROSBY TRADING PLACES (11:32 a.m. ET)
Bobby Crosby will be playing third base Monday for the first time, and this might help to put him in position to be traded.
Crosby was very unhappy when the Athletics signed Orlando Cabrera last week, and asked Oakland to try to trade him. But Crosby is owed $5.5 million for this year, and he has already passed through waivers without being claimed, so it's unlikely that the Athletics can move him without eating a whole lot of money.
-- Buster Olney, ESPN The Magazine
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Todd Helton had a ho-hum reaction to hitting a 450-foot home run in his first plate appearance of the spring following offseason back surgery."It's just one at-bat," the Rockies first baseman said. "Don't get me wrong, it is a lot better than a groundout to second base."
Helton hit Chris Young's 2-1 pitch in the first inning over a 35-foot wall in center field, leading Colorado to a 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Helton, who played only two games after July 4 due to severe back pain, received a standing ovation from a crowd of 4,927 as he ran around the bases at Hi Corbett Field after his two-run shot.
CUBS SKIDDING (9:32 p.m. ET)
After the Cubs lost their sixth straight game, manager Lou Piniella decided it was time to send a message to his team.
"We're not hitting at all," he said after a 7-2 loss on Sunday to the Rangers. "And I haven't seen anyone ask for extra batting practice or anything. If I were a hitter I'd rather get to where I wanted to get and then back off a little bit as opposed to continuing to try to get where I wanted to get. The sooner you get there the better it is.
"Look, spring training wins or losses don't mean anything," Piniella continued, "but you don't want to get in the habit of getting ... beat everyday either. That I can tell you."
Chicago has lost eight of nine.
PERALTA NOT HIGH ON THIRD (7:51 p.m. ET)
Indians veteran shortstop Jhonny Peralta is skeptical about shifting over to play third base.
"I don't want to play third base," Peralta said in the morning before boarding a bus to go to an exhibition game in Phoenix against the Oakland Athletics -- where he made his first Cactus League start at third.
"I feel good at shortstop, but will do whatever they want. They say I will play a couple of games there. That's OK. Just don't forget that I am a good shortstop."
Indians manager Eric Wedge said he is well aware of Peralta's value at short and that he doesn't plan a permanent move -- for now.
"We want to play him a little third now, just in case we need him during the season," Wedge said. "You never know what might happen. Jhonny definitely is someone who can do it if we need him. But make no mistake, he's our shortstop."
Before the Indians made a New Year's Eve trade for versatile Mark DeRosa to play third, Wedge spoke about Peralta possibly moving to third with smooth-fielding second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera going back to his natural spot at short.
DeRosa primarily played second last year with the Chicago Cubs and the ring-around-the-infield scenario could occur at any time should Wedge get the inclination.
CORDERO HAS X-RAY (7:46 p.m. ET)
Reds closer Francisco Cordero gave up a homer run to the Blue Jays Scott Rolen with the bases empty in the seventh.
Cordero also gave up a two-run homer to J.P. Arencibia in his one inning of work. The right-hander had an X-ray on his right ankle earlier Sunday -- the same ankle where doctors removed a bone spur in September. He has had stiffness there recently.
SIZEMORE GETS SOME WORK (7:25 p.m. ET)
Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore, easing his way back slowly from a groin injury that prompted him to pull out of the World Baseball Classic, had two at-bats at designated hitter in Cleveland's 8-5 Cactus League loss to Oakland on Sunday.
Sizemore walked and flied out in two plate appearances against lefty Brett Anderson before being lifted for Travis Hafner, who has had only four at-bats this spring while coming back from offseason shoulder surgery.
Manager Eric Wedge said Sizemore will DH again Monday against White Sox lefty John Danks, but could resume playing center field in a "couple of days."
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
BURNETT MAKES DEBUT (6:00 p.m. ET)
A.J. Burnett threw two scoreless innings in his spring debut to help the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 12-3 on Sunday.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi had limited Burnett to bullpen sessions and simulated games.
New York also announced that All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez will have arthroscopic hip surgery Monday and is expected to miss six to nine weeks. The slugger will need further surgery after the season.
SCHMIDT TO MAKE START (4:47 p.m. ET)
Jason Schmidt's long road back to the major leagues is becoming a little shorter. The right-hander will make his first "A" game exhibition start in two years in Arizona, manager Joe Torre said, according to MLB.com.
Schmidt is recovering from two shoulder injuries. He signed a three-yeat, $47 million contract in December 2006 but made only six starts for the Dodgers in 2007 before injuries halted his career.
He is battling for the fifth starter spot with Los Angeles.
ANDERSON NOT READY YET (4:43 p.m. ET)
Garret Anderson is limping through his first weeks with the Braves.
He strained his right calf before Friday's spring game and the 36-year-old is not close to returning to the field, according to MLB.com.
When asked if he would miss at least 10 days, Anderson said: "I've talked to the media long enough that I can't even say that. I don't like to commit to days with injuries, because when 10 days comes, I've got to talk to you again about it. So let's check in periodically and we'll go from there. It will be easier that way, because I really don't know."
Anderson spent the first 15 seasons of his career with the Angels before signing with the Braves in the offseason. He is penciled in as the starting left fielder.
DODGERS' TICKET SALES UP (4:37 p.m. ET)
The Dodgers sold more than 49,000 single-game
tickets when they went on sale Saturday, a 33 percent increase from
last year.
Fans bought 37,000 tickets on the first day of sales a year ago, the team said. The Dodgers did not increase prices from 2008.
The sales boost came three days after Manny Ramirez and the team reached agreement on a $45 million, two-year deal to bring the free agent slugger back.
"Enthusiasm is high," said Dennis Mannion, the club's chief operating officer.
The club, which brought back free agents Ramirez, Casey Blake, and Rafael Furcal, and which added such stars as Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf, held tickets at 2008 prices.
BREWERS CUT GAGNE LOOSE (4:31 p.m. ET)
Eric Gagne, who came to Brewers camp looking for a roster spot, is finished in Milwaukee after a second doctor reported the right-hander has a frayed rotator cuff.
On Sunday, the team released Gagne from his minor league contract to allow him to begin a rehabilitation program for his shoulder.
Gagne was 4-3 with 10 saves and a 5.44 ERA for the Brewers last season.
PELFREY FEELING BETTER (2:11 p.m. ET)
Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey said the muscle strain in his lower left leg felt "much better" Sunday, according to Newsday.
Pelfrey will miss Monday's scheduled start against the Orioles but should be able to make his next turn in the rotation over the weekend.
"It's still sore and stiff, but a lot better," Pelfrey said, according to Newsday.
LOWELL LIKELY TO MAKE SPRING DEBUT TUESDAY (2:04 p.m. ET)
Mike Lowell is expected to make his spring training debut Tuesday as he continues his recover from offseason hip surgery.
Lowell will be the designated hitter against the Orioles, and if all goes well, he'll play third base against the Yankees on Friday.
"If things go according to plan, he will get a couple of at-bats on [March 10th] as the DH," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, according to MLB.com. "I kind of reserve the right to change this. But then we have a night game, three days later, maybe he'll play third base then. That's what he's shooting for. Our medical people don't seem to have a problem with it."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Carlos Zambrano wants to start on opening day for the Chicago Cubs, and he's not shy about it."I care," Zambrano said Saturday during a 2-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. "When you're retired and you go home and your grandkids ask you what you did, for your own records it's good."
Cubs manager Lou Piniella said earlier in the day that the April 6 assignment against Houston will go to Zambrano or Ryan Dempster.
Zambrano was 14-6 with a 3.91 ERA last year, while Dempster finished 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA. Piniella said he would talk to both pitchers before making his decision.
-- Associated Press
STRAIN FORCES PELFREY TO MISS START (9:11 p.m. ET)
New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey will be out indefinitely with a muscle strain in his lower left leg.
He was examined by team doctors Saturday after feeling discomfort following a bullpen session Friday and was instructed to rest, which means he will miss his next scheduled start Monday.
Meanwhile, starter Dillon Gee threw two innings in the Mets' 7-5 loss to the Washington Nationals Saturday without allowing a hit or run. Only a walk spoiled his otherwise perfect outing, which included two strikeouts. Gee was reassigned to the team's minor league camp on Friday.
Manager Jerry Manuel expects 2B Luis Castillo to return to the lineup Sunday. He was pulled in the fifth inning of Friday's 5-4 win over the Cardinals with a tight left hamstring.
-- Associated Press
WANG BACK IN FORM AGAINST BRAVES (6:16 p.m. ET)
Chien-Ming Wang passed another test, and it had nothing to do with his pitching arm.
Wang allowed one run and three hits over three innings in the New York Yankees' 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
The right-hander missed the final 3½ months of last season because of a right foot injury that occurred while he was running the bases during an interleague game against Houston on June 15.
-- Associated Press
CONTRERAS, COLON PROGRESSING IN WHITE SOX CAMP (3:20 p.m. ET)
Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon are scheduled to throw batting practice at Chicago White Sox camp Monday, the next step after each threw 55 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday without any problem.
"It was a very positive day," pitching coach Don Cooper said. "We're more and more excited about their chances to be ready to open the season."
It was the third bullpen session since Monday for Contreras and Colon. Without setbacks, they could see Cactus League action in about a week.
Contreras is more than three months ahead of schedule after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon last August. Colon is coming off offseason surgery to clean up some bone chips in his right elbow.
If Contreras and Colon are ready for Opening Day, that could fill out the White Sox rotation behind Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd.
-- Associated Press
ZUMAYA'S SHOULDER SORENESS SAID NORMAL FOR SPRING (1:35 p.m. ET)
Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Joel Zumaya will not throw for at least the next couple of days, following an exam of his right shoulder by Dr. James Andrews on Friday.
Tigers head trainer Kevin Rand said Andrews diagnosed Zumaya's rotator cuff with "normal spring-training soreness." And Tigers manager Jim Leyland expects Zumaya will be ready for Opening Day on April 6.
That's good news for the Tigers, considering how much trouble Zumaya has had with his shoulder. He underwent reconstructive surgery on the shoulder's AC joint in 2007, missed much of 2008 and was diagnosed with a stress fracture last fall.
"We wanted to make sure there was nothing more going on," Rand said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "To be honest, we wanted to reassure him that everything was OK.
"One thing with Joel: You've got to understand that he's gone through an awful lot. He's thinking, 'Hey, I want to make sure nothing more's going on,' " Rand said, according to the report. "And you know what? I don't have a problem with it. I want to make sure for him, too. So, that's what we went to do."
A YEAR TO REMEMBER (1:24 p.m. ET)
The Los Angeles Angels are correcting their media guide after Vladimir Guerrero let slip that he's actually 34 years old, not 33.
The missing year was uncovered by Yahoo! Sports columnst Tim Brown, who was working on a story about Guerrero. He had asked the outfielder to respond to a quote from Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who said the surgery Guerrero had last fall to clean out and repair his right knee could "point to a guy maybe turning back the clock a couple of years."
When that was posed to Guerrero through an interpreter, he responded, "I feel good. I can't say [like] 25, because, you know, I'm 34. But I feel a lot better. That's where I'm at right now."
The Angels had listed Guerrero's birth date as Feb. 9, 1976. But Guerrero admitted to a team executive later in the day that he was born on the same date in 1975, making him 34, according to the Los Angeles Times.
'THE TEAM TO BEAT,' PART THREE
Perhaps Jimmy Rollins should have copyrighted the phrase, "We're the team to beat."
Because two years after the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop uttered those words, his confident prediction has skipped leagues and time zones, to the AL West. This time, it's the Los Angeles Angels' Torii Hunter making confident predictions.
"I still think we're the team to beat. I know we are," Hunter said before Friday's Angels-Giants game, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
But what about the Oakland Athletics loading up their lineup with Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra?
"Good pitching will beat good hitting any day. Don't forget that," Hunter said, according to the report, noting an Angels' rotation featuring John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders and a bullpen that added former Colorado Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.
Will the A's respond? Stay tuned ...
BRAVES' ANDERSON SIDELINED BY PULLED CALF (10:45 a.m. ET)
Baseball injuries can come out of nowhere. But even that doesn't explain what happened to new Atlanta Braves outfielder Garret Anderson on Friday.
Anderson, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Braves, was scratched from Friday's game against the Houston Astros after pulling his right calf muscle -- while running in warmups.
"I've never done anything like this before, so I don't have any history with it," Anderson said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Just have to see how it responds to treatment in the next few days before you can have a guess-timate, but it's tissue that needs to heal, and there's no set time on that."
According to the report, it will be several days before Anderson knows how long he'll be out of the lineup.
"I've been working out fine," Anderson added, according to the report. "And then something out-of-the-ordinary freak happens."
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CC Sabathia is off to a steady start with the New York Yankees.The big lefty allowed an unearned run and two hits over two innings Friday night in his first outing for the Yankees, helping them to a 7-3 spring training victory over the Detroit Tigers. He struck out two during a 26-pitch outing that included 20 strikes.
Tigers designated hitter and former Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield thinks Sabathia will have no trouble adjusting to playing in New York.
"Like I told CC, I talked to him before he signed here, I told him, 'They're going to love you, man,'" Sheffield said. "Just pitch the way you always pitch. Make a bad pitch, give up a big inning, know that you're still CC and go back to the dugout. That's all you have to know. Try to focus on everything and carry a team, this ain't the team to carry. They've got a lot of superstars over there that know what they're doing. Just do your part and you'll be fine."
-- Associated Press
Spring Training Video: Injury Updates
LINCECUM THROWS THREE MORE HITLESS INNINGS (7:43 p.m. ET)
Tim Lincecum is dominating hitters this spring the same way he did last season.
The 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner pitched three hitless innings for the San Francisco Giants in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, giving him a total of seven scoreless innings in three exhibition starts.
Brad Coon hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to win it for the Angels in front of their first big crowd this spring (7,364).
-- Associated Press
JONES KEEPING BUSY IN RANGERS' CAMP (7:28 p.m. ET)
Andruw Jones got quite a workout at Texas Rangers camp Friday.
Jones went 2-for-4 with a walk in Texas' 8-7 loss to Kansas City, a game that started less than an hour after the five-time All-Star and non-roster outfielder went 3-for-5 with a home run in a "B" game against the Royals on a back field.
Brandon Boggs, one of the outfielders who could end up back in the minors if Jones makes the team, went 3-for-5 with three RBIs for the Rangers. Boggs' RBI double in the eighth scored Jones to snap a 4-all tie before John Whittleman's two-run homer.
-- Associated Press
CARDS' CARPENTER MAKING PROGRESS (6:54 p.m. ET)
Chris Carpenter is healthy and making progress.
Beset by arm injuries the past two seasons, Carpenter made his second start of the spring Friday and pitched out of trouble for two scoreless innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 loss to the New York Mets.
"He didn't have great command of his fastball, but they didn't score -- and they had guys on base to do it," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "I would rather him not get taxed, but he passed the test and felt fine."
It wasn't as smooth as Carpenter's first outing last Saturday, when the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner tossed a pair of hitless innings on 19 pitches against Washington. But he managed to keep the Mets off the scoreboard, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out one.
-- Associated Press
MCCARTHY FEELS GOOD; NO BREAK FOR WILSON (5:21 p.m. ET)
Rangers right-hander Brandon McCarthy threw 62 pitches in three innings in a "B" game Friday without any problems in his shoulder.
McCarthy felt stiffness in his right shoulder this week. The team scratched him from his Friday Cactus League start but later decided to let him pitch in a "B" game against Kansas City after he played long toss and threw off a mound Thursday.
"It felt good. I came out of it with positive thoughts," McCarthy said. "It was loose, ready to go. ... It felt like a normal arm."
Left-handed reliever C.J. Wilson, who left Thursday's game with a swollen left index finger after facing only one batter, said his finger was feeling better and he planned to play catch.
Wilson was injured when he reached up to field a chopper, and the ball ricocheted off his bare hand. The swelling had subsided and his range of motion increased Friday. X-rays didn't reveal any breaks, though the Rangers' team doctor was expected to evaluate it this weekend.
-- Associated Press
REALLY, THIS TIME IT'S FOR SURE (3:41 p.m. ET)
Reliever Russ Springer had planned to retire after the 2008 season, but he elected to return on a one-year, $3.3 million contract with Oakland. Springer has pitched 16 seasons, and the Athletics are his eighth professional organization.
Springer, 40, vows that this is absolutely, positively his final career stop.
"My little girl told me, 'Daddy, you said the same thing three years ago. You're going to be going out there pitching with a walker,' '' Springer said. "But this is going to be my final season. I'm 99.2 percent sure I'm done.''
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
GLAVINE BACK ON THE MOUND (2:38 p.m. ET)
Despite having soreness in his left shoulder, Tom Glavine was satisfied after throwing about 20 pitches with the Atlanta Braves in his first round of batting practice Thursday.
Glavine, who turns 43 on March 25, underwent elbow and shoulder surgery in August.
"There's always that little bit of concern in the back of your mind when you're not feeling as good as you want to," Glavine told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "But I feel good about everything being structurally sound, based on the way I was able to do what I did today. It's just a matter of getting my arm strength back to where I want it to be."
Glavine was happy with his location and spin after throwing to Matt Diaz, Jason Heyward and Brandon Hicks, but will continue to work on his velocity in his next round of batting practice on Sunday.
Glavine is aiming to play in a game late next week.
"He's got 43 days," manager Bobby Cox said, according to the report. The Braves will not use a fifth starter until April 19.
WILL THE REAL NYJER MORGAN PLEASE STAND UP? (12:47 p.m. ET)
Pittsburgh Pirates manager John Russell would love to bat Nyjer Morgan in the leadoff slot this season. That is, if Morgan can play like he did last August upon returning from Triple-A Indianapolis, when he reached safely in 25 of 27 games, scored 20 runs and hit .366 -- and not the way he did to earn that demotion, when he batted a paltry .142.
So who's the real Nyjer Morgan? "I know which one," Morgan said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I just have to bring it out all the time. That's the key."
"I'm very comfortable at leadoff, and I have been since I was a kid," Morgan said, according to the report. "I feel like I have so much energy, and I love to be out there trying to get the boys going, be a pest, you know? That's my game."
Morgan still has to earn the job, however, And so far, not so good: He's hitting .211 (4-for-19) this spring. If he can't get it going, Eric Hinske could be the Pirates' starting left fielder.
"It's a huge opportunity, and I know that," Morgan said, according to the report. "This is what every kid dreams of, and I want it to be mine."
MY LEFT FOOT (11:49 a.m. ET)
Kansas City Royals left-hander Ron Mahay was on his way to a strong 2008 when the pain in his left foot became too much to pitch through. But two months after surgery to alleviate plantar fasciitis, he's back on the mound and feeling good, making his debut with a scoreless inning against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday.
For the Royals, that's a good thing. Mahay's being counted on to bolster the bullpen, with John Bale recovering from thyroid surgery and Jimmy Gobble having difficulty getting out right-handed hitters.
"The foot is fine," Mahay said, according to The Kansas City Star. "I don't think about it because I know it's fine. I'm going to do what I normally do. If I have to field a bunt, I'm going to go after it like I would normally."
"We're gradually working into things," he said, according to the report. "We're just not going to pound [the foot] to the point where it's an issue."
Mahay, 37, entered August at 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 47 appearances. But the swelling and pain in his foot worsened and limited him to 10 appearances over the last two months. Without the ability to push off the rubber with his left foot, he struggled in those 10 games, allowing 14 runs and 16 hits in eight innings as his ERA soared to 3.48.
GIANTS CUT DAVE ROBERTS (11:30 a.m. ET)
The San Francisco Giants released veteran outfielder Dave Roberts on Thursday, a surprise move that
could cost them $6.5 million this season.
The 36-year-old Roberts signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Giants in 2007, but played only 166 games in his first two seasons because of elbow and knee injuries. He entered camp this spring as the fifth outfielder behind starters Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn, and young prospect Nate Schierholtz.
"It's a surprising blow. I have to rebound from this. I was expecting to see this thing through. I love the makeup of this ballclub. I really wanted to be a part of things," Roberts said.
"There just wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel for him," Giants GM Brian Sabean said. "I was honest with him. We wanted to get younger and quicker. That's not his résumé. To wait any longer would have been an injustice to our kids. This will also give him a chance to find a place to play."
-- Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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MEXICO ROUGHS UP WEBB (11:25 p.m. ET)
Good thing for the Arizona Diamondbacks that Mexico isn't in the NL West.
Fueled by a chanting, flag-waving crowd, Team Mexico roughed up Arizona ace Brandon Webb in a 19-4 rout of the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Webb allowed six runs, five earned, in 1 1/3 innings in his spring debut. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out one.
Webb had been scratched from his first start with a sore forearm. But he said his arm "felt pretty great" and that his main problem was rushing his delivery.
"You just get out of your rhythm and out of your comfort zone trying to do too much, and that's probably where I was at today," Webb said.
Jerry Hairston hit a three-run homer and knocked in four runs, his brother Scott Hairston added a two-run shot and Jorge Cantu hit a grand slam and drove in six runs in a rousing tuneup for the World Baseball Classic. Alfredo Amezaga added a solo shot for Mexico.
The Hairstons were born in the U.S., but they're eligible to play for Mexico because their mother is from Hermosillo, Mexico.
PUERTO RICO ON ROLL (11:19 p.m. ET)
The way Puerto Rico is pitching and hitting, manager Jose Oquendo likes his club's chances of making a strong showing in the World Baseball Classic.
Jonathan Sanchez worked three scoreless innings, Alex Rios went 2-for-3 with a double and triple, and Ivan Rodriguez and Ramon Vazquez each drove in a run Wednesday night to pace a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I think it's coming along good," Oquendo said after the second of three exhibitions Puerto Rico is playing in preparation for its WBC opener against Panama.
With a potent lineup that also includes Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Geovany Soto and Bernie Williams, Team Puerto Rico is hoping to improve on its 2006 fifth-place WBC finish.
"We have more experience now. Delgado was hurt the last time and only had one at-bat," Oquendo said. "We definitely have a good ballclub that we can do a lot of things with. The key is you've got to pitch, you've got to play defense and also do the little things. I think we have the club to do that."
GONZALEZ BACK FROM KNEE INJURY (9:48 p.m. ET)
Alex Gonzalez was relieved to be back on the field.
Gonzalez singled in two at-bats as the designated hitter after missing all of last season with a knee injury, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Netherlands 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday night.
He felt some tightness in the left knee, which was packed in ice after he was removed.
"Finally, almost a year since I played. My first at-bat I felt good," Gonzalez said. "I'm looking forward to playing shortstop and being 100 percent to help my team. If I keep doing what I've been doing. I'll be ready for the start of the season."
The game was Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker's first look at Gonzalez. He was pleased with his batting, but said he ran tentatively.
"It feels good to have him in there," Baker said. "If he feels good, he'll be back at DH tomorrow, then we'll get him in the field next week. I want to just see natural movement. The hardest thing about recovering from an injury is realizing that you're over it."
In other news, the Reds have invited President Barack Obama to throw out the first pitch at this year's Civil Rights Game at Great American Ball Park.
The game is June 20 against Obama's favorite team, the Chicago White Sox.
Reds chief executive Bob Castellini says the White House has not responded to the invitation.
The Civil Rights Game has been played in Memphis, Tenn., since 2007 as an exhibition at the end of spring training. The Reds bid and won the right to host the game in 2009 and 2010.
PEDRO STILL A FAN FAVORITE (9:19 p.m. ET)
Pedro Martinez hasn't landed a major league contract as a free agent, in part because he's 37 and has struggled through three consecutive injury-riddled seasons. Yet the right-hander is still a favorite of baseball fans and is appreciated by his teammates on the Dominican Republic squad, which is preparing for the World Baseball Classic.
As he approached the mound in the fourth inning of an exhibition game Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, Martinez was showered by chants of "Pedro! Pedro!" from the pro-Dominican crowd.
The first batter he faced, Ty Wigginton, hit a popup that traveled about 10 feet in front of the plate but dropped untouched -- a tainted double. Martinez then gave up an RBI double to Felix Pie and a run-scoring single to Gregg Zaun.
But in the fifth, after walking the leadoff hitter, Martinez struck out two of the next three batters, ending his outing by blowing a called strike past Wigginton.
Martinez went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts for the New York Mets last year, but he looked sharp against the Orioles, considering he had not pitched in a game since Sept. 25.
"Pedro threw well," Dominican Republic manager Felipe Alou said. "It was amazing that a guy who hasn't pitched in a real game for so long can come back and be in the strike zone. Some of the fastballs were good, some of the breaking balls were good."
SAUNDERS PITCHES PAIN-FREE (9:03 p.m. ET)
Joe Saunders pitched two scoreless and pain-free innings in the Los Angeles Angels' 13-6 exhibition victory over South Africa's World Baseball Classic team on Wednesday.
He allowed two hits and struck out three in his first spring training start. Saunders had felt some shoulder soreness when he played long toss at the beginning of camp, but he said it's gone now.
Saunders is coming off a breakthrough season in which he went 17-7 with a 3.41 ERA and earned his first All-Star berth.
Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia rested his regular lineup against a South African team that featured several players just out of high school.
DH HAFNER TO RETURN FRIDAY (9:02 p.m. ET)
The Indians are expecting designated hitter Travis Hafner to make his first start Friday. He had surgery on his right shoulder in October, an injury that limited him to 57 games last season when he batted .197 with five homers and 24 RBIs.
Outfielder Dave Dellucci is also expected to appear in his first game. He slammed the trunk of his car on his left thumb a few days before camp and needed several stitches to close the cut.
BRADLEY BACK IN CUBS LINEUP (9:01 p.m. ET)
Milton Bradley was back in the Cubs lineup for the first time in nearly a week and had a double in three at-bats during Chicago's split-squad, 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
Bradley walked in his first at-bat for the Cubs on Feb. 26 but was removed for a pinch runner because of tightness in his quadriceps. He was the designated hitter Wednesday.
"I felt good today," Bradley said. "I'm just going to pace myself. In my first game I really didn't feel like I played because I knew I would only get one at-bat."
The Cubs were without manager Lou Piniella and several of their regulars, who are in Las Vegas for a two-game series against the White Sox. Second baseman Aaron Miles, first baseman Derrek Lee and Bradley were the only everyday players in the lineup.
HAMELS BACK ON MOUND, CARRIES PHILLIES (6:38 p.m. ET)
Cole Hamels returned to the mound for the first time since helping the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series and pitched two scoreless innings in a 9-2 win over Canada on Wednesday.
"It was nice to get out there against a team that's competitive," said Hamels, who went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts in October. "These hitters are getting ready for the world classic and they want to be in prime hitting shape. [So it was about] knowing how to bear down, finding the location and throwing your pitch."
Hamels, the World Series MVP, last pitched on that rainy night in October, when Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays was suspended in the sixth inning. Against Canada, the 25-year-old lefty breezed through his outing with 24 pitches.
The Phillies held Hamels back earlier this spring because he threw a career-high 262 1/3 innings in the regular season and playoffs combined last season, more than any other pitcher in baseball.
"I just wanted him to get his feet on the ground, get his delivery in, his reps in," Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "This is his first whack, he's got five more outings [down here] and today was great. ... it was good to see him on the mound, compete under control and get the required work in that he needed."
On April 5 against the Atlanta Braves, Hamels will take the mound in the first Opening Day start of his career, hoping to live up to the hype he produced in the postseason last fall.
BLUE JAYS RALLY BY U.S. (6:15 p.m. ET)
Strong pitching by Brad Mills and Matt Clement allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to rally against the United States.
Mills and Clement combined for six one-hit innings and minor leaguer Brien Dopirak's two-run single in the ninth gave the Blue Jays a 6-5 victory Wednesday.
Mills pitched two perfect innings before a walk to Mark DeRosa, Chris Iannetta's single and Curtis Granderson's grounder gave the United States a run.
The right-handed Clement, who hasn't pitched in the majors since rotator cuff surgery in September 2006 while with Boston, would have had three perfect innings had it not been for first baseman Kevin Millar's two-out error in the sixth.
"Both of them did a good job for us against a tough team," Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. "[Mills] is a tough kid out there. He has the right makeup for it. He doesn't rattle out there at all."
DOMINICANS PUNCHLESS WITHOUT A-ROD (5:39 p.m. ET)
Playing without Alex Rodriguez, the Dominican Republic was rendered punchless by Koji Uehara and three far less notable pitchers for the Baltimore Orioles.
Uehara pitched three scoreless innings and the Dominican squad preparing for the World Baseball Classic managed only one extra-base hit -- a double by Jose Guillen -- in a 6-1 exhibition loss Wednesday.
Uehara, Baltimore's first Japanese-born player, gave up two hits and hit a batter in his second strong outing of the spring. Facing a lineup that included All-Stars David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada and Hanley Ramirez, the right-hander struck out two and threw strikes on 23 of 36 pitches.
"I understand there are a lot of big-name players. To get that kind of result, I'm happy with that," Uehara said through a translator.
The Dominican lineup was missing one important piece: Rodriguez, who left for Colorado for an exam by a hip specialist after an MRI last weekend revealed a cyst on his right hip.
DAMON NOT MIFFED AT A-ROD (3:05 p.m. ET)
Johnny Damon is taking Alex Rodriguez's latest remarks in stride, while Derek Jeter is staying silent. Rodriguez caused a stir after playing for the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, saying he would like to see Mets shortstop Jose Reyes at the top of the Yankees' batting order. Rodriguez said he wasn't disrespecting his Yankees teammates.
"Everything that comes out of Alex's mouth nowadays is going to be scrutinized," Damon said before the Yankees played the Braves on Wednesday. "I'm not going to let that bother me, and I hope Derek doesn't go that way either. We all know Jose Reyes is a great player, a great leadoff guy. He's a great player who might have 10 or 15 more years left in him. Yeah, I think there's probably 25 other teams who would want him to lead off and play short."
Jeter worked out at Steinbrenner Field before leaving to join the United States for a game Wednesday against Toronto.
"I've got nothing to say, man," Jeter said.
Damon joked that when Rodriguez rejoins the Yankees, he was going to "go out there and prove to Alex what I can do."
RANGERS SCRATCH MCCARTHY FROM START (2:30 p.m. ET)
Texas Rangers right-hander Brandon McCarthy has been scratched from his scheduled spring training start Friday because of tightness in his right shoulder, another setback for the pitcher plagued by injuries the past two seasons.
McCarthy felt tightness during a bullpen session Monday, two days after he threw two innings in his only spring start. He had planned to throw in the bullpen again Thursday before determining how he felt, but the Rangers instead said he wouldn't start Friday.
"He's had some stiffness and we certainly don't want him to hurt himself any further," manager Ron Washington said Wednesday. "We're just going to wait and see how it goes."
Since being traded from the Chicago White Sox for John Danks before the 2007 season, McCarthy has been on the disabled list four times. He made only five starts (22 innings) last season after missing four months because of right forearm inflammation.
YOUNG SAYS HE'S COMPLETELY RECOVERED (11:10 a.m. ET)
Padres starter Chris Young pitched two strong innings Tuesday, giving up only a solo home run to Dodgers left fielder Mitch Jones, and afterward he talked about his recovery from a frightening injury last spring.
On May 21, 2008, Young was hit in the face by an Albert Pujols line drive. The impact of the ball broke his nose and fractured his skull. Remarkably, Young returned to the mound last July, and he says now that he is all the way back.
"I feel really good," he said. "I've made, I'd say, a full recovery. I feel real fortunate to be back out there. There are really no ill effects."
Young knows how close he came to never seeing the mound again. "A little bit right or left, it's one of my eyes and could have ended my career," he said. "The severity of the cracked skull potentially could have caused some life-threatening infections. I'm extremely fortunate."
But he comes into this season with a real sense of resolve, and said he has put the injury behind him.
"I don't think I could jump back on the mound without thinking that it is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It's happened once, I got through it. I might have line drives back at me. Hopefully they won't hit me in the face again ... I'd like to think it was just a freak, one-time thing."
-- Eric Neel, ESPN The Magazine
ROYALS' DAVIES A THROWBACK (10:58 a.m. a.m. ET)
Kyle Davies, an up-and-coming major league pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, had no need of extra cash last winter. He'd just been paid $427,000 for the 2008 season.
Yet, there he was, pouring concrete, digging ditches and operating a jackhammer under the Georgia sun on his dad's construction crew.
"What am I going to do, sit on the couch every day? You make yourself lazy," he said.
He's no stranger to construction work. Since he was about 12 or 13, Davies has spent most of his summers working for Davies General Contracting near Atlanta.
"It keeps you in shape, keeps you off the couch," said Davies, penciled in as the Royals' No. 3 starter. "The offseason can get really long. You can sit there and think about way too much. Instead of doing that, I just got up early in the morning and went to work."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.