Los Angeles Dodgers: Kevin Brown threw 75 pitches Friday in a tuneup for his weekend appearance in an exhibition game for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

When Brown takes the mound against Houston in Vero Beach on Sunday, it'll be the first time since August that he's pitched in a game because of elbow and back injuries.

"Hopefully it will feel like home and not be some strange place,'' he said.

Brown, who was 3-4 with a 4.81 ERA last year, hasn't felt any discomfort during any of his five bullpen sessions this spring.

Brown said he didn't expect to be distracted by his recent history of injuries. He underwent elbow surgery in September 2001 and had a protruding disk in his back that was repaired last June.

"I'm sure once you're up on the mound, it's back to business,'' he said. "I won't be thinking about the past two years when I get out there. I'll be thinking about trying to get somebody out. Everything else will fade into the background.''

Brown, who turns 38 on March 14, won't be the only Dodger making a comeback Sunday. Left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii will be facing live hitters for the first time since he took a line drive in his head last September.

Cincinnati Reds: Ken Griffey Jr. hit his first homer of the spring, but the Reds squandered a four-run lead and lost to the Boston Red Sox 12-7 in exhibition play Friday.

Griffey hit a three-run shot and Wily Mo Pena had a two-run drive in the second inning, giving Cincinnati a 5-1 lead.

Griffey hit eight homers in 70 games with a .264 average last season when he had two stints on the disabled list with a torn right knee tendon and torn right hamstring. He had a torn left hamstring in 2001 and was limited to 111 games.

"I wasn't far off at the end of the year,'' said Griffey, who missed time late in the season with hip and quadriceps problems. "They decided to hold me back a bit.''

In his first exhibition game Thursday, he went 0-for-1 with a walk, a run and an RBI grounder in a 9-3 win over the New York Yankees.

Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones gave Atlanta a scare when he hurt a thumb making a catch, but the injury wasn't serious and the Braves went on to beat a Philadelphia Phillies' split squad 2-0 in their spring opener Friday.

Jones was injured in the first inning when he made a diving grab on a liner to left by Placido Polanco. The outfielder came down hard on his left hand after stretching out for the catch.

Jones remained in the game and took a few swings in the on-deck circle in the bottom half, but his left thumb was too sore to continue.

"I sprained the second joint in my thumb,'' said Jones, whose hand was wrapped after the game. "It swelled up pretty good.''

He expects to miss only a couple of games.

"I was fully extended and my hand dug right into the ground,'' Jones said. "I'm glad it wasn't a shoulder.''

Arizona Diamondbacks: Curt Schilling got a familiar welcome from Magglio Ordonez, giving up a home run to the White Sox star Friday in the Diamondbacks' 14-5 victory over Chicago.

"Three springs and now he's done it to me three times,'' Schilling said. "Hopefully, that will mean our third division title.''

Ordonez's home run to lead off the second inning tied it at 1. Schilling retired the other six batters he faced.

"The only at-bat I really was disappointed with was Mags,'' Schilling said. "I kind of felt my way through the at-bat and didn't make the pitch I wanted at 3-2. I kind of just guided the ball to the plate instead of throwing it.''

Schilling said he's feeling good, attributing it to an intensive offseason training program.

The Diamondbacks finished the game with 22 hits, including their first home run of the spring. Tim Olson hit the deep solo shot off Mike Porzio in the eighth.

Oakland Athletics: Scott Hatteberg hit a two-run homer and the Oakland Athletics overcame a shaky start by Mark Mulder to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Friday.

Tim Hudson pitched three scoreless innings for Oakland, giving up one hit.

Because of a wet field, the game was moved from Oakland's spring training home to Milwaukee's complex in Maryvale -- about a half-hour drive away.

Fans entered free of charge, selected their own seats and formed long lines at the only concession stand that was open.

After warming up in the bullpen, Mulder settled in to watch the top of the first inning -- as he would during any road game. One problem: Because the game was considered an Oakland "home'' game, the Brewers batted first.

"I was sitting in the dugout and guys were saying "Let's go,''' Mulder said. "I said, 'Where?' I forgot (Milwaukee) had to bat first.''

Cleveland Indians: Shane Spencer went 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBI Friday as a Indians' split squad roughed up Rick Reed to win the Twins' exhibition home opener 8-2.

Milton Bradley, 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, led off the game with a homer against Reed, who gave up eight hits and five runs in two innings.

A.J. Hinch, who was 2-for-3 with two RBI, also homered off Reed. John McDonald was 2-for-3 with a double for the Indians, who had 13 hits and scored twice in the fourth against Eddie Guardado and once in the fifth off Tony Fiore.

Even the outs Reed recorded were solid hits, with Torii Hunter making a diving catch in shallow center to end the three-run second inning.

Reed missed more than a week of workouts at the beginning of camp to be with his infant son, who had pneumonia.

"There were a little bit more important things to take care of than taking up a ball,'' Reed said.

New York Mets: Mo Vaughn hit a two-run homer and Jay Bell went 3-for-3 with two RBI as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 Friday.

Winning pitcher Al Leiter threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks.

Albert Pujols homered for the Cardinals.

Vaughn, hoping to rebound from a disappointing season, connected against Brett Tomko in the first inning. The ball landed on top of the roof of the Cardinals' two-story clubhouse in right field more than 400 feet away.

Tomko, penciled in as the Cardinals' No. 3 starter, gave up three hits in two innings.

Texas Rangers: Doug Glanville was perfect in his first chance as Texas' leadoff hitter, going 4-for-4 and scoring the only two runs for the Rangers in their 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

Texas pitcher Brian Shouse made his spring debut, eight days after being flown home for further tests when an abnormality showed up on his electrocardiogram. Shouse, the fifth of six Texas pitchers, gave up one hit while pitching 1 1/3 innings.

Michael Tucker's RBI triple in the sixth inning broke a 2-2 tie against Rob Bell. Brandon Berger followed with a single for the Royals, who have won their first two Cactus League games against the team with which they are sharing a new complex.

Glanville led off the first with a homer. He added three singles after that, including a bunt in the seventh inning in his final at-bat, and also stole a base.

"I'm excited. I'm happy to start off that way, the best way you could possibly start,'' Glanville said. "I've just got to show the whole package. People don't know me here, and I just want to make a tough decision on anybody how they use me to be an impact player.''

Perry has bruised bone in knee: Texas third baseman Herbert Perry underwent an MRI on his left knee Friday, revealing a bruised bone.

He will have the same test done on his ailing right shoulder next week.

Rangers manager Buck Showalter said the knee problem isn't serious. Perry is scheduled to have an MRI on his shoulder Monday.

Perry hit .276 in 132 games in his first season with the Rangers after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox. He set career highs in at-bats (450), hits (124), home runs (22) and RBI (77).

The Rangers signed Perry to a $3 million, two-year contract extension in the final month of last season. He has also played for Cleveland and Tampa Bay over seven major league seasons.

Montreal Expos: Vladimir Guerrero doubled and scored the go-ahead run as the Expos took advantage of five errors to beat Houston 5-3 Friday in the first game at their new spring training home.

Craig Biggio, starting his first game in center field for the Astros, had no trouble with the glove for Houston. He cleanly handled two fly balls.

Biggio is moving from second base this season to make room for Jeff Kent, the Astros' high-profile free agent acquisition. Kent did not make the trip from Kissimmee for the game.

Recently inducted Hall of Famer Gary Carter threw out the first pitch for the Expos. Carter goes into the shrine as the first Montreal player.

"Montreal deserves its place in Cooperstown. My only concern is if someone looks at my plaque in 35 or 40 years, will they wonder, 'Who were the Montreal Expos?''' he said. "If they become the Washington such-and-suches, will history follow the franchise, or will it become a new franchise altogether?''

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies showed off their new additions -- at least for a couple innings.

Kevin Millwood pitched three scoreless innings in his Phillies' debut Friday and newcomers Jim Thome and David Bell keyed a two-run inning before Philadelphia's game was rained out against the New York Yankees.

The game was called after three innings with the Phillies leading 3-0. But the important part was that Millwood got his work in. He allowed two hits and one walk, striking out two batters.

"I was working on everything,'' he said. "I tried to get my changeup intact, but I felt like I struggled a little bit out of the windup. I need to work on that between now and my next outing.''

Millwood was acquired from Atlanta in December to be the Philadelphia's ace, completing an offseason in which the Phillies signed Thome and Bell to upgrade their offense.