Los Angeles Dodgers: Right-hander Giovanni Carrara, a stalwart in the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen the last two years, was placed on waivers by the team Wednesday for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.

"I never thought this was going to happen,'' Carrara said. "I knew I was struggling this spring.''

Carrara was 1-0 with an 8.31 ERA this spring, allowing 12 earned runs in 13 innings. He was 6-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 85 1-3 innings in 2001 and 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 90 2-3 innings last year, working as a long reliever and setup man.

The 35-year-old Carrara had a non-guaranteed contract of $790,000. He will receive $194,262 from the Dodgers. Wednesday was the final day teams were allowed to put players with non-guaranteed contracts on waivers to avoid paying their full salary.

"He can still pitch and help major league baseball teams. This is a sign of the times. Our pitching staff has improved itself,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said.

Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said the team has offered Carrara a spot in the starting rotation for Triple-A Las Vegas if he clears waivers.

"This is a really good person, he's a real pro,'' Evans said. "But from a personnel standpoint, it just didn't fit.''

Evans said the Dodgers are moving right-hander Andy Ashby to the bullpen, meaning Hideo Nomo, Odalis Perez, Kevin Brown, Kazuhisa Ishii and Darren Dreifort will comprise the starting rotation to begin the season.

The move makes it possible for the Dodgers to include a left-hander, perhaps Wilson Alvarez or Tom Martin, in their bullpen.

The Dodgers have a strong bullpen. Eric Gagne had a franchise-record 52 saves in 56 chances last year in his first season as a closer and Paul Quantrill and Paul Shuey were effective in setup roles.

The Dodgers broke camp Wednesday after defeating Atlanta 14-4, traveling to Las Vegas for a game against Colorado on Thursday night. They play the World Series champion Anaheim Angels on Friday and Saturday nights and begin the season Monday at Arizona.

Oakland Athletics: Miguel Tejada hit one of Oakland's three home runs off Randy Johnson and the Athletics beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Wednesday.

David McCarty and Adam Piatt also hit solo shots off the Big Unit, who pronounced his final spring appearance a success.

"The game plan today was to throw more fastballs and I got my pitch count up to 102,'' Johnson said. "I'm fairly pleased with all of it. Every pitch I threw was for a purpose.''

McCarty hit a second solo homer to tie the game in the eighth off Stephen Randolph and Eric Byrnes hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth against Mike Jackson to win it.

Tejada, who missed two games this week with a sore left knee, homered on an 0-2 pitch from Johnson to give the A's a 2-1 lead in the fifth.

"He throws so hard I'm just happy to make contact off of him,'' Tejada said.

Chicago Cubs: Kerry Wood pitched five innings in his first outing in more than two weeks as the Chicago Cubs beat the Anaheim Angels 7-6 Wednesday.

Wood, who hadn't pitched in a game since March 10 because of an inner-ear infection, allowed two runs and five hits. He threw 86 pitches, walking three and striking out five.

Wood was perfect through the first three innings, before allowing the Angels single runs in the fourth and fifth.

"I felt kind of the way I expected,'' Wood said. "I felt pretty good the first three innings and got a little ahead of myself. I felt like I should do a little bit more and got into a little trouble in the fourth and fifth.

Wood, the 1998 National League Rookie of the Year, will make his first opening-day start Monday when the Cubs play the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.

"My doubts were gone since I threw the simulated game,'' Wood said. "We're all ready to go. It's something I've never had a chance to do. I'm very excited about that.''

The Cubs scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally from a 6-4 deficit.

New York Mets: Tom Glavine looked ready for Opening Day, allowing one hit in four scoreless innings as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-0 Wednesday.

Glavine, signed as a free agent in December from Atlanta, will start the opener for the Mets next Monday against the Chicago Cubs.

St. Louis Opening Day starter Matt Morris allowed seven runs -- four earned -- and nine hits in five-plus innings. He walked one, hit a batter, threw one wild pitch and struck out seven.

Joe McEwing led New York with a two-run double off Morris in the sixth and a three-run homer in the seventh.

Seattle Mariners: Although right-hander Gil Meche surrendered 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings in his final spring start, he will begin the regular season as Seattle's No. 5 starter.

First-year manager Bob Melvin told Meche, 24, of his decision Wednesday, the Mariners' next-to-last day in Arizona.

Meche started Tuesday's 25-10 loss to the Oakland Athletics, the most runs ever given up by the Mariners in a spring training game. Meche was tagged for 10 of the A's 31 hits, including three home runs.

"It's funny looking back on yesterday how good I felt," Meche said. "There are some days when you feel too good that you try to do too much. I guess that was one of those days."

Meche is scheduled to make his first start April 6 at Texas in the final game of the Mariners' season-opening road trip. Freddy Garcia, left-hander Jamie Moyer, Joel Pineiro and Ryan Franklin are Seattle's top four starters.

On Wednesday, the San Diego Padres jumped on Seattle reliever Arthur Rhodes for six consecutive hits to start off a five-run seventh inning in a 9-2 victory over the Mariners.

Mariners starting center fielder Mike Cameron came out of the game in the seventh with a hyperextended left knee when he fell on the warning track while chasing Bennett's double. He's day-to-day.

Texas Rangers: Alex Rodriguez was back in the starting lineup Wednesday against Milwaukee, his first major league spring game in two weeks.

And his return was a memorable one, with Rodriguez hitting two doubles and driving in a run in the Texas Rangers' 6-5 loss in 10 innings to the Brewers.

Rodriguez was sidelined after he experienced fatigue and stiffness in his left shoulder after two straight games. The five-time All-Star and AL home run leader the past two seasons returned to Dallas for tests that revealed the herniated disc.

He resumed baseball activities March 17, and played in a minor league game Tuesday, when he went 2-for-8 with a homer and cleanly fielded four fielding chances.

Rodriguez has played in all 324 regular season games the past two seasons in Texas.

Kansas City Royals: Joe Randa homered twice and drove in four runs, and Raul Ibanez added four hits and two RBIs, to power a 21-hit Kansas City Royals attack in a 13-5 win Wednesday over the San Francisco Giants.

Michael Tucker and Randa hit back-to-back homers in the second. Randa added a three-run homer in a five-run fourth for a 9-2 lead over the Giants' split squad.

The Royals also said that Carlos Beltran will miss the team's opener and probably start the season on the disabled list because of a strained oblique muscle.

Beltran hasn't played since March 10 because of the injury. He will travel with the team to Kansas City for the opener against the Chicago White Sox on Monday and then return to Arizona to continue his rehabilitation.

The Royals lead the AL with an 18-8 exhibition record and top the majors with a .321 average and 7.7 runs per game. Mike Sweeney singled in three at-bats and leads all major leaguers with a .389 average.

Rich Aurilia hit his fourth exhibition homer in the first inning, and Pedro Feliz added a two-run homer in the eighth for the Giants, who concluded the Arizona portion of spring training with a 14-14-2 record.

Right-hander Jim Brower, acquired from the Montreal Expos in a trade Monday, made his Giants' debut and worked two scoreless innings. But he did issue a bases-loaded walk to pitcher Albie Lopez after relieving in the fifth inning.

Giants first baseman Damon Minor, unclaimed on waivers, was outrighted to Triple-A Fresno with no options remaining. That virtually ensures that veteran Andres Galarraga, in camp as a non-roster player, will be the backup first baseman.

"How can you be disappointed if you hit .200 in spring training?'' Minor said after batting .174 with one home run in 46 at-bats. "I didn't produce. I came to camp feeling I had to battle for a job, but it just didn't happen. I have nobody to blame but myself.''

Detroit Tigers: Knuckleballer Steve Sparks, the club's most experienced starter, was bumped to the bullpen as Tigers manager Alan Trammell picked right-handers Nate Cornejo and Gary Knotts for the final two spots in the rotation.

Sparks, 37, went 8-16 with a 5.52 ERA last season. He has made 164 career starts, compared to 56 for the five starters who made the rotation.

"It's young," manager Alan Trammell said. "But we hope that grows and gets better."

Left-hander Mike Maroth, 25, will be Detroit's Opening Day starter. Twenty-year-old rookie Jeremy Bonderman is the second starter and right-hander Adam Bernero, 26, will be No. 3.

Cornejo, 23, started off the spring slow because of a sore shoulder, but he improved his chances of making the team after he gave up one earned run and four hits in five innings against the Atlanta Braves on Friday for his best outing of the spring.

Knotts, acquired from Florida in January, won the job after beating the New York Yankees on Monday. The 26-year-old gave up one earned run in five innings for his best outing so far.

Cornejo, Detroit's first-round draft pick in 1998, is 5-9 with a 6.12 ERA in 19 major league starts. He has a 45-34 career minor league record with a 3.58 ERA.

San Diego Padres: The San Diego Padres released right-hander Francisco Cordova on Wednesday and added lefty Mike Matthews to their battered bullpen, claiming him off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Padres also placed left-hander Kevin Walker and right-handers Jay Witasick and Kevin Jarvis on the 15-day disabled list. They join slugger Phil Nevin and closer Trevor Hoffman, who are also on the 15-day DL.

The Padres have a payroll of about $43 million, and more than $18 million of that will be owed to players who will open the season on the disabled list.

The injuries to Walker, Witasick and Hoffman leave manager Bruce Bochy with a makeshift bullpen going into Monday's season opener at home against defending NL champion San Francisco. The Padres have known for some time that they'll be without Hoffman until after the All-Star break, but now they have a patchwork group even before they get to the closer.

Hoffman, fifth on the career list with 352 saves, had shoulder surgery and will miss at least half the season. Brandon Villafuerte, who starts the season as the closer, has one career save.

"We've had to work around these injuries,'' Bochy said. "It makes things a little more difficult. We've had to scramble a little bit. I will use everybody. They could all be used early, middle or late.''

Walker and Witasick were to be the setup men. Walker has a sore elbow. He had reconstructive surgery on Aug. 2, 2001, and pitched only 11 games last season. Witasick has a strained flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, suffered when he tossed a heavy bag of trash that had watermelon in it.

"With both of them, I think it's just going to be the short 15 days,'' Bochy said.

Jarvis' absence is indefinite. The Padres' opening day pitcher last season, has been slow to come back from elbow surgery last season.

Matthews joins 45-year-old Jesse Orosco as the only lefties in the bullpen.

Minnesota Twins: The club is two players shy of reaching the 25-man roster limit.

Including in the 27 is injured left-hander Eric Milton, who officially will be placed on the 60-day disabled list on Opening Day.

Third baseman Corey Koskie is recovering from a groin injury and did not play in Wednesday's exhibition game against the Pirates, so first baseman Todd Sears was kept in the mix for another day as the extra player.

Minnesota also selected the contract of utility infielder Chris Gomez, adding him to the 40-man roster, and is expected to select the contract of right-handed relief pitcher Mike Fetters before the season opens.