Sammy Sosa was a big hit in his Orioles debut, and Pedro Martinez felt so good in his first start for the Mets that he threw 60 pitches.
Mark Mulder, Carl Pavano, Derek Lowe and Jon Lieber all took the mound Friday as several teams got a first look at their big offseason acquisitions.
Sosa homered and had two hits in Baltimore's 3-1 loss to the Florida Marlins at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After sending a drive over the left-field wall in the seventh inning, Sosa inaugurated the post-homer routine he perfected with the Chicago Cubs, hopping in the batter's box then touching his heart and pointing skyward upon reaching home.
Sosa, playing DH because of a slight groin strain, came to the Orioles last month in a trade with the Cubs, who all but gave away the slugger after he wore out his welcome in the Windy City.
"Those guys love me already," he said. "I'm such a perfect fit here, I'm so happy to be here in a new house. It's incredible, let me tell you the truth. I feel like I've been here forever."
At Jupiter, Florida, Martinez picked up right where he left off last season. In three innings, the 33-year-old right-hander allowed three hits, struck out three and was credited with the win -- a 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals -- in his first outing since leaving Boston for a US$53 million, four-year contract with the Mets.
Martinez threw 60 pitches, but new Mets manager Willie Randolph had no problem letting Martinez go that long this early in spring training.
"We're not going to get crazy about pitch counts," rookie manager Willie Randolph said. "We don't worry about that because he's in great shape. You see him work. He's not going to break. He'll be fine."
Mulder, on the other hand, was wild from the start and lasted just one inning for St. Louis. He walked four and gave up a two-run single to Cliff Floyd in his first appearance since he was traded by Oakland on Dec. 18.
"It's not that big a deal. I'm not that concerned with results in spring training. I just want to make good pitches," Mulder said. "Those are things you get out of the way now. As long as you're healthy and making good pitches, that to me is the only thing that matters."
In Kissimmee, Florida, Roger Clemens kicked off his 22nd major league season with two scoreless innings for the Houston Astros in a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
"I'm just glad to get everything underway," said Clemens, his right shoulder, elbow and ankle heavily wrapped in ice. "I felt really good out there."
In other games:
Pirates 9, Yankees 6
In Bradenton, Florida, Pavano gave up three hits in two scoreless innings in his first start since signing as a free agent with New York. He struck out two. Ben Grieve, trying to win a job on the Pittsburgh bench, went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
Jason Giambi is slated to make the trip to Lakeland on Saturday to play his first road game.
Braves 3, Dodgers 2
In Kissimmee, Florida, Lowe pitched three scoreless innings in his Los Angeles debut. Lowe, whose last appearance was in Boston's World Series-clinching victory, gave up only a single to Andruw Jones. Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew got a chance to face his former team. Booed lustily in his two at-bats by the pro-Atlanta crowd, he struck out both times.
Tigers 3, Phillies 0
In Lakeland, Florida, Lieber made his first appearance with Philadelphia and gave up a hit, walked one and struck out a batter in three innings. Detroit prospect Tony Giarratano hit a two-run homer and Craig Monroe had an RBI double. Nate Robertson struck out three over two innings.
Diamondbacks 10, White Sox (ss) 9
In Tucson, Arizona, Tadahito Iguchi got his first major league hits, going 2-for-2 for the White Sox. Orlando Hernandez gave up six runs in three innings and fellow Cuban Jose Contreras followed and allowed two runs in 2 2-3 innings for Chicago.
Arizona starter Brandon Webb didn't fare much better in his two innings, giving up four runs, three hits and three walks.
Red Sox (ss) 17, Northeastern 0
Red Sox (ss) 11, Boston College 5
In Fort Myers, Florida, Tim Wakefield threw the first two innings of a seven-inning no-hitter against Northeastern on Friday, then staked his claim to a spot in Boston's rotation.
"I don't have any plans of stepping down or going to the bullpen when Wade Miller gets healthy," he said. "Everything [the Red Sox] have said publicly is they want me to [start], so we'll see what happens."
Mike Timlin pitched an inning for the win against Boston College.
Reds 4, Devil Rays 1
In Sarasota, Florida, Cincinnati's Austin Kearns hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Hideo Nomo. Nomo, who signed a minor-league contract after going 3-11 in 18 starts for Los Angeles in 2004, allowed two runs on four hits in two innings.
Blue Jays 5, Twins 2
In Fort Myers, Florida, Joe Mays threw two scoreless innings in his return from reconstructive right elbow surgery for the Twins. Closer Joe Nathan, who agreed before the game to a two-year contract extension with a club option for 2008, pitched two hitless innings.
White Sox (ss) 7, Rockies 5
In Tucson, Arizona, Aaron Miles hurt his knee when the Colorado second baseman was hit by Willie Harris on a take-out slide. Miles was diagnosed with a strained left knee and the team said his status was day to day. Freddy Garcia started and threw three innings for the White Sox, allowing four hits and two runs.
Cubs 8, Giants 3
In Mesa, Arizona, Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run homer and Kerry Wood pitched two scoreless innings in his spring training debut, leading the Cubs.
Brewers (ss) 8, Mariners 1
In Phoenix, Seattle's Joel Pineiro gave up two runs and two hits over two innings of his first outing since straining his right elbow July 25. Geoff Jenkins doubled twice and scored a run, and first baseman Lyle Overbay drove in two runs for the Brewers.
Brewers (ss) 12, Athletics 8
At Phoenix, Carlos Lee hit a three-run homer off A's starter Dan Meyer and went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. It was Lee's first appearance since the Brewers acquired him in an offseason deal with the Chicago White Sox.
Eric Byrnes hit a two-run homer in his spring debut for the A's.
Rangers 17, Royals 13
In Surprise, Arizona, Chan Ho Park gave up three runs and five hits in two innings for Texas. Park is trying to rebound from an injury-plagued season in which he went 4-7 with a 5.46 ERA in 16 starts in 2004.
Jose Lima didn't fare well in his debut with the Royals, giving up seven runs on eight hits in two innings.
Angels 6, Padres 4
In Peoria, Arizona, Paul Byrd, a free-agent right-hander from Atlanta who missed two months last year after having reconstructive elbow surgery, threw two scoreless innings. Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels' new closer, didn't give up a run in one inning of work.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS