Roy Halladay pitched three shutout innings and struck out five in his second spring appearance as the Phillies downed the Braves 7-4.
Halladay was making his second start since being acquired from the Blue Jays during the offseason. Halladay went 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA for the Blue Jays last season. He said the results didn't matter and that he's just looking do build his stamina for the season. He's pitched five innings this spring without allowing a run.
-- The Associated Press UPTON, D-BACKS ROUGH UP HARANG, REDS (7:51 p.m. ET)
Justin Upton hit a two-run homer and the Diamondbacks roughed up right-hander Aaron Harang in his first spring training start, pulling away to a 10-4 victory over the Reds.
Upton got a six-year, $51.25 million deal -- the second-largest in franchise history -- last week. The 22-year-old outfielder singled home a run and had a two-run shot off Matt Maloney, who is competing for the Reds' fifth starter role.
Harang, already picked to start his fifth straight season opener, lasted only 1 1/3 innings. He gave up four hits, including three doubles, and walked one, allowing three runs overall. When spring training began, manager Dusty Baker was noncommittal about whether Harang would start a fifth straight season opener. He has since decided to stay with Harang. "The ball was coming out of Aaron's hand real nice today," Baker said. "He got two strikes on almost everybody but couldn't put them away. He threw 50 pitches in a short period of time." -- The Associated Press MATSUI DEBUTS WITH ANGELS (7:15 p.m. ET)
Hideki Matsui made his spring debut for the Los Angeles Angels, getting a single in two trips to the plate during a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres.
Matsui struck out against Chris Young in the first and grounded Radhames Liz's 3-1 pitch up the middle for a hit in the fourth.
Matsui agreed to a $6 million, one-year contract with the Angels in December after spending seven seasons with the New York Yankees. The Japanese slugger hit .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBIs last year, then was selected World Series MVP despite starting only three of the six games against Philadelphia.
He was scheduled to make his Angels debut on Sunday but the game was rained out.
-- The Associated Press
FRANCIS LOOKING FOR BETTER OUTING (5:10 p.m. ET)
Left-hander Jeff Francis is hoping his second spring start goes better than his first.
Francis missed last season following shoulder surgery and was hit hard in his first spring start against San Francisco on Friday. He is scheduled to face Kansas City on Wednesday.
Francis says he has made progress during his bullpen sessions and may have been a little too excited when he faced the Giants.
Francis went 17-9 in 2007, helping the Rockies reach the World Series. He slumped to 4-10 in 24 starts in 2008 when he was plagued by shoulder problems.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery to have his torn left labrum repaired last year.
-- The Associated Press
McGOWAN PITCHES IN SIMULATED GAME (4:52 p.m. ET)
Blue Jays right-hander Dustin McGowan is feeling good this spring as he tries to make it back from shoulder surgery. McGowan threw 30 pitches during a simulated game at Toronto's minor league complex while the rest of the team had the day off.
McGowan hasn't appeared in a major league game since July 8, 2008. He had season-ending surgery three weeks later to repair a frayed labrum and a series of setbacks sidelined him last season.
If McGowan feels no soreness Wednesday or Thursday, the plan is for him to throw one more simulated game, most likely Sunday or Monday. He then could appear in a spring game in mid-March.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos says McGowan looked great Tuesday.
-- The Associated Press
KENDALL ASKS FOR PRIVACY (3:17 p.m. ET)
Royals catcher Jason Kendall has returned to spring training and says his divorce and child custody case won't be a distraction.
Kendall missed the exhibition game Monday against Cincinnati to be in court in Los Angeles. He returned Tuesday and told reporters he will not "dignify the ridiculous accusations" being carried by various media outlets about his divorce.
He says he wants his personal life to remain private. Kendall, a three-time All Star, brushed off any thought the divorce would affect his play, saying, "Not at all."
Kendall signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Royals in December. The 14-year veteran played the past two seasons in Milwaukee.
-- The Associated Press
PELFREY BACK, AS IS K-ROD (3:07 p.m. ET)
Mets right-hander Mike Pelfrey returned to the mound Tuesday after being sidelined by a sore right leg.
Pelfrey was struck on the outside of the knee by a comebacker during his first spring start Saturday. He stayed in the game against the Nationals and pitched three innings, but he pushed a scheduled bullpen session back a day because the leg was sore.
Pelfrey said he still had a large bruise but was planning to make his next scheduled start Thursday against the Red Sox.
"It's a little sore but tolerable," he said. "Hopefully after two more days it will feel a lot better."
Closer Francisco Rodriguez, who missed more than two weeks of camp with conjunctivitis, also threw a bullpen session. It was his first time on a mound since Feb. 28. Rodriguez returned to camp Monday and could pitch in a game as soon as Saturday.
Rodriguez still has pink eye, but it's no longer considered contagious. Because he isn't allowed to wear contact lenses yet, he sported prescription sunglasses similar to the ones he wore from 2003 to 2007 while pitching for the Angels.
-- The Associated Press
ROBERTS' REHAB HITS A SNAG (1:21 p.m. ET)
Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is feeling ill, hurting his rehabilitation for a back injury.
Roberts, who led the American League with 56 doubles last season, has yet to play this spring. To speed his recuperation from the back injury, Orioles medical personnel gave him some medication on Sunday. On Monday night, he reported feeling ill. Manager Dave Trembley says Roberts will not be able to resume baseball activities until at least Thursday.
The Orioles begin the season April 6 at Tampa Bay, and Trembley says he believes Roberts will be ready as long as he gets at least 25 at-bats this spring.
"I'm still confident we can get him that," Trembley said. "I'd still like to see him out on the field, but can't get out on the field now that he's sick."
Baltimore also renewed the contract of outfielder Adam Jones on Tuesday for $465,000. Jones, beginning his third season with the Orioles, said he was not upset about the move. "There's no bad blood between the sides," Jones said. "Sign and play out this year."
-- The Associated Press
SANCHEZ ON TRACK, BUT STILL WILL START ON DL (12:59 p.m. ET)
Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez has begun taking swings off a tee and considers himself ahead of schedule as he recovers from a procedure on his non-throwing left shoulder.
But he's still set to begin the season on the disabled list. A three-time All-Star and the 2006 NL batting champion with Pittsburgh, Sanchez had the shoulder procedure Dec. 23. He's also coming off left knee surgery late last season.
"That hasn't changed," general manager Brian Sabean said. "The optimism is great but that doesn't mean a whole lot. He needs to be game-ready and until he plays a game we can't have a timetable."
Sanchez signed a $12 million, two-year contract with the Giants on Oct. 30. He was acquired July 29 in a trade with the Pirates but was limited to 25 games for San Francisco because of injuries.
-- The Associated Press
CORDERO LEARNS TO APPRECIATE (9:45 a.m. ET)
Chad Cordero, who accepted a minor league offer from the Seattle Mariners last year, knows he might not stick with the big club right away, and is
mentally prepared to pitch in the minors for a while.
But he can
still imagine his return to a major league ballgame -- and that would be a triumphant return after suffering career-threatening injuries in 2008 while pitching for the Washington Nationals.
Cordero had a spectacular start to his career. In 2005, he saved
a major-league high 47 games in his first full big-league season in Washington. He had 27 saves in 2006 and 37 in 2007, becoming the second- youngest pitcher in history to reach the 100-save plateau, at age
25.
"All those years in D.C., I was feeling so good, then all of a
sudden it all comes crumbling down," Cordero said. "It was
definitely something I can learn from. Just go out there and work
hard and never take this game for granted. This game is awesome and
I never want to stop playing."
Cordero, with a torn side muscle, torn labrum and torn
biceps, had season-ending shoulder surgery on July 8, 2008, The Nationals released him after the season, and no one took a chance on him. He rehabbed by himself in 2009, and pitched a few innings for a pair of low-level teams.
In his first outing last Friday for the Mariners, Cordero allowed an opening
single, then retired the next three batters.
"It'll definitely be exciting to be back up there again but
once I get on the mound it'll be like I never left," Cordero said.
"I'll be really excited, like a little kid again."
-- The Associated Press
