SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Kevin Millwood walked into the Texas
Rangers clubhouse with a smile, and without any sign that his right
hamstring bothered him after throwing to hitters for the first time
Wednesday.
"I felt fine. My leg felt fine," Millwood said. "That's
really all I was looking for, just making sure of getting through
it without any pain. ... I didn't think it was going to bother me.
I think it was more for everybody else to feel good."
Millwood threw 38 pitches in a simulated two-inning outing in
which he faced 10 hitters without having to field his position or
worry about runners. He threw 22 pitches for strikes with four
strikeouts.
"The most important day so far of spring to get him out there
and throw his pitches and walking off that mound smiling and
feeling good about himself," manager Ron Washington said. "Next
thing you know, he'll be caught up with everybody else."
The 33-year-old Millwood, the Rangers' expected opening day
starter for the third straight season, aggravated his hamstring in
a conditioning drill Feb. 24, before spring training games began.
After the controlled session pitching against four minor
leaguers, the next step for Millwood will be two bullpen sessions
before some fielding drills Sunday. If everything goes well, the
right-hander will make his first spring start Monday.
Millwood gave up two walks and two singles. The walks came at
the end of each of his 19-pitch segments.
"It felt good," Millwood said. "It's hard to get adrenaline
up for something like that, but it worked out."
Millwood, who had a career-worst 5.16 ERA last season, had two
stints on the disabled list last season because of a strained left
hamstring. He made one start after coming back the first time, then
reaggravated the injury and went right back on the DL.
In the first segment, Millwood got German Duran and John
Mayberry on consecutive called third strikes before giving up a
single and a four-pitch walk. Duran fouled off four pitches before
striking out in a seven-pitch at-bat after the break and Mayberry
had a single.
"Getting his arm work and making sure he comes out with the leg
intact, which we did, that was our goal," pitching coach Mark
Connor said.
Millwood asked to face another hitter after walking Duran on six
pitches. But Connor said that was enough.
"That was a good workout for him," Connor said. "It was a few
more pitches than normal just because the intensity isn't quite as
great, so we taxed his arm a bit. But he was fine. Yeah, he would
have kept going."
Game notes
Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the catchers
competing for the starting job, will both travel to Tucson on
Thursday. Washington wants to keep both of them playing
consistently, so he plans to start using both of them in games.
Washington plans to alternate who starts each day. Saltalamacchia
started Wednesday's game, and Laird didn't play.