Spring training scoreboard

	Park

Texas Rangers: Chan Ho Park allowed three hits and two runs in his Texas debut, throwing 51 pitches in the Rangers' 4-3 exhibition victory Saturday afternoon over the Cincinnati Reds.

Park, who signed a five-year, $65 million contract as a free agent after six years with Los Angeles, surrendered a run-scoring double to Todd Walker and a RBI single to Adam Dunn in the third inning. Park walked two and struck out three.

"It's the most pitches I've thrown in my first game," Park said. "I would like to throw 100 pitches before the end of spring training."

John Rocker also made his Texas debut, walking one and striking out one in an inning of work.

Herbert Perry broke a 4-4 tie for Texas with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning off Mike Judd. Mike Young knocked in two runs with a second-inning double, and Mike Lamb had a run-scoring single for the Rangers.

Adam Dunn produced a run for Cincinnati with a sacrifice fly.

Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, who played in only 45 games last season because of injuries, made his spring training debut and was hitless in two at-bats.

Larkin, 37, underwent surgery in August to repair a weakness in the abdominal muscles in his right groin. He was tested early in the game, cleanly fielding a hard grounder deep in the hole between shortstop and third base.

"It was good to get that one out of the way," Larkin said. "I felt my legs underneath me."

	Garciaparra

Boston Red Sox: FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Nomar Garciaparra reached out, swung almost one-handed and hit the ball over the left-field fence.

He felt fine and didn't mind that the wind was blowing out, not after missing most of last season following surgery on his right wrist.

His two-run homer in the second inning couldn't stop the Minnesota Twins from beating the Boston Red Sox 8-7 in 10 innings Saturday.

Minnesota won on B.J. Garbe's run-scoring single after Dernell Stenson's two-run homer tied the game in the bottom of the ninth against winner Dave Lee. Corey Spencer took the loss.

"It was good to be out there," said Garciaparra, a two-time AL batting champ who played 21 games last year and none after Aug. 26. "It's always nice to get into a game situation."

Garciaparra was protecting the plate, not his wrist, when he lunged for Mike Jackson's outside pitch and hit it as his right hand came off the bat. Garciaparra grounded out on his other at bat.

"It's a lot different swing than he had last year," manager Joe Kerrigan said. "We didn't see that power, that quickness, that lightning he has in his forearms and wrists. It's back now."

Catcher Jason Varitek also returned for his first game in nearly nine months. He played 51 games last year before his season ended June 7 when he broke his elbow diving for a foul pop against Detroit.

Like Garciaparra, he went 1-for-2. Unlike Garciaparra, who didn't field any balls in his four innings, Varitek had to throw the ball back to the mound after John Burkett's pitches in the first three innings and Tim Wakefield's in the next two.

"I feel good. I really didn't lock up and that was the key," Varitek said of his elbow. "I've got a long way to go, hitting-wise, just to get comfortable. I'm very awkward.

"The elbow's just going to be something that's going to be an ongoing battle. Through time, it will be 100 percent, but I don't know how long a time."

Varitek is expected to take two days off between games while Garciaparra expects to play every other day.

"I really haven't had any swelling," Garciaparra said. "There's been some soreness, which I expect."

Another returning star, Pedro Martinez, said he felt fine after throwing 40 batting practice pitches in preparation for his exhibition debut Tuesday against Atlanta. A shoulder injury limited him to 18 games last year.

"I'm feeling like the healthy Pedro Martinez back in those days before I got hurt," he said. "That's a good sign."

	Miller

Houston Astros: Wade Miller and five relievers combined on a three-hitter as the Astros defeated the Kansas City Royals 8-1 Saturday.

Miller, a 16-game winner last year, allowed one single, struck out three and walked one in three innings. He allowed an unearned run in the second when the Astros committed two errors.

Rookie outfielder Jason Lane, who hit .316 with 38 home runs last year with Double-A Round Rock, had three hits, including a triple and double, scored a pair of runs and drove in two for the Astros.

Jeff Suppan, the Royals opening day starter the past two years, allowed four runs, three earned, and four hits in the second inning. Lane's two-run double highlighted the inning. He also tripled and scored in the sixth off Cory Bailey.

Keith Ginter homered in the eighth off Royals left-hander Scott Mullen for the final run.

The Royals have only nine hits in 20 innings in their first two games, both losses.

	Villone

Pittsburgh Pirates: Ron Villone withstood a fierce wind to pitch two scoreless innings Saturday in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 18-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Clearwater, Fla.

Villone, trying to secure a spot in Pittsburgh's rotation, allowed one hit, walked one and hit a batter with 34 mph winds blowing out to left field.

"I was just trying to get the ball over the plate and get groundballs," Villone said. "The conditions were not good for a pitcher."

The Pirates have six pitchers contending for three openings in their rotation, with only Kip Wells and Jimmy Anderson secure.

"I thought this was the best opportunity for me to contribute to a team," said Villone, who signed with the Pirates in February after spending last season with Colorado and Houston.

The Pirates had 25 hits, including homers from Chad Hermansen, Craig Wilson and Adam Hyzdu.

Hermansen went 3-for-3 with a leadoff homer off Robert Person, a triple and two RBI. Jack Wilson was 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI and four runs scored.

	Alvarez

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Wilson Alvarez admitted to being unusually nervous for a spring training game.

Facing a major league lineup for the first time in nearly two years, the Tampa Bay left-hander took a big step in his bid to return from shoulder problems when he pitched two scoreless innings Saturday in the Devil Rays' 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Alvarez allowed one hit, struck out three and, more importantly, got through the outing pain-free. He threw 29 pitches, 19 for strikes.

"I'm glad I got it out of my system, but I still have a long way to go. It's only two innings. It's many more games to go and many more innings to go," Alvarez said.

"I've got to go out there and keep doing my job. Like I said before, I'm here to earn a spot. So, I've got to go out there and prove to them that I can do it."

Wes Helms' sixth-inning sacrifice fly drove in the winning run for Atlanta, which loaded the bases against Jesus Colome before Steve Kent came in to face Helms.

	Lieber

Chicago Cubs: Jon Lieber pitched two innings in his first start of the spring and the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 Saturday.

Lieber, who was 20-6 last season, gave up three hits and one run in two innings.

"I know he's going to be ready to throw and have his rhythm when the season starts," Cubs manager Don Baylor said. "He pitches fast anyway. He's going to make your put the ball in play."

Newcomer David Bell put the Giants up 1-0 with a homer in the first.

The Cubs scored three unearned runs in the second against Kirk Rueter. Two runs scored when left fielder Calvin Murray misplayed Augie Ojeda's flyball. Pinch-hitter David Kelton doubled, scoring Ojeda.

	Walker

Colorado Rockies: Larry Walker, seeing his first spring action after a bout with a respiratory infection, hit a two-run homer, and the Rockies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 on Saturday.

Rockies ace Mike Hampton (1-0) pitched two shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Walker, who missed three days of workouts and didn't play in Thursday's game against the University of Arizona or in Friday's exhibition opener, homered in his second spring at-bat, an opposite-field shot in the third inning off Jorge Sosa.

Walker, who won his third NL batting title in four years in 2001, flied out to left in his only other at-bat.

Todd Hollandsworth's RBI single put Colorado ahead 1-0 in the second off Jamey Wright (0-1). Tony Eusebio and Juan Uribe had back-to-back doubles off Andrew Lorraine in the fourth.

The Rockies were again without manager Buddy Bell, who is in Denver having follow-up tests on lingering nerve discomfort in his left leg from December back surgery.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Chris Donnels, making a bid to step in for the injured Matt Williams, hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Diamondbacks a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

After Aaron Rowand's sacrifice fly gave Chicago a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th, Danny Klassen walked with one out in the bottom half. Donnels then hit a 2-0 pitch from White Sox reliever Arnaldo Munoz over the right-field fence.

Williams, the Diamondbacks' third baseman, broke his left leg and dislocated his left ankle last month and will miss the start of the season.

Brian Anderson made his first start for the Diamondbacks this spring and went three innings, giving up two hits and two earned runs.

	Beltre

Los Angeles Dodgers: Adrian Beltre is a happy man these days, as evidenced by his ever-present smile.

Considering the condition the Los Angeles Dodgers' third baseman found himself in at this time a year ago, it's understandable.

"I wake up every day happy," said Beltre, who missed the first 36 games last season because of complications following an emergency appendectomy. "It was a nightmare, all I went through last year.

"What I went through made me appreciate a lot of things. I was healthy my whole life. That was the first time I had ever been in a hospital. Hopefully it will be the last time for a long, long time."

Beltre and the Dodgers had high hopes following the 2000 season, when he hit .290 with 20 homers and 85 RBI.

It didn't seem like a big deal when he underwent surgery in his native Dominican Republic on Jan. 12, 2001 since the start of spring training was more than a month away.

But that would only be the beginning.

"When they opened me up, my appendix had already burst," he recalled. "You can't even imagine how close I was to death. It was the scariest time in my life, by far."

An infection developed, leaving a hole in Beltre's right intestine that would require an operation two months after the appendectomy to close the wound.

Before that, Beltre was unable to eat solid food, and reported to spring training wearing a colostomy bag attached to his abdomen to collect fluid coming out of the wound.

"It was terrible, watching the guys practice, seeing all the food, not being able to eat," he said.

Finally, Beltre was activated May 12 -- four months to the day after his appendectomy -- and didn't miss a game the rest of the year. He hit .265 with 13 homers and 60 RBI in 126 games.

"I finally felt like myself the last month of the season," he said. "The first couple months, I was trying to get my weight back, my strength back, my swing back.

"I wanted to play, I felt good enough to play. I wasn't feeling 100 percent, but nobody forced me to play."

Beltre, who hit a long home run Friday off Houston's Billy Wagner in his first official at-bat of the spring, said he weighs about 227 pounds.

He said he weighed about 210 at the end of last season, which was 30 pounds more than when he reported to spring training.