New York Mets: Mets right-hander David Cone allowed one run and five hits over four innings in his first rehabilitation start for Class-A St. Lucie against the Tampa Yankees in a Florida State League game Sunday.

Cone, 40, left the Mets' 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros on April 22 with a sore left hip that has been bothering him for years. He is 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in four starts.

"I was a little rusty,'' Cone said. "I threw all my pitches. Didn't locate my fastball very well. Got hit a little bit. The kids swung the bat well against me. All in all, I made it through OK.''

Cone threw 47 of 70 pitches for strikes. He struck out two and walked one.

Cone's outing came at Legends Field, the spring training home of the Yankees. He threw a perfect game in 1999 and was part of four championship teams with the Yankees.

Wearing a Mets road uniform with the No. 35, Cone pitched before several hundred fans on a sunny day with the temperature in the 90s.

"It was very strange,'' Cone said. "But it was nice, too. Kind of ironic. I certainly felt at home out there. Been on that mound enough.''

There has been talk that Cone's spot in the rotation is in jeopardy and that the Mets might use him out of the bullpen.

"I'm pretty flexible and I'm open,'' Cone said. "All five starters are throwing the ball well now. I'm just trying to keep some innings going down here to stay ready if they need me. We'll re-evaluate after a couple more starts probably and figure out where to go from there.''

Cone could pitch again for St. Lucie on Friday night at Dunedin.

Cone rose to prominence with the Mets, going 20-3 in 1988 and leading them to the NL East title. He later won a World Series ring with Toronto and a Cy Young Award with Kansas City.

He pitched for Boston in 2001, going 9-7 with a 4.31 ERA and pitching his last game on Oct. 6, at Baltimore on the final day of Cal Ripken's career.

It looked as if it might also be Cone's farewell. He never got an offer that intrigued him for the 2002 season, and instead spent the year working as a Yankees announcer and getting involved in personal projects.

But the desire to pitch never went away. This spring, with Mets pitchers Al Leiter and John Franco lobbying him and team management, Cone decided to give it one more try.

"I'm just going to continue to work and see what happens,'' Cone said.

He has a major league record of 194-126.

Notes: LHP John Franco, who had elbow ligament replacement surgery last May 15, is scheduled join St. Lucie on Monday. He is expected to throw an inning or 25 pitches against Fort Myers.

St. Louis Cardinals: Cardinals right fielder Eli Marrero had to be taken off the field on a stretcher after injuring his right ankle when he fell chasing a fly ball Sunday against the Chicago Cubs.

A preliminary examination determined that Marrero had a severely sprained right ankle. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for X-rays.

Marrero, who entered the game in right field as a replacement when J.D. Drew left in the second inning with a stiff back, was going for a fourth-inning fly by Juan Cruz when he slipped in the wet outfield grass and his right leg bent under him. The game was being played in misty and windy conditions and was delayed an inning later.

Jim Edmonds made the catch in front of him as Marrero writhed on the field in pain. He stayed on the ground before a stretcher was called. The game was delayed five minutes.

Eduardo Perez replaced Marrero.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Devil Rays right-hander Jorge Sosa was optioned to Triple-A Durham after giving up six runs and six hits in 1 1/3 innings of Sunday's 9-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers. It was his shortest outing in 19 major league starts.

Sosa (1-5, 5.60 ERA) began the season in the bullpen. He has lost four straight since winning his first start on April 19.

Manager Lou Piniella said a replacement will be called up Tuesday before the start of a three-game series at Toronto.