MARLINS SCRATCH OLSEN (8:19 p.m. ET)
Marlins left-hander Scott Olsen was scratched from Thursday's start against St. Louis because of left shoulder tendinitis.
Olsen started Florida's spring training opener. He's the leading candidate to start the season opener March 31 against the New York Mets.
Olsen, who went 10-15 last season with a 5.81 ERA, has allowed three hits in five scoreless innings this spring.
Aaron Thompson will start in Olsen's place against the Cardinals.
-- The Associated Press
INGE TRIES OUT CENTER (7:04 p.m. ET)
Brandon Inge has found a position he is willing to play while he is still with Detroit.
The displaced third baseman started in center field for the Tigers in a 6-2 victory over the Philadephia Phillies on Wednesday in a split-squad game.
"I'll play center," said Inge, who lost his start job at third when the Tigers acquired Mguel Cabrera. "I still need to learn to adjust to the sun, but it's like golf. Think about the elements and make the play."
Inge joked with regular center fielder Curtis Granderson that he's going to take his position.
Inge's intial attempt at switching positions didn't fare as well. After catching for the first time since 2004 -- he came up as a catcher -- on Sunday, Inge said he didn't want to have to put on the gear. Detroit manager Jim Leyland told him he wouldn't have to.
-- The Associated Press
MATSUI TAKES SOME SWINGS (7:03 p.m. ET)
Yankees Left fielder Hideki Matsui (neck stiffness) took 33 swings in his first batting practice session since Saturday. Matsui, who had right knee surgery last November, could see his first game early next week.
Chris Sheppard, the son of Yankee Stadium PA announcer Bob Sheppard, handled the public address duties in the game against the Twins. Bob Sheppard, who is in his 90s, missed the playoff series against Cleveland last year because of a bronchial infection. The Yankees have not made an announcement yet, but Bob Sheppard likely will miss Opening Day. He is expected to return later in the season.
-- The Associated Press
LESTER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS (6:58 p.m. ET)
Jon Lester's spring trainings keep getting better.
After two camps in which the Red Sox severely restricted his number of pitches, the left-hander is being treated as a full member of the rotation. On Wednesday, he improved on a bad first outing by allowing one run in three innings in Boston's 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
"It's great," Lester said. "All I've asked from day one is just to be treated like everybody else and get an opportunity. Two years ago was tough, just because I was healthy and they still had restraints on me, but it was in my best interest."
Last spring, Lester was coming back from cancer treatments that ended the previous December. The team wanted him to regain his strength and brought him along slowly. Then he pitched only 12 games during the regular season.
But in the clinching game of Boston's sweep of Colorado in the World Series, he started and allowed three hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
-- The Associated Press
BEDARD Q&A … SORT OF (5:08 p.m. ET)
Erik Bedard arrived in Seattle from Baltimore with a reputation as a taciturn guy who treats media interviews like root canal. He's living up to expectations.
After pitching three innings in a Cactus League game against the Angels on Wednesday, Bedard told Seattle beat reporters that he would be available to answer only four questions. When one writer asked, "Why only four?'' Bedard replied, "That's one.''
Bedard gave the press corps a break and stuck around for four more, but the entire interview lasted a grand total of one minute and 18 seconds -- at which point Bedard cut the session short and walked away from his locker.
On a positive note, Bedard recovered from a rocky first outing and allowed only two hits in three innings against the Angels. By all indications, he plans to let his left arm do the talking this season.
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
NO NO-NO FOR BRAVES (5:05 p.m. ET)
Moments after the no-hitter was no more, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox was disappointed. No kidding.
"Almost," Cox said after the Braves came within one out of a combined no-hitter. "Dang it. Almost."
Danny Sandoval hit a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning off reliever Colter Bean -- Atlanta's seventh pitcher -- for Cleveland's only hit and Mark Teixeira homered and drove in two runs in the Braves' 4-1 win over the Indians on Wednesday.
Bean, who walked two in the ninth, had one strike on Sandoval when the infielder lined a shot off the right-field wall to score Beau Mills, the Indians' first-round draft pick last year.
"I didn't think about the no-hitter until after the fact," Bean said. "Then I thought, 'Well, I'm the king of that.' I ruined a couple of no-hitters in the minors."
In other Indians news, starter Paul Byrd is still awaiting word from Major League Baseball concerning his admitted use of human growth hormone. The 37-year-old met with baseball officials in December, but hasn't heard yet if he'll be suspended or not. Also, Braves catcher Javy Lopez, trying to make a comeback after sitting out last season, went 0-for-2. He's batting .167 so far this spring.
-- The Associated Press
ROCKIES' HIRSH SORE (2:56 p.m. ET)
Rockies right-hander Jason Hirsh was scratched from a scheduled outing against the White Sox on Wednesday.
"My shoulder's just a little sore, but it's not a big deal," Hirsh said, according to the Denver Post. "It's just a normal part of spring training. At this stage of camp, we are just erring on the side of caution."
Hirsh, who was scheduled to throw three innings, is battling for a spot in the defending National League champions' starting rotation.
KUO SCRATCHED FROM START (2:20 p.m. ET)
Dodgers left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo was scratched from Wednesday's scheduled start against the Mets because of irritation in the back of the elbow where bone chips were removed last summer.
It started bothering him after he pitched two innings Saturday and a bullpen session Monday.
"I just felt a little sore," Kuo said. "I feel better. I'm just taking a couple days off and I'll be ready to go."
Trainer Stan Conte said there is no cause for alarm and no need for an MRI or X-ray.
-- The Associated Press
ALOU TO GET TESTS ON GROIN (2:18 p.m. ET)
Another day, another injury for the New York Mets.
Moises Alou became the latest Mets player to hit the injury list, hurting his groin in an at-bat against the Braves on Monday. The 41-year-old outfielder was sent back to New York on Wednesday to have his sore groin checked out.
Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Luis Castillo and outfielder Ryan Church are among other Mets starters who have been slowed by injuries this spring. However, Delgado, who recently had an MRI on a sore hip, was able to hit off a tee on Wednesday.
TWINS EXCITED ABOUT LIRIANO'S PROGRESS (2:11 p.m. ET)
When Francisco Liriano's arrival in camp was delayed by visa problems, the Twins initially thought he'd be behind the rest of the pitching staff, even though he his recovery from 2006 Tommy John Surgery was considered to be complete. They found out in a hurry he's not behind anybody or anything.
"He threw in our academy over there [in the Dominican]," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He threw two innings one game and three innings in another. He's farther along than these other guys."
So the Twins will get Liriano into his first spring-training game Friday, meaning he really will only have missed one outing. And Liriano has been so impressive so far, even at three-quarters speed, that the Twins are getting more excited about his comeback by the day.
"He hasn't lost much," Gardenhire said. "He's gotten bigger and stronger. With his whole rehab program, he's grown up, just from doing his rehab program for so long and really getting after it. ... If he keeps going like this, he could make it really entertaining for us."
-- Jayson Stark, ESPN.com
BACSIK AMONG NATS SENT TO MINORS (10:10 a.m. ET)
First-round draft pick Ross Detwiler and Mike Bacsik, who gave up Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th homer, were among 16 players Washington reassigned to minor league camp.
Left-handers Detwiler, the No. 6 overall pick in June's amateur draft, Bacsik, Josh Smoker, Mike Hinckley and Charlie Manning, and right-handers Tristan Crawford, Ismael Ramirez and Jim Ed Warden were the pitchers sent to minor league camp.
Also reassigned: catcher Devin Ivany; infielders William Bergolla, Yurendell De Caster and Antonio Perez; and outfielders Roger Bernadina, Frank Diaz, Tommy Murphy and Jorge Padilla.
The Nationals also assigned two players to big league camp: right-hander Adam Carr and shortstop Ian Desmond. The moves trim Washington's spring roster from 76 to 62 players.
-- The Associated Press
BRAVES CLOSER HAS SORE ELBOW (8:46 a.m. ET)
Rafael Soriano missed the first week of the Braves' spring training games with a stomach ailment. But he might be facing more than tummy trouble.
Manager Bobby Cox says Soriano had minor inflammation in his right elbow, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves think Soriano, who missed the 2005 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is experiencing soreness that's typical for some pitchers in spring training.
Soriano singed a two-year, $9 million contract in January after he showed promise in the role last season. He converted 9 of 12 save chances behind former closer Bob Wickman, who has since been released.
NO DAMAGE IN HILL'S ARM (8:20 a.m. ET)
The Nationals got some good news about Shawn Hill's right arm.
A visit to a specialist revealed that Hill, who has been barred from throwing since developing soreness in his right forearm, has no structural or nerve damage and could be throwing again by Thursday.
While Opening Day remains a question mark, the club expects Hill will be ready to go in the first week of the season.
"I pitched with discomfort in my elbow for six or seven years," Hill said. "I got no problem throwing through discomfort and pain."
