YOUNGSTER COMPETES FOR SPOT IN ROTATION (9:36 p.m. ET)
Prospect Nick Adenhart, competing for a spot in the Los Angeles Angels' injury riddled rotation, worked six shutout innings Thursday in an 8-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Adenhart, 21, told reporters he set a goal to make it tough to keep him off the big league roster coming out of spring training.
"You can see how his stuff plays," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "When he gets it into the zone, it's good stuff. He has to keep throwing the ball well and make himself an option, and he's doing that."
Adenhart walked two and struck out six while lowering his spring ERA to 2.89.
John Lackey, 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA last season, and Kelvim Escobar, 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA, both figure to open the season on the disabled list because of injuries, making the Angels' pitching depth so important. Scioscia said a decision on his No. 5 starter could come down to the end of spring training.
"You have to understand that they're looking for the best interests of the team," Adenhart said. "I would just have to make sure that I do what they want me to keep doing at the Triple-A level."
-- The Associated Press
MILLWOOD: 'NOTHING HURT' (7:29 p.m. ET)
Kevin Millwood made his first major league start of the spring and looked ready for Opening Day.
The 33-year-old Texas right-hander allowed three hits over five scoreless innings in the Rangers' 8-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. Millwood, slowed by a sore right hamstring earlier this spring, struck out five and walked one.
"Everything I needed to accomplish today I felt like I did," Millwood said. "Knock on wood, nothing hurt. It was a great test for my hamstring just to be able to get back in a big league game."
Millwood, scheduled to make a minor league start next Tuesday, pronounced himself ready for the regular season.
"I got through five innings and felt like I could have gone back out there," he said. "I didn't feel like I lost anything from the first inning to the fifth. And I feel healthy. My legs feel healthy and my arm feels healthy. I feel like I'm ready to go."
-- The Associated Press
LIDGE LOOKS SHARP (4:43 p.m. ET)
Everyone from general manager Pat Gillick to manager Charlie Manuel came out to see Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge take the mound Thursday for the first time since having arthroscopic knee surgery last month.
While the big leaguers played the Pittsburgh Pirates across the way, all eyes were on Lidge. He didn't disappoint.
Lidge retired four of the five batters he faced, striking out three and walking one. The right-hander looked sharp enough that he just might be ready to pitch for the defending NL East champions on Opening Day.
"I felt great with everything from warming up to throwing in the game," Lidge said. "There is nothing better than facing hitters and that was a lot of fun."
Lidge threw 19 pitches, including 11 strikes. The only major leaguer he faced was teammate Jayson Werth, who walked on five pitches. Lidge threw fastballs, sliders and a two-seamer. Pitching coach Rich Dubee said Lidge's next outing will come against minor leaguers on Sunday.
-- The Associated Press
BRUCE SENT TO MINORS (4:21 p.m. ET)
Outfielder Jay Bruce, one of the Reds' top prospects, was reassigned to their minor league camp on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Bruce was a possible candidate for the starting center-field job. Manager Dusty Baker will now choose between Corey Patterson, Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel.
The Reds also optioned OF Drew T. Anderson and right-hander Marcus McBeth to Triple-A Louisville. Right-handers Josh Roenicke and Tom Shearn were reassigned to the minors.
The moves left the Reds with 44 players in camp, including injured left-hander Bobby Livingston and shortstop Alex Gonzalez, expected to miss the start of the season with a knee injury.
Bruce, who jumped from Class A to Triple-A last season, hit .262 this spring with no homers and three RBIs.
-- The Associated Press
DURHAM SITS OUT AGAINST ANGELS (4:01 p.m. ET)
San Francisco second baseman Ray Durham was scratched from the Giants' game against the Angels on Thursday because of tightness in his left hamstring.
Durham played Wednesday night in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in Scottsdale. He was removed for a pinch runner after going 2-for-2. Justin Leone played in his place on Thursday.
"The hamstring tightened up on him," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We'll give him a day here."
-- The Associated Press
UPTON HIT ON ELBOW (3:07 p.m. ET)
Rays slugger B.J. Upton left the game after he was hit on the left elbow by a pitch from Cleveland right-hander Paul Byrd in the first inning Thursday.
A team spokesman said a preliminary diagnosis was that the outfielder had a triceps contusion, and had returned to the team's training camp in St. Petersburg to be examined by Dr. Koco Eaton, the Rays' orthopedic physician.
Upton walked to the Tampa Bay clubhouse with assistant athletic trainer Paul Harker, who held the 23-year-old outfielder's left arm.
Upton, the second overall pick in the 2002 draft, entered hitting .357 with one homer and nine RBIs in 13 spring games. He was in the lineup against the Indians as the DH, batting in the cleanup spot.
-- The Associated Press
JAYS CAUTIOUS WITH RYAN (1:56 p.m. ET)
It's looking doubtful that B.J. Ryan will be the Blue Jays' closer on Opening Day.
The left-hander, recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw one inning Monday and then complained of minor soreness in his arm. Even though the team is calling it normal fatigue, it has decided to keep him out of games for the time being.
"We're not going to take him [for Opening Day] unless he can be B.J.," Ricciardi said, according to MLB.com. "Where we use him three or four times a week. If he can't do that, then we'll just let him stay down here, let him keep pitching and eventually he'll be ready at some point. When he's ready, we'll take him.
"For us to sit here and say he was going to be here on Opening Day, we never threw that date out there, and I don't think it was fair to him to throw that date out there. I think it's important that he just keeps getting better and he feels good," Ricciardi said, according to MLB.com.
INDIANS MAKE CUTS (12:39 p.m. ET)
Cleveland optioned former first-round pick Brad Snyder to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday as the Indians trimmed their major league roster to 36.
Right-handers Matt Ginter and Jeff Harris, lefty Rich Rundles, catchers Armando Camacaro and David Wallace, and infielders Aaron Herr and Danny Sandoval were reassigned to the minor league camp.
Snyder, an outfielder taken in the 2003 draft, batted only .194 (7-for-36) with two homers and three RBIs in 14 games this spring, striking out 10 times. The 25-year-old has struck out 595 times in 524 minor league games.
Harris and Ginter, signed this past offseason to minor league contracts, each worked 7 1/3 innings in relief. Harris had a 2.45 ERA and Ginter had a 3.68 ERA.
Herr, a first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2000 and son of former big league infielder Tommy Herr, was 6-for-20 with one homer and four RBIs in 15 games.
-- Associated Press
NATS HURLER HILL THROWS BP (11:07 a.m. ET)
Nationals pitcher Shawn Hill, trying to recover from soreness in his forearm, threw 38 pitches of batting practice on Wednesday. And though his pitching coach said Hill wasn't as sharp as in an earlier session, that wasn't as important as the fact that Hill felt fine afterward.
"It was just a little tight getting loose, but once I got loose it felt fine," Hill said, according to The Washington Post. "I didn't have any sharp pain or anything like that. If that comes back, that'll be what bothers me. The achiness or tightness doesn't bother me. So far, so good."
Hill has thrown two bullpen sessions and Wednesday's BP session after being shut down for more than a week and taking a cortisone shot. As for his next step, Nationals pitching coach Randy St. Claire is waiting to see how Hill feels Thursday before setting a course.
M'S MORROW BACK ON THE MOUND (10:45 a.m. ET)
Mariners right-handed reliever Brandon Morrow, who's recovering from shoulder fatigue, threw a six-minute bullpen session Thursday and is slated to throw again Friday. He might throw a third bullpen session before getting back onto the mound in a spring training game.
If that timetable holds, Morrow will have missed about two weeks of spring training.
"That's not too bad in the big scheme of things," Morrow said, according to The Seattle Times. "You see guys go down during the season and they sometimes need a week or two to get back up to speed. So, no, I don't think that time off is really going to set me back much."
In other Mariners bullpen news, Eric O'Flaherty has been officially named the team's late-inning situational left-hander, replacing the traded George Sherrill. O'Flaherty edged out Cesar Jimenez, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma with the hope he'll develop a better breaking ball.
"I've always liked Eric," Mariners manager John McLaren said, according to the Times. "He's a good competitor. Did a great job for us last year. Looks like he's improved this year. "
NIX NIXED FROM ROCKIES LINEUP (10:32 a.m. ET)
Jayson Nix was scratched from the Rockies' lineup minutes before Wednesday's Cactus League game against the White Sox because of stiffness in his lower back.
Nix, who appears to have taken the lead in the competition for the Rockies' vacant second-base job, is listed as day-to-day.
He started slowly in spring training, but has apparently gained an edge on Clint Barmes, Jeff Baker and Marcus Giles for the starting job, which opened when Kaz Matsui left for the Astros via free agency.
Manager Clint Hurdle said it's too early to say if Nix's injury will complicate the situation.
TIME RUNNING OUT FOR METS' SANCHEZ (10:17 a.m. ET)
Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez is confident that he'll be ready for Opening Day. "I don't think. I know," he said when asked if he'd be ready, according to New York-area media reports.
But Mets manager Willie Randolph isn't so sure about that.
"Is he on the borderline of not being able to break with us? Yeah, if he doesn't start to pitch in succession and get his work done, then yeah, that's going to become a real issue," Randolph said.
Sanchez has nearly two weeks left to prove he can pitch multiple innings and in back-to-back games. But he has yet to pitch on even a day's rest, and his next scheduled appearance, on Thursday against the Orioles, could help the Mets decide if Sanchez will be ready.
If he's not, that could open the door for pitchers including Steven Register, Brian Stokes and Joe Smith to head north with the Mets.
WHICH WAY FOR URIBE? (9:57 a.m. ET)
Is Juan Uribe on his way out of Chicago?
Media outlets in Chicago reported that the White Sox have placed the middle infielder on waivers, apparently to gauge his trade value.
''We had a meeting [Wednesday] morning, and we talked about Uribe like he was on the team,'' manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters. ''This is news to me."
The White Sox have not commented on the reports, and Uribe -- who has been seen as Chicago's likely starting second baseman -- and his agent Martin Arburua said they were not aware of the move. Uribe was scheduled to play Thursday against the Dodgers and Saturday against the Cubs.
"Yeah, I'm going to Phoenix, but I don't know," Uribe said.
