San Diego Padres starter Chris Young pitched three hitless innings and scored all the way from first on a double, sliding in ahead of the throw.
Imagine what he could have done if he wasn’t worn out from spending the last three nights changing his newborn daughter’s diapers.
“That’s the first time I saw a 6-10 guy slide into home plate,” general manager Kevin Towers said after the Padres beat an Arizona Diamondbacks split squad 6-3 on Friday in Peoria, Ariz.
Young singled and made the dash on Scott Hairston’s two-run double in the second inning. Young didn’t think third-base coach Glenn Hoffman would have sent him if there was going to be a play, but said it’s part of the game.
“I consider myself an athlete,” said Young, who played basketball at Princeton. “I don’t want to think of myself as just a pitcher, that I can’t do anything else.”
Young faced the minimum nine batters. Arizona’s Chris Young walked to open the game but was erased on an inning-ending double play. Young struck out the side in the third.
“I’ve definitely been tired the last few days so I didn’t have great expectations going out there,” Young said. “But once I got out there I felt good and really maybe I didn’t have that adrenaline and didn’t try to do too much, and sometimes things work out better that way.”
Young’s wife, Liz, gave birth Tuesday to the couple’s first child, Catherine Elizabeth.
“Yeah, I’ve changed a few diapers, so it was a first-time experience for me,” Young said. “There’s room for improvement, to say the least.”
At Kissimmee, Fla., Braves starter Mike Hampton’s day didn’t go nearly as well.
He left his start in the second inning of Atlanta’s 9-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The Braves said his latest injury is a mild strain that isn’t believed to be serious.
“I’ve got to get my legs in shape,” said Hampton, who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since August 2005 because of two elbow operations and other ailments.
Hampton walked off the mound after throwing 38 pitches, 19 for strikes. The left-hander said he came out of the game mainly as a precaution and still thinks he should be ready to open the season in Atlanta’s rotation.
At Phoenix, Brandon McCarthy didn’t even make it out for his second inning of the Texas Rangers’ 9-8 loss to Milwaukee. McCarthy pitched just one and felt soreness in his right elbow when he threw his third curveball of the day. He will be re-examined on Saturday.
“Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious and it’s something we can get past soon,” McCarthy said. “But, it’s not fun right now.”
It wasn’t all bad news for the Rangers. Jason Jennings threw 2 2-3 scoreless innings as he make progress after coming off season-ending surgery in August to repair a torn tendon.
“There’s no pain whatsoever this year,” Jennings said. “That’s all I’m worried about right now.”
At Vero Beach, Fla., Nomar Garciaparra homered but had to leave the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to St. Louis after being hit on the right wrist by a pitch. X-rays were negative.
Andy LaRoche, who was competing with Garciaparra for the third-base job, tore a ligament in his thumb and will have surgery. He will be out eight to 10 weeks.
Andruw Jones hit his first homer for the Dodgers, and Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel went deep for St. Louis.
In other spring games:
Twins (ss) 7, Red Sox (ss) 2
At Fort Myers, Fla., Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano faced a major league team for the first time in 18 months and gave up no runs in 1 2-3 innings. He had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in November 2006.
Orioles 12, Red Sox (ss) 2
At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jeremy Guthrie threw three shutout innings, and Aubrey Huff homered for Baltimore.
Astros 9, Yankees 5
At Tampa, Fla., Mariano Rivera needed just eight pitches to throw a perfect fourth inning in his first spring appearance. Alex Rodriguez, expected to be limited to DH duties until Monday because of a sore right shoulder, went 1-for-2 with a double.
Mets 8, Indians 6
At Winter Haven, Fla., Cleveland’s Cliff Lee gave up two runs, three hits and two walks while getting just two outs.
Twins (ss) 4, Blue Jays 0
At Dunedin, Fla., pitching with a broken fingernail, A.J. Burnett allowed a run in three innings for the Blue Jays.
Pirates (ss) 13, Reds (ss) 8
At Sarasota, Fla., Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips hit a three-run homer and finished with five RBIs. Freddy Sanchez went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Jack Wilson also drove in two runs for the Pirates.
Rays 9, Phillies 1
At St. Petersburg, Fla., Jeff Niemann worked three hitless innings for the Rays. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels allowed three runs and five hits in three innings.
Giants 3, Athletics 2
At Scottsdale, Ariz., the Giants’ Kevin Correia worked four strong innings, allowing one run on two hits and made a case to fill in for Noah Lowry, who had surgery on his left forearm and is out until at least the end of April.
Diamondbacks (ss) 10, White Sox (ss) 0
At Tucson, Arizona’s Edgar Gonzalez pitched three-hit ball for three innings. Jesus Merchan went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for Arizona.
Rockies 10, Royals 7
At Surprise, Ariz., Brian Bannister gave up five runs and six hits for Kansas City and has a 10.80 ERA in his two spring starts. Brad Hawpe hit a two-run homer for the Rockies.
Angels 11, White Sox (ss) 1
At Tempe, Ariz., Anaheim’s Jon Garland allowed one run in three innings against his former team.
Marlins 3, Nationals 2
At Jupiter, Fla., Andrew Miller walked just one and allowed a run in four innings after walking five in his first outing for the Marlins.
Cubs 6, Mariners 4
At Mesa, Ariz., Derrek Lee doubled home a run in the first inning, and pinch-hitter Daryle Ward hit a two-run homer in Chicago’s four-run fourth inning. Seattle’s Carlos Silva gave up six runs.
Add A Comment