Randy Johnson was ready for anything in his San Francisco Giants debut – even an attempt to steal home by a catcher.
Former Arizona teammate Brandon Webb, however, didn’t make it to the mound Friday. His first spring start was pushed back because of a sore right forearm.
Johnson deftly stepped off the rubber and threw out Kansas City’s Miguel Olivo when he tried to steal home in the second inning of the Giants’ 6-1 loss in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all … ,” the 45-year-old Johnson said.
Kansas City scored one run in two innings against Johnson. Ryan Shealy was hit by a pitch in the second inning and went to second on Olivo’s single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and Shealy scored on Mitch Maier’s groundout.
“Other than the senior moment I had with my splitter by hitting the first batter and throwing another one in the dirt, I felt pretty good, considering the last two years at this time I wasn’t pitching in games,” Johnson said.
le recovering from back operations.
Kansas City starter Zack Greinke, who signed a four-year, $38 million contract this offseason, retired all six batters he faced with one strikeout.
At Tucson, Ariz., Webb threw off flat ground in the morning and said his arm felt better than it had the previous day, and he expects to make his next scheduled start March 4 against Mexico.
“I ended up throwing and felt not 100 percent but 80 percent better than I did yesterday,” Webb said. “I flipped some curveballs and changeups today, too.”
Webb said he would test his arm by throwing off the bullpen mound Sunday.
He said the forearm stiffened as he ended a bullpen session this week.
“It was pretty stiff yesterday, so I just went into (manager Bob Melvin) and told him I don’t know if I’ll be able to make the start. Can we push it back a day?” Webb said before the Diamondbacks lost to the Chicago White Sox, 10-1.
Newly acquired Jon Garland started in Webb’s place and gave up a solo homer to Dayan Viciedo, a touted Chicago White Sox prospect from Cuba, in two innings.
At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Johan Santana was scratched from his second straight start by the New York Mets because of a sore left elbow.
After Santana missed a scheduled “B” game appearance against Italy’s national team, the Mets said their ace would not take his turn Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
anager Jerry Manuel said he decided to be “extra cautious” with his ace because spring training is nearly a week longer this year due to the World Baseball Classic.
“There’s no hurry with Johan in spring training if he’s experiencing any discomfort,” Manuel said after the Mets’ 9-8 loss to the Cardinals on Friday.
In other news, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to meet with Major League Baseball officials on Sunday to discuss his admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03 while with Texas.
The timing of the meeting was disclosed Friday by a baseball official with knowledge of the session who spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.
MLB wants to speak with Rodriguez about security issues involving a trainer from the Dominican Republic and the cousin the three-time MVP said injected him with a banned substance called “boli.”
Rodriguez didn’t make the trip from Tampa, Fla., to Fort Myers, Fla., for the Yankees’ spring game against Minnesota, a 5-4 loss.
Cleveland Indians All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore will not play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic because of soreness in his left groin. The injury has been bothering Sizemore for about a week.
Sizemore played in the Indians’ first two Cactus League games. His leg bothered him, even though he stole a base Thursday.
ther game without pain,” said Sizemore, who injured the groin taking flyballs about a week ago.
Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has changed his mind and will play for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. Tejada said earlier this week he decided to skip the event because the Dominican team had asked him to play first base.
At Phoenix, trying to secure a spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation after missing 1 1/2 seasons due to shoulder operations, Jason Schmidt threw only 10 of 21 pitches for strikes in a morning “B” game against the Chicago White Sox.
He left after a four-pitch walk to Jermaine Dye, his second walk of the outing. He got just two outs, one a strikeout of Jim Thome.
Adam Eaton was released by the Philadelphia Phillies, who owe the right-hander $9 million.
In other spring training games, it was:
Angels 5, Rockies 3
At Tempe, Ariz., Bobby Abreu went 2-for-3 with two doubles against Colorado to lift his spring average to .666.
Indians 5, Padres 3
At Goodyear, Ariz., Victor Martinez hit two home runs and Fausto Carmona pitched two scoreless innings for Cleveland.
Brewers 8, Athletics 5
Cutter Dykstra, son of former Mets star Lenny Dykstra, hit an RBI double and scored a run in his first action in a big league uniform.
Reds 10, Phillies 3
e World Series champion Phillies to 0-3 this spring.
Twins 5, Yankees 4
At Fort Myers, Fla., Joe Crede went 0-for-2 with a walk in his Twins debut.
Mariners 18, Dodgers 2
Adrian Beltre hit a two-run double in a three-run third inning, and Erik Bedard allowed two singles in two scoreless innings for Seattle.
Cubs 10, Rangers 4
At Surprise, Ariz., in his only spring training start for Chicago before joining Team USA, Ted Lilly allowed two hits and struck out two in two innings.
Blue Jays 6, Tigers 4
At Dunedin, Fla., absent from the major leagues since 2006, Matt Clement pitched two innings for Toronto and gave up a run, a hit and two walks.
Marlins 3, Orioles 2
At Jupiter, Fla., eager to prove himself in the major leagues, Japanese star Koji Uehara threw two scoreless innings for Baltimore. He allowed a lost-in-the-sun single, walked one and struck out three.
Rays 12, Red Sox 4
Boston’s Rocco Baldelli went 1-for-2 with an RBI single against his former team.
Nationals 2, Astros 0
At Viera, Fla., Shawn Hill pitched a scoreless inning for Washington in his first appearance in nearly eight months. Hill’s season was cut short on June 25, when he went on the disabled list with an injured elbow. He had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow in September.
Braves 5, Pirates 2
ton, Fla., Pittsburgh’s Tom Gorzelanny worked out of a jam and tossed two scoreless innings.
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