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Around the Grapefruit League

Boston Red Sox: Whether he's starting or closing, Jonathan Papelbon has always envisioned himself as "a dominating pitcher."


He sure looked like one Saturday.


Papelbon struck out Philadelphia's 2-3-4 hitters, including NL
MVP Ryan Howard, in the fourth inning of Boston's 12-9 loss to the
Phillies in 10 innings.


The 26-year-old right-hander, now in the Red Sox rotation after
shoulder fatigue prematurely ended his stellar rookie season as a
closer, retired all six batters he faced on 26 pitches, 18 of them
strikes. He ended his afternoon by freezing Aaron Rowand with a
fastball at the knees for his fourth strikeout.


"He looked like his arm felt pretty good," Boston manager
Terry Francona said. "That was very exciting. He threw the
fastball that we've come to know and appreciate. He threw some very
good splits and a couple breaking balls. He was outstanding."


Joel Pineiro, the converted starter who is one of the leading
candidates for Papelbon's old job, didn't fare as well.


He walked two and allowed four runs on four hits, including Greg
Dobbs' two-run homer, in 1 1/3 innings after replacing Papelbon in
the fifth.


Manny Ramirez, making his second start after reporting to camp a
week later than his teammates, went 0-for-1 with two walks, a
strikeout and a run scored.


Elsewhere around the Grapefruit League:

Atlanta Braves: For starters, the Braves have no
complaints.


Tim Hudson became the third straight Atlanta starter to throw
two scoreless innings this spring, keeping Houston from hitting a
ball out of the infield in the Braves' 6-1 loss to the Astros on
Saturday.


Following the strong performances of Kyle Davies and John
Smoltz, Hudson looked more like the pitcher who was a 20-game
winner in Oakland than the guy who's still trying to live up to
expectations in Atlanta.


"Anytime you can keep it on the ground like that, it's good,"
said Hudson, who went 13-12 with a career-worst 4.86 ERA last
season. "It's nice to go out and make some good pitches."


Jason Jennings, acquired from Colorado to bolster Houston's
rotation, looked good in his first appearance with the Astros.


The right-hander didn't allow a hit in his two-inning stint. He
threw 17 of his 35 pitches for strikes, with two walks and two
strikeouts.

Cincinnati Reds: Josh Hamilton, a former No. 1 draft pick who is trying to overcome
drug addiction that derailed his career, had three hits including a pair of doubles during a 14-1 Reds' victory Saturday over the Minnesota Twins.


Hamilton's barrage helped Cincinnati pile up 25 hits -- their highest total in 13 years. Hamilton has gone 6-for-12 with a homer in three spring training games.


Manager Jerry Narron has been impressed with how fast Hamilton
is getting back into form at the plate.


"We wanted to see if Josh would use the whole field, and he hit
those balls to left," Narron said.

New York Mets:
Mike Pelfrey got off to a strong start in his bid for a spot in the New York Mets' rotation.


Pelfrey, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft, tossed two
shutout innings Saturday in New York's 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles
Dodgers.

"I felt good," Pelfrey said. "It was different being out
there without the L-screen. For the first outing, I was happy with
my command."


The 6-foot-7, 210-pound right-hander said his main focus was
locating his 93 mph fastball, but he did drop in a 2-0 changeup
that surprised James Looney, who took the pitch for a strike.


"It's just exciting to see this young kid get out there and
pitch," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He had good stuff.
The ball was coming out of his hand real nice today."


Jason Vargas, also competing for a starting spot with the Mets,
was just as effective. The lefty struck out two in two scoreless
innings, allowing one hit.


In other Mets news, pitcher Tom Glavine was expected to return to team's camp Sunday and make his next start Tuesday as scheduled after missing the past
two days for personal reasons.

New York Yankees: Mike Mussina is finding his feel for pitching
again.


The right-hander allowed one run and two hits in two innings for
the New York Yankees in a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates
on Saturday.


"It felt strange," Mussina said. "The first time, you hope
that you can at least get the ball over the plate, and I did that
for the most part. That's all you try to do, get used to it again.
You just don't do full speed ever until you're out there in a
game."


Mussina threw 24 of his 34 pitches for strikes.


"I don't expect it to be great the first day," Mussina said.
"I just expect to find a feel for it and work up from wherever the
starting point is. This is an adequate starting point."


"He wasn't pleased, obviously, but he was fine," Yankees
manager Joe Torre said. "He came through it. He felt fine. That's
all you really want."


In other Yankees news, pitcher Carl Pavano, who was hit on the left instep by
liner during batting practice last weekend, will make his first
start of the spring on Sunday against Philadelphia. Outfielder Bobby Abreu (strained right oblique) is feeling better. He is expected to be out at least another couple of weeks.

St. Louis Cardinals: World Series MVP David Eckstein should be playing again soon for the Cardinals.


Team doctor George Paletta examined Eckstein today and says the
injury is not as bad as originally feared. Paletta classified it as
a mild left oblique strain, the same area Eckstein injured last
season.


Paletta says Eckstein should be expected back in the lineup in a
week to 10 days. But he says a recovery plan is still under
discussion because of the previous injury.


Eckstein has not played in the last three exhibition games and
experienced increased soreness in the Cardinals game against the
Marlins on Wednesday.

Tampa Bay: Coming off a shoulder injury last year, Scott Kazmir struggled in his first start of spring training.


Tampa Bay's All-Star pitcher got only four outs Saturday and
gave up a two-run homer to Troy Glaus, but the Devil Rays beat the
Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in a game shortened to six innings because of
rain.

Kazmir, who had his 2006 season cut short by left shoulder
inflammation, allowed three runs and two hits in 1 1/3 innings. He
walked two, struck out one and threw 22 of his 41 pitches for
strikes.

A.J. Burnett went two innings for the Blue Jays, allowing one hit and striking out two. The one hit was a home run to Johnny Gomes. Burnett threw 25 pitches, 16 for strikes.


"I was up and down, in and out with a handful of changeups,"
Burnett said. "I'll bring the curveball in next time."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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