Hideki Irabu still hasn't shaken the slump that began halfway through last season, and Nomar Garciaparra proved that even if he can't throw the ball he can still hit it.
Irabu allowed six runs in five innings in his third straight lackluster spring outing against major leaguers as the New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 11-10 Saturday at Clearwater, Fla."I really don't have much to say about it," Irabu said through an interpreter. "In baseball, numbers are everything and I have to pay attention to them. It's not really for me to judge the numbers."
After throwing five shutout innings in a Triple-A game Monday, Irabu allowed 13 hits to the Phillies. He also was late covering first base on an infield grounder and had three runners steal second base uncontested.
"I don't think his concentration was real good," Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. "He didn't finish hitters off. The biggest disappointment was not covering first base. We work on that. We've got some work to do."
Irabu has struggled since midway through last season. The right-hander started the 1998 season 9-3 with a 2.86 earned run average in his first 17 starts. He went 4-6 with a 5.91 ERA over his final 11 starts.
"Is he ready for the season? He has another time out and things can change quickly," Stottlemyre said.
At St. Petersburg, Fla., Garciaparra hit his third homer in two days since returning from a sore elbow as Boston tied Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4-4 in 10 innings.
Garciaparra hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Wilson Alvarez and one batter later Mike Stanley hit a solo shot to make it 3-0. Garciaparra hit two home runs Friday against Texas in his first game since March 18.
Garciaparra was supposed to start at shortstop for the first time since March 11, but manager Jimy Williams backed off when Garciaparra couldn't take infield practice Friday because of rain. He is expected to play the field Sunday against Minnesota.
At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Mario Duncan, who has played on two World Series champions, was given his unconditional release by the New York Mets.
Duncan, who was hitting .260 in 20 games this spring after playing last year in Japan, asked for his release when it became evident he wasn't going to make the team.
At Bradenton, Fla., Jason Schmidt pitched four pain-free innings against minor-league hitters Saturday, almost assuring he will start the season in the Pittsburgh Pirates' rotation.
It also means that rookie Kris Benson most likely will be demoted to Triple-A Nashville despite an 0.50 ERA that is the best among major league starters this spring.
"I threw terrible but I felt great," said Schmidt, expected to start the Pirates' second game of the season April 6 against Montreal. "I was so worried about hurting myself on every pitch that I had no concentration. But the main thing is I feel good."
At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Juan Guzman allowed five hits in five innings for his third win of the spring as Baltimore beat the New York Mets 4-3 hours before leaving for their historic exhibition game in Cuba.
At Jupiter, Fla., Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park didn't allow a hit in six innings and scored the only run of the game on an error by Mark McGwire en route to a 1-0 win over St Louis.