Times wires
Friday, March 18, 2011
DUNEDIN — A.J. Burnett got hit by a line drive and lost his command at times. He found his curveball, though, and that was encouraging to him.
Hurt by his own wild pitches and C Russell Martin's sloppy play, the Yankees right-hander gave up four runs — two earned — and five hits in four innings of Friday's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays.
Burnett was struck just below the right hip, on the meaty part of his buttock, by Juan Rivera's first-inning liner. The ball ricocheted toward the third base line, but he remained in the game.
"It hurt, man," he said. "It did, but it didn't bother me too much. The line drive woke me up. I was able to find the out pitch, my strikeout pitch. I found my hook today. … It was sharp, got some bad swings on it."
Burnett threw two wild pitches, and Martin committed two throwing errors and allowed a passed ball. He also threw poorly on three Toronto stolen bases.
"I need to work out of the stretch a little bit," Burnett said. "I'm a little slow there."
LF Brett Gardner (bruised shin sustained Thursday) left after being thrown out trying to score from second on a third-inning single.
GETTING LOOSE: LHPs Pedro Feliciano (upper arm) and Joba Chamberlain (strained oblique) are scheduled to throw bullpen sessions today.
Jays: Morrow's day
DUNEDIN — Toronto starter Brandon Morrow, given an early lead against the Yankees, worked five shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out six.
"You want to put the pressure on them at that point and you're going out and throwing first-pitch strikes," he said. "That's definitely the way you want to do it when you get a couple of runs up."
I thought he threw the ball really well today," manager John Farrell told MLB.com. "Maybe he wasn't quite as powerful as last time out, but very good assortment of pitches."
SHORT HOPS: Manager John Farrell said he hopes to get 2B Aaron Hill, sidelined by a strained right thigh, into his first game Tuesday. … OF John Talisano and Ps Zach Stewart and Henderson Alvarez were optioned to minor-league camp.
Phillies: Lidge update
CLEARWATER — RHP Brad Lidge was fine after throwing a bullpen session, ESPN.com reported. The reliever has been out with biceps tendinitis.
He told the website that he hopes to pitch in a game "in three or four days."
"My pop will never be there until my first game closing in the regular season," Lidge told ESPN.com "It hasn't been for the last 10 years. … But that said, I should be able to get more out of it than I've had my last couple of outings."
SHORT HOPS: 2B Chase Utley (right knee) returned to camp after visiting a specialist. The All-Star has not played this spring. … MLB.com reported that the team thinned its pitching staff, optioning Vance Worley and reassigning Dan Meyer, Juan Perez and Michael Stutes to minor-league camp.