Smoltz starts strong
John Smoltz leaned back in his locker and threw the most sarcastic strike of spring training.
“All those experts were right,” he deadpanned. “I’m not going to be able to make this transition.”
Then he paused and cracked a smile that quickly turned to a chuckle. No doubt about it, Smoltz is thrilled to be back in the Atlanta Braves’ rotation – and confident he can go from All-Star closer to top-flight starter without much trouble at all.
Making his first start since June 9, 2001, Smoltz pitched two scoreless innings Sunday during Atlanta’s 8-7 victory over a New York Mets split squad. He threw 19 of his 28 pitches for strikes, and his fastball consistently hit 93-94 mph, according to the scoreboard radar gun.
“Same Smoltzie,” manager Bobby Cox said. “Just got to build up some endurance, that’s all. He’s going to fit right in with all the other starters.”
Smoltz allowed two soft singles and struck out one against a watered-down lineup, stranding a runner at third to end his final inning. It was an impressive spring debut, especially for a 37-year-old pitcher with a history of elbow injuries.
Schmidt notes other factors for increased HRs
Mike Schmidt refused to blame steroids for the increase in home runs in the major leagues – or for his diminishing stature on the career homer list.
“Leave steroids out of it,” Schmidt said. “There’s a simple explanation why the home run totals are what they are, and the guys that are hitting would agree with me – it’s park size, hard baseballs and hard bats.”
Since the Hall of Fame third baseman retired in 1989 with the seventh-most home runs (548), he has been passed by four players – Barry Bonds (703), Mark McGwire (583), Sammy Sosa (574) and Rafael Palmeiro (551). Several others could move ahead of Schmidt in the next five years.
“Guys are passing me like I was a car on the freeway,” said Schmidt, a spring training instructor for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schmidt estimates the smaller ballparks and the equipment help elite power hitters add 10-12 home runs more per season than those of his generation – or about 150 more career homers.
Padres defeat Mariners in 10th
The San Diego Padres got their first homers of the spring, by Xavier Nady and Jesse Garcia, and scored three runs in the 10th inning for a 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Peoria, Ariz.
The Padres sent the game into the 10th when Garcia homered with one out off Jared Thomas in the ninth. In the 10th, Michael Hernandez had an RBI double and Humberto Quintero tripled in two runs off Chris Key.
Nady homered in the seventh off Rick Guttormson to cut San Diego’s deficit to 5-3.
The Mariners dropped to 0-3 this spring, but new manager Mike Hargrove was happy with the way his offense clicked after scoring only three runs in the team’s first two games.
“We swung the bats much better today, which was good to see,” Hargrove said. “We probably shouldn’t have played the 10th inning.”
Ichiro Suzuki, who set a single-season major league record with 262 hits last season, broke a 2-2 tie with a triple in the fifth, when the Mariners scored three runs.
The Mariners regulars had their three-run fifth off Chris Hammond, with Suzuki and Randy Winn producing RBI triples, and Adrian Beltre delivering a sacrifice fly.
Shin-Soo Chou hit the Mariners’ first homer of the spring off ex-Seattle left-hander Randy Williams in the seventh.
Blaine Neal, the sixth of seven San Diego pitchers, got the win with two shutout innings. Seattle also used seven pitchers, with Key taking the loss.
Clearing the bases
Pitcher Adam Miller, regarded as the Cleveland Indians’ top prospect, will be sidelined until at least June with a strained right elbow. Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia was scratched from his start against the Detroit Tigers. Sabathia strained a muscle in his right side while warming up. … Kip Wells will miss his next scheduled start for the Pittsburgh Pirates because of stiffness in his right elbow.