Bedard, Santana both struggle out of gate

Erik Bedard and Johan Santana definitely showed something in their debuts for new teams: Even baseball’s best pitchers need time to tune up in spring training.

The Seattle Mariners can only figure Bedard will get a lot better after their new ace of few words allowed three runs in two innings during a 5-3 victory over a San Francisco Giants split squad in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday.

“I was throwing strikes. They were just hitting them. Can’t do much about that,” Bedard said, shrugging his shoulders after yielding four hits, walking two and striking out one in his first game since Aug. 26, when a strained side muscle ended his season with Baltimore.

“I already forgot about it.”

Bedard’s biggest issue was leaving pitches up in the strike zone, although manager John McLaren was hardly bothered by the outing.

“This is a bigger deal than it should be because he’s new and because he’s our opening-day pitcher,” McLaren said. “To me he’s right on target. He got his pitch count in and he worked on all his pitches. I didn’t see anything that’s alarming.”

It wasn’t a storybook debut for the Mariners’ opening-day starter, but Bedard accomplished all that really counts at this point – building arm strength and sharpening his control.

Of his 44 pitches, 31 were strikes.

Pitching against Bedard was Tim Lincecum, a former star at the University of Washington in Seattle, and he fared well. The Giants’ young gun allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Acquired in a blockbuster trade this off-season, Santana gave up a three-run homer to Juan Gonzalez in the first inning of his first start with the Mets. The St. Louis Cardinals went on to beat New York 5-4 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

“There are a lot of adjustments I’ve got to make. It’s going to take some time, but that’s what we’re here for,” Santana said. “The numbers will say something different, but I feel really good.”

The Mets stood on the top step of the dugout for Santana when he took the mound to start the game. The crowd chanted his name and cheered his every move.

Twice a unanimous A.L. Cy Young Award winner with Minnesota, the left-hander gave up three runs and four hits in two innings. He threw for the cycle, in fact – Gonzalez homered, Brendan Ryan tripled, Albert Pujols doubled and Chris Duncan singled off Santana.

A day after Gonzalez got two hits and drove in a run, the two-time A.L. MVP picked on a familiar foil. He is 6 for 7 with two homers, two doubles and six RBIs in the regular season against Santana.

The New York Yankees’ trio of touted youngsters opened 2008 with shutout ball.

Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes combined for five scoreless innings to lead the Yankees past South Florida 11-4 in Tampa, Fla.

The three, all 23 or younger, could wind up together in New York’s rotation at some point.

In other news, Cincinnati shortstop Alex Gonzalez was diagnosed with a broken left knee. He will be evaluated again in three weeks.

Oakland third baseman Eric Chavez will miss at least five days after receiving an injection to help ease inflammation in his lower back. He had corrective surgery in October after missing the final two months of last season with lower back spasms.

Florida pitcher Sergio Mitre was diagnosed with a strained forearm muscle, and outfield prospect Cameron Maybin limped off the field in Viera, Fla., with a tight left hamstring.

Clemens stays away

Roger Clemens was a no-show when Houston Astros minor leaguers went through their usual drills at spring training in Kissimmee, Fla.

The Rocket flew home to Houston instead of working with the young prospects for a third straight day, said his oldest son, Koby, a catcher in the Astros’ system.

Clemens departed the day after the FBI said it opened an investigation into whether he lied in sworn testimony about steroids.

Ryan, Rangers finish deal

Nolan Ryan has a term befitting a president.

The Hall of Fame pitcher agreed to a four-year contract in his new role as president of the Texas Rangers, a job he accepted 3 1/2 weeks ago to revitalize a franchise that’s had only one winning season since its last division title in 1999.

Ryan, the 61-year-old career strikeout leader who played the last five of his record 27 major league seasons with the Rangers, said he plans an evaluation period before deciding on any changes for the franchise.

Murcer will have biopsy

New York Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer is scheduled to undergo a brain biopsy Monday in Houston.

Murcer had surgery on Dec. 28, 2006, four days after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.

An MRI performed Tuesday showed an area of concern, which could be scar tissue or another tumor.