Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

March 2

Major League Notebook: Napoli hits, fields as Sox beat Pirates

The Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Mike Napoli hit an RBI single in his first spring game for the Boston Red Sox, a 5-2 win Friday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Napoli joined Boston as a free agent in the offseason. He had been slowed in camp because of a hip problem. He went 1 for 2 and scored a run.

The Red Sox are looking for Napoli to be their primary first baseman. Pittsburgh tested the converted catcher right away when Darren Ford bunted on the first pitch. Napoli fielded the ball and beat Ford to the bag.

Napoli hit an RBI single off pitcher Jeff Locke's right leg in the first inning.

Jon Lester pitched three scoreless innings for Boston in his second spring outing. He gave up one hit, struck out two and walked one.

INDIANS: All-Star closer Chris Perez could be sidelined a month with a strained shoulder.

Perez, who saved 39 games last season, will not throw for the next 7-10 days. Manager Terry Francona said he wasn't sure whether Perez would be OK for opening day.

MARINERS: Rookie pitcher James Paxton uttered a description Friday that hasn't been heard in long time in Seattle.

"We're the power Mariners this year," he said. "We're just hitting bombs like crazy."

The Mariners added four more home runs in their 8-6 Cactus League baseball win over Texas, running Seattle's spring-training win streak to seven games, longest since 1998. It has been fueled by the long ball -- 18 homers in eight games.

"It's a little foolish to think it's going to happen every single game, but we'll take it right now," said outfielder Jason Bay of the homer barrage.

CARDINALS: Non-roster outfielder Oscar Taveras made another loud noise at Roger Dean Stadium. With a ferocious lefthanded swing, the Cardinals' top hitting prospect since Albert Pujols transformed a misplaced strike into a grand slam.

Taveras, 20, a native of the Dominican Republic, is walking potential -- a talent whose only question is "when" not "if." But "when" is not quite yet.

"He's a highly talented player who we look upon as a major part of our future," General Manager John Mozeliak said. "(But) looking at our projected roster, it's hard to imagine he's going to get the right amount of playing time to put him in the big leagues at this time."

YANKEES: Robinson Cano's contract status beyond 2013 is still an open question, but he doesn't want to discuss it publically.

General Manager Brian Cashman said "a significant offer" was made to Cano's agent Scott Boras, but on Friday, Cano refused to say whether the offer was rejected or is still on the table.

"I'm going to say it again, I'm not going to talk about this," said Cano, prior to going 2-for-3 in a 10-5 loss to the Phillies at Steinbrenner Field.

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