I've Got A Fevah and the Only Cure is More Baseball

American League Batting Champ Joe Mauer returned to the Twins' lineup Saturday following a stress reaction in his left leg, just in time for Minnesota's final spring victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, a 6-4 win in front of a sellout crowd of 8,029 at Hammond Stadium.

The All-Star catcher hit a three-run double in the third that scored Jason Bartlett, Luis Castillo and Nick Punto, who returned from a strained right groin.

Pirates catcher Ronny Paulino hit run-scoring doubles in the first and third innings, polishing off his spring performance with a .481 average.

Before the game, the Pirates put NL batting champion Freddy Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list - retroactive to March 23rd - making him eligible to be activated April 7th. He hasn't played a big league game this spring since spraining his right knee while turning a double play March 6th.

Sanchez did play in minor league games Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but said his swing still isn't where he wants it to be. After hitting .344 last season, he will stay at the Pirates' minor league camp and play in extended spring games for a few more days before a possible move to AAA Indianapolis on a rehab assignment.

Jose Castillo, his second base replacement, went 2-for-3.

Braves 4, White Sox 2

Mark Redman threw four innings for the Atlanta Braves in a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox, tuning up for his next start on Friday night against the NL East champion New York Mets. The lefty allowed two runs - one earned - and five hits, striking out two and walking one.

Chicago starter Javier Vazquez gave up four runs, eight hits and two walks in 6.2 innings, striking out six. The righty had a rough spring, going 0-4 with an 8.00 ERA in six starts.

The White Sox, who dropped seven of their last eight exhibition games, finished at 10-22-1 this spring, their most losses since 1989.

The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the second on a Kelly Johnson RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Langerhans, who finished with three RBIs, including a two-run bomb in the fourth.

Chicago tied it up at two in the fourth when Langerhans misplayed Roberto Valido's single in center, allowing Pablo Ozuna to score before Rob Mackowiak hit an RBI single.

Vazquez, who signed a three-year extension worth $34.5 million on March 6th, finished 2006 by going 0-6 with a 4.22 ERA in his last 10 starts. The right-hander will start Friday night in Chicago against the Minnesota Twins.

The Braves finished the spring with an 18-12-2 record.

Angels 4, Dodgers 2

Maicer Izturis had an RBI single and scored the go-ahead run on Tommy Murphy's groundout, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat the crosstown Dodgers, 4-2 Saturday.

Joe Saunders allowed two runs and nine hits over four innings, finishing the spring at 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA over six starts. The lefty will make his regular-season debut Thursday against the Oakland Athletics.

Brad Penny allowed three runs - two earned - and seven hits over five innings for the Dodgers in his last outing before Friday's regular-season debut in San Francisco. Limited to just 16 innings this spring due to stiffness in his throwing shoulder, the righty went 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA over five starts.

The Angels will begin their season Monday against the Texas Rangers, with John Lackey making his second career opening-day start, replacing former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colón, who has started the club's last three season openers.

[MLB] | [MiLB]