BASEBALL / SPRING TRAINING : Federal Court Is Asked to End Umpire Boycott

Major league baseball asked a federal court to prevent umpires from boycotting any more spring training games, saying it would violate no-strike and grievance clauses in their contract.

A hearing on the request for a temporary restraining order will be held today in Philadelphia.

Exhibition games started in Florida and Arizona Monday with minor league umpires working.

The major league umpires are angry because they were not consulted before the regular-season schedule was revised. They are threatening to stay away until opening day, April 9. They say they lost money during the lockout and contend that the changes will mean fewer days off.

Gary Carter made his debut in a San Francisco uniform and doubled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Scottsdale, Ariz., in a game televised by ESPN.

Carter, signed as a free agent by the Giants, is trying to make a comeback after an injury-plagued season with the New York Mets. Last season, he hit .183 with two home runs and 15 runs batted in. The Mets chose not to re-sign him after the season.

When Mitch Webster stepped in to lead off for Cleveland, the umpire told him to step out because ESPN needed a few more seconds to get ready.

Webster stood around the plate briefly, and the crowd began shouting. “Get on with it!” one fan yelled. “We’ve waited long enough.”

Commissioner Fay Vincent attended the St. Louis-Pittsburgh exhibition game at Bradenton, Fla., and received a loud ovation, despite the lockout that resulted in about two-thirds of the exhibition season being canceled. The lockout cost Florida millions of dollars in spring-training revenue.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with the fans,” Vincent said. “They’re very forgiving. I was confident baseball could come back. I’m just sorry we’re a little late.”

The Pirates won, 5-3, as Barry Bonds and Pirate newcomer Don Slaught homered.

Other highlights on the first day of spring training games:

--At Haines City, Fla., rookie Mickey Pina’s eighth-inning home run off Mark Davis, last year’s National League Cy Young award winner, gave the Boston Red Sox a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

--At Miami, Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd made his debut with Montreal, pitching three scoreless innings in the Expos’ 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

--At Tempe, Ariz., Ken Griffey Jr. doubled twice and scored two runs in the Seattle Mariners’ 7-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Five Mariner pitchers, including scheduled opening-night starter Brian Holman, combined on a three-hitter. Holman gave up one hit in two innings.

--At Phoenix, the Oakland Athletics trailed the Chicago Cubs, 5-1, going into the eighth inning, but rallied for a 6-5 victory on pinch-hitter Steve Howard’s two-run single with two out in the ninth.

Injury updates: Baltimore’s Mickey Tettleton, who underwent surgery on his left knee in August and was restricted to being a designated hitter the rest of the season, caught five innings Monday.

“It didn’t bother me all,” Tettleton said after the game. “If there was going to be a problem with it I would have known long before I came to camp.”

At Plant City, Fla., Cincinnati left-hander Danny Jackson threw batting practice for the first time this spring.

Jackson, coming back from shoulder and toe surgery, didn’t throw during the winter because of his union activities. Manager Lou Piniella says there is a chance Jackson will stay behind in Florida when training camp ends.

Jackson was 6-11 last season after going 23-8 in 1988.

New York Yankee right-hander Pascual Perez, who was expected in camp on Monday, didn’t make it, but is expected to report today, team officials said.

Three different reasons have been cited for Perez’s delay. Yankee General Manager Pete Peterson said the team was not upset by the prolonged delay.

Perez had been scheduled to start Monday’s exhibition opener against Atlanta and is projected as the Yankees’ No. 1 starter.