BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJORS : Cubs’ Sandberg Out 4-6 Weeks After Being Hit on Hand by Pitch

All-Star second baseman Ryne Sandberg will miss four to six weeks because of a break in his left hand after being hit by a pitch Friday during the Chicago Cubs’ first exhibition game.

Mike Jackson of the San Francisco Giants hit Sandberg on the outside of his hand with a fast ball, triggering a brawl that emptied both dugouts during the fourth inning at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, Ariz. No punches were thrown.

Sandberg said he was furious with Jackson, adding that there was no need to throw “two up-and-in fastballs this time in spring training.” He said the pitch was “right at my head and coming in. My reaction time is not the greatest. I had no chance.”

Sandberg, the highest-paid player in baseball this year at more than $6.4 million, will wear a cast for at least four weeks.

Jackson said the brawl started when he wanted to see if Sandberg was all right.

“I went up to the plate to see how the guy was and he jumped up and called me some name,” Jackson said.

Jackson, who often struggles with his control, said he was trying to pitch inside but wasn’t trying to hit Sandberg.

“He made things seem bigger than what it was,” said Jackson, who gave up four runs in one inning of work. “I’m not going to let some player, just because he’s a superstar player, disrespect me.”

Dave Fleming, a 17-game winner as a rookie last season, will miss the start of the Seattle Mariners’ season because of an ailing left elbow.

Fleming, 23, underwent a bone scan and a magnetic resonance imaging test Thursday.

The Mariners said Fleming’s problem was caused by “stress overload syndrome.” They said they didn’t know when he would be able to pitch again.

Former Dodger Pedro Guerrero has signed to play with the Jalisco Charros of the Mexican Baseball League, newspapers reported.

Guerrero, 36, played 11 years with the Dodgers and five with the St. Louis Cardinals as a third baseman, first baseman and outfielder.

The daily Universal quoted officials of the Guadalajara-based team as saying Guerrero would join the Charros on Sunday.

Kal Daniels agreed to terms with the Montreal Expos on a minor league contract and will try to make the team as a backup outfielder or first baseman.

Daniels, 29, split last season between the Dodgers and Cubs, batting .241 in 82 games with six home runs and 25 runs batted in.

The expansion Florida Marlins won their first exhibition, beating the Houston Astros, 12-8, at Cocoa, Fla., with the help of a five-run fourth inning sparked by the team’s first home run, a two-run shot by Jeff Conine.

The other expansion club, the Colorado Rockies, opens exhibition play today against the Giants at Tucson.

Pittsburgh’s Andy Van Slyke, who has had knee swelling, returned to center field and left-handed pitcher Zane Smith threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing rotator cuff surgery on his throwing shoulder last Nov. 10. . . . Mike Moore, the free agent pitcher who was the centerpiece of the Detroit Tigers’ off-season dealing, gave up six runs on seven hits in three innings during a 7-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox. . . . The Toronto Blue Jays turned a triple play in the sixth inning of a 3-2 loss to Texas. First baseman Domingo Martinez started it by making a diving catch of Ivan Rodriguez’s bunt. Martinez threw to shortstop Alex Gonzalez to nab Dean Palmer off second base and second baseman Domingo Cedeno tagged Rob Ducey off first. . . . The thumb injury sustained by Colorado third baseman Charlie Hayes might not be as serious as initially believed, and Hayes, thought to be sidelined at least four weeks, could make a faster recovery, trainer Dave Cilladi said. Hayes tore a ligament in his right thumb while sliding into third base during Wednesday’s intrasquad game.