BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJORS : Ontiveros Agrees to $900,000 With A’s

Pitcher Steve Ontiveros, who led the American League with a 2.65 earned-run average last season, avoided a salary arbitration hearing with the Oakland Athletics by reaching agreement on a one-year, $900,000 contract. . . . Atlanta Brave fans tuning into the opening game of the team’s series at New York saw a public service announcement on battered women, two nights after Manager Bobby Cox was charged with hitting his wife. “Completely a coincidence,” said Robin Yates, spokeswoman for TBS.