Gunmen Rob Players in Hotel Room

Two men burst into an unlocked hotel room in Kissimmee, Fla., where five Houston Astro minor leaguers were watching television, tied up the players and a female guest and robbed them at gunpoint.

Police shot one of the gunmen minutes later as he struggled with a sixth player in an adjacent room. The other assailant escaped.

The players, all unhurt, were identified as Morgan Ensberg, 24; Derek Nicholson, 23; Keith Ginter, 23; Michael Rose, 23; Eric Cole, 24. and Aaron Miles, 23. The woman was identified as Alicia Szczerba, 23. She is a friend of one of the players.

The armed robbery took place Sunday night at 11 p.m. EST at Holiday Inn, where the Astros’ minor leaguers stay during spring training.

The five players and Szczerba were watching television when the gunmen burst in, tied up everyone and took cash, said a police spokesman.

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Kerry Wood took a big step in his return from elbow surgery, throwing curveballs off the mound for the first time in a year.

“Today was the best command I had,” Wood said after a 37-pitch batting practice session at the Chicago Cubs’ training camp at Mesa, Ariz. “I’m getting close. It was good finally to be able to hit my spots.”

Wood’s return from the reconstructive surgery was delayed earlier this month. After Monday’s outing, Wood was hopeful he could pitch at least an inning against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

“I certainly expect to get an inning,” he said. “There are no guarantees, but that’s the game plan.”

Manager Don Baylor said he expected that Wood would pitch one or two innings against the White Sox unless there was “six inches of snow.”

“He’s worked so hard that I would like to leave spring training with a positive attitude,” Baylor said. “This might be his only shot in spring training.”

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Philadelphia’s Curt Schilling is getting close to throwing off a mound for the first time since arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Dec. 13. The three-time All-Star passed another test at the Phillies’ camp at Clearwater, Fla., by extending his long-toss workout from 180 to 210 feet. . . . Infielder-outfielder Freddy Garcia was traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league pitcher Dennis Russo. Garcia, 27, had a home run in two at-bats with the Braves after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 9. . . . The New York Mets signed pitcher Rene Arocha to a minor-league contract. Arocha, 34, pitched in the Mexican League last season. He last pitched in the majors with San Francisco in 1997 and has a major league record of 18-17. . . . Outfielder Shane Monahan, who batted .875 in eight games for the Seattle Mariners this spring, was among the players the Mariners sent to the minor leagues. . . . The Cubs’ Jeff Reed went four for four with three solo home runs in a split-squad game with the San Diego Padres at Peoria, Ariz.

Danys Baez, the Cuban right-hander signed by the Cleveland Indians to a $14.5-million, four-year contract last November, was optioned to triple-A Buffalo. Baez, 22, defected last July from the Pan American Games. . . . Texas left fielder Rusty Greer is returning from training camp in Florida to have his right ankle examined. Greer, who missed the first four spring training games because of ankle inflammation, lasted only one inning in his fourth consecutive start. . . . New York Yankee reliever Allen Watson underwent an arthrogram in Tampa, Fla., on his ailing left shoulder. Watson has complained of stiffness. . . . The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be playing on a new synthetic surface at Tropicana Field this season after agreeing to install FieldTurf at a cost of about $1 million.