Glavine Gets Roughed Up in Met Debut

After pitching for 16 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Tom Glavine made his debut with the New York Mets on Saturday, giving up four runs and six hits in two innings of a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Getting hit hard was one of many rare experiences for the two-time Cy Young winner, who joined the Mets as a free agent in December.

Glavine is already used to wearing a New York uniform, but just about everything else about the day was rather unusual.

“For the first time, hearing, ‘Pitching for the New York Mets’ and then hearing my name, that was a little strange,” he said.

In an effort to ease some of the awkwardness of his first start with New York, Manager Art Howe decided to have Glavine work against the Orioles rather than his former team.

The Mets sent the other part of their split squad to Kissimmie to play the Braves, but the 36-year-old Glavine still had a hard time settling down.

“I feel that I was in a hurry to make pitches,” he said. “On top of that, I’ve got new teammates and new people watching me. You try and fight the urge to try and impress everybody.”

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Seattle Mariner catcher Dan Wilson is expected to be sidelined at least two to three days after straining an abdominal muscle. He was hurt while swinging a bat inside the batting cage Thursday and sat out a 16-4 split-squad loss to the San Diego Padres. Trainers are waiting for swelling to subside before reassessing the injury.

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Shortstop Derek Jeter and second baseman Alfonso Soriano of the New York Yankees took batting practice and could return from minor injuries for today’s exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Jeter fouled a ball off his left shin during Thursday’s game against Cincinnati and has sat out two straight games. Soriano has not played because of right shoulder discomfort.

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Gil Heredia faced major league hitters for the first time since the 2001 season, working two innings for the Chicago White Sox against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Tucson.

Heredia, 37, gave up three hits and three runs. He sat out last season, then played in the Mexican Winter League.