Schilling Hit Hard in Debut

Curt Schilling struggled in his first major league appearance since the World Series.

The Boston Red Sox ace yielded three runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings Friday and gave up home runs on consecutive pitches against the Minnesota Twins at Fort Myers, Fla.

“This has been a day I’ve been looking forward to since November, and I was a little spent this morning getting ready for this game,” said Schilling, who underwent surgery in November to repair his right ankle.

Schilling, who said his arm and ankle felt fine, is expected to make one more spring appearance in a minor league game, then go on the disabled list and pitch April 7 for triple-A Pawtucket at Indianapolis.

Schilling’s only other exhibition action came last Monday when he threw three innings in a minor league game.

On Friday, he threw 66 pitches -- 40 for strikes -- with two walks and two strikeouts. In the fourth inning, he gave up the home runs to Jacque Jones and Michael Restovich to the same spot, over the fence in left center.

Schilling originally was scheduled to throw in another minor league game. But with Friday being possibly Schilling’s only chance to face a major league club before the regular season, Manager Terry Francona decided to give him the start.

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The season hasn’t started, and Sidney Ponson is already making headlines -- the kind that are becoming increasingly bothersome to the Baltimore Orioles.

The right-hander spent 11 days in an Aruban jail after slugging a local judge on Christmas Day, and he hurt his pitching hand Tuesday during a bar fight he contends was started by a drunk patron in a restaurant.

Ponson’s problems intensified when the Orioles learned late Thursday that he had been arrested in Florida on Jan. 21 on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The police report said he failed a sobriety test.

Once the ace of the staff, the Orioles now consider Ponson a potential distraction.

“I’m not happy about it. I don’t like it,” Manager Lee Mazzilli said. “This club stands for tradition, it’s got a long history. It’s just a black eye for us, and we’ll deal with it internally.”

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The Cleveland Indians put ace left-hander C.C. Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list. He suffered an injury to his right side while warming up for a start earlier this month. On Thursday, he threw 45 pitches from a mound and said he expects to return to the rotation by mid-April.

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The nerve injury in his right biceps that kept Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals out of the World Series appears to be fully healed. The right-hander pitched five solid innings against the Detroit Tigers, giving up three runs and six hits and striking out eight.

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The New York Yankees released Doug Glanville, who was trying to win the spot as the backup to center fielder Bernie Williams. Glanville, 34, was 10 for 47 with two RBIs in 19 spring games.