Beckett Looks Good in Minor League Game

Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, in California for three exhibition games against the Dodgers, got good news from ace Josh Beckett on the East Coast.

Beckett, who missed the team's just-concluded trip to Japan because of back spasms, pitched four scoreless innings in a minor league game in Florida yesterday. He allowed one hit, didn't walk a batter and struck out six.

Francona said he spoke with Beckett afterward and was told he felt fine.

"It's good because he's healthy. He's just trying to get ramped up for the season," Francona said. "Everything's gone great there, so that's why there's not a lot of anxiety from that standpoint."

Beckett, who went 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA last year, will pitch again in Florida on Tuesday, then is scheduled to join the team for the weekend series in Toronto. Francona said he may pitch there, but "that's not etched in stone."

¿ ROYALS: The suspension of catcher Miguel Olivo was reduced from five to four games. The team was awaiting word from the commissioner's office on whether outfielder Jos¿ Guill¿n's 15-day suspension will be eliminated.

Olivo had been suspended for the start of this season because of a fight with the New York Mets during the final weekend of last season while he was with the Florida Marlins.

An agreement between players and owners could be reached that would eliminate the suspensions of Guill¿n and Baltimore's Jay Gibbons. They were penalized in December following reports linking them to performance-enhancing drugs.

Meantime, the Royals assigned left-hander Mike Maroth to the minor league camp after giving up five runs and six hits in three innings in an 8-5 loss to the Texas Rangers.

¿ BREWERS: Less than a week after being told he probably would need surgery on his ailing pitching elbow, pitcher Chris Capuano has decided to try rehabilitation that would allow him to play this season. Milwaukee placed the left-hander on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 21. He will try rehabbing his left elbow for the next three to four weeks.

¿ YANKEES: Left-hander Andy Pettitte is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game Sunday. Pettitte, originally slated to start New York's second game of the regular season on Wednesday, has been slowed by back spasms.

¿ MARINERS: Seattle assigned catcher Wei Wang to Class A High Desert, making him the first player from China to make a minor league roster.