Halladay, Jays beat Pirates

Posted Mar 27, 2009 by TBO.com

Updated Mar 28, 2009 at 04:52 PM

BRADENTON - Roy Halladay already has that opening day look.

The Blue Jays’ 20-game winner was in start-of-the-season form, limiting the Pittsburgh Pirates to one run and four hits over seven innings of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-1 victory on Friday night.

Brad Emaus backed Halladay’s effective start with a wind-aided solo homer over the left field wall in the third inning and a run-scoring double in a two-run fifth against Virgil Vasquez. Travis Snider doubled and scored on Emaus’ double and Alex Rios followed with a sacrifice fly.

Halladay gave up Brad Hinske’s double and Brandon Moss’ run-scoring single in the second, then permitted only one hit over his final five innings — Brian Bixler’s single in the fifth. He lowered his spring ERA to 3.67.

Halladay struck out four and didn’t walk any in exactly the kind of start that enabled him to go 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA last season, his second 20-win season and his first since 2003.

Halladay has known since the beginning of spring training that he would start the Jays’ April 6 opener against the Tigers.

In his previous start, Halladay gave up six runs and nine hits in a 9-7 loss to Houston last Saturday.

“Doc struggled a little bit the last two times out, but you know he’s always going to bounce back,” manager Cito Gaston said. “That’s exactly what he did tonight.”

Vasquez, competing with Jeff Karstens to be the Pirates’ No. 5 starter, gave up three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings.

Shields roughed up by Twins
James Shields joked that he might have to get sent back to the minor leagues following a performance that was no laughing matter.

Tampa Bay’s projected opening-day starter gave up 11 runs and 12 hits in the Rays’ 16-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday.

Rays manager Joe Maddon let Shields face minor leaguers over his previous two starts. But against the big boys, Shields gave up homers to Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel in 4 1-3 innings.

“Joe decided to call me up from the minor leagues finally, and I pretty much didn’t help my cause for staying here,” Shields said.

Sabathia sharp once again
TAMPA -  CC Sabathia cruised through his next-to-last spring training start.

Sabathia, the Yankees’ opening day starter, allowed one run and four hits over 7 2-3 innings as New York beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Friday night.

The left-hander, who had seven strikeouts, retired 16 in a row after Norris Hopper hit a two-out, RBI single in the second.

“Just to see the sixth, seventh inning is definitely big,” Sabathia said. “Go out there and get used to it.”

A-Rod’s rehab going good
Alex Rodriguez’s rehabilitation from right hip surgery will keep him from returning to the Yankees’ spring training complex until after the team heads to New York to play two exhibition games in their new stadium.

A-Rod has been rehabbing in Vail, Colo., where he had the surgery March 9. Rodriguez is working out in a pool, doing range of motion drills and lifting weights.

“He’ll be back after we’re gone,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Friday. “All is going good.”

Glavine and Verlander have strong outings
KISSIMMEE - Atlanta’s Tom Glavine and Detroit’s Justin Verlander are looking to have bounce-back seasons, and each made strides Friday toward reaching their goals.

Verlander threw seven scoreless innings and Glavine shut out the Tigers for four in the Braves’ 3-2 victory.

Glavine, the two-time Cy Young Award winner with 305 wins, started a career-low 13 games last year, going 2-4 before his season was cut short by an elbow injury. He went on the disabled list for the first time in his 22-year career and ended up having elbow and shoulder surgery.

AP Wires were used in this report.