By Times staff writer, Times wires
Published April 2, 2004
DUNEDIN - It was no joke for Justin Miller.
Thursday morning Miller was informed he had cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.
"Am I surprised? Yeah, you can say that," Miller said. "I thought I'd pitched well enough to make the team."
The right-hander made five spring appearances, three of them starts, and was 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA. In 121/3 innings he gave up 13 hits, walked one and struck out six. It wasn't enough to impress the Jays, and they decided to roll the dice with Miller.
"Sure it was a gamble," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "But (from the other teams' view) he hadn't pitched in a year coming into camp (because of shoulder surgery), and someone would have to put him on their big-league roster, so it was a calculated gamble."
FUN AND GAMES: A couple of hit batters by Jays right-hander Miguel Batista led to a retaliation by Phillies right-hander Ryan Madson and the ejection of both pitchers and their managers, the Jays' Carlos Tosca and the Phillies' Larry Bowa.
Batista hit two Phillies in the first four innings, David Bell in the head and Shawn Wooten in the left elbow.
In the fourth, Madson whizzed an 0-and-2 pitch behind Frank Catalanotto, leading to his ejection and Bowa's. In the fifth, Batista came inside and high with a changeup to Todd Pratt and was tossed with Tosca.
"It happens," Batista said, insisting he wasn't throwing at anybody. "It's all part of the game."
MAKES THE SQUAD: Newcomer Sean Douglass, claimed off waivers from the Twins, pitched one inning and allowed one hit, no runs, one strikeout. "He's made our club," Ricciardi said of the right-hander, 24. "We like his arm." The addition of Douglass, who will be used in long relief, means the end for outfielder Chad Hermansen, who was optioned to Syracuse.
- MIKE RUTSEY
Myers bruised, battered
DUNEDIN - The Phillies got a scare Thursday when Toronto's Kevin Cash lined a ball off starter Brett Myers in the second inning. The ball hit Myers in the hip, but he shrugged it off and remained in the game.
That shot didn't compare with the beating the Jays laid on Myers.
After allowing six runs in six innings against Boston in his previous start, Myers opened by retiring the first two Jays. Then Vernon Wells launched Myers' first pitch over the scoreboard in left-center, and two pitches later Carlos Delgado connected off Myers for his fourth homer of the spring, clearing the wall to the right of the scoreboard.
Chris Woodward narrowly missed a homer to right-center that inning when the ball bounced off the top of the second fence. Eric Hinske didn't miss in the third, sending an 0-and-1 pitch into the trees in leftfield for a two-run shot.
"His sinker was flat and he left it up," manager Larry Bowa said. "With the wind blowing out, especially with big guys hitting, if it's up, it's going to get hit."
