BOSTON - Nomar Garciaparra refused to place a timetable on his return after taking batting practice against a pitcher Tuesday night for the first time since being sidelined in spring training.
"This is like the beginning of spring training," said the Red Sox shortstop, recovering from tendinitis in his right Achilles' tendon. "I swung the bat for the first time a couple of days ago, so it's still the early stages."
But he doesn't expect to take another six weeks, or the length of spring training, to return to Boston's lineup.
Garciaparra went 0-for-8 in spring training before he was sidelined. At the time, manager Terry Francona expressed confidence Garciaparra could be ready for opening day, but Garciaparra has been on the disabled list all season.
Before the game, outfielder Manny Ramirez led his Boston teammates out of the dugout waving a small American flag on his first full day of U.S. citizenship. With the flag rippling, he ran to leftfield as fans cheered, then went to the seats along the foul line and handed it to a fan.
Also, the Red Sox optioned right-hander Byung-Hyun Kim to Triple-A Pawtucket a day after he was removed from the rotation because of a second straight poor outing.
DRUG TESTING: Major League Baseball and its players' union are moving drug testing to a lab in Montreal that is certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Since the start of baseball's drug-testing plan last year, the testing had been carried out by Comprehensive Drug Testing of Long Beach, Calif., and Quest Diagnostics of Teterboro, N.J. Testing now will take place at the INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Center.
BREWERS: Triple-A shortstop J.J. Hardy, one of the team's top prospects, likely will miss the rest of the season with a separated left shoulder. Baseball America rated Hardy as the No. 3 prospect in one of baseball's top farm systems.
CUBS: Right-hander Kerry Wood left after two innings with tightness in his right triceps. ... Right-hander Mark Prior is scheduled to receive his bachelor's degree in business from Southern California on Friday.
GIANTS: Right-hander Jerome Williams left in the fourth with a slight biceps strain. ... First baseman J.T. Snow left after the fifth inning as a precaution after hitting the back of his head on the ground.
ORIOLES: Shortstop Miguel Tejada strained a muscle in his right shin in the first inning and is day to day.
PHILLIES: First baseman Jim Thome sustained what the team called a "tweaked" left thumb.
PIRATES: Outfielder Raul Mondesi was placed on the restricted list a day after saying he planned to sit out the season, meaning he can be replaced on the roster and will not be paid.
TWINS: Third baseman Corey Koskie left the game against the Mariners with a strained sternum and is day to day.
WHITE SOX: Right-hander Felix Diaz is expected to be called up from Triple-A Charlotte to fill the fifth spot in the rotation.
YANKEES: Special assignment instructor Rob Thomson broke his left jawbone when struck by a batted ball during batting practice. Thomson was behind a protective screen and lightly tossing batting practice to Miguel Cairo in an indoor cage when the ball came off Cairo's bat, ricocheted off a chair that had been pushed aside and hit Thomson.
OBITUARY: Gloria Aaron, sister of home run king Hank Aaron, died Saturday in Mobile, Ala. She was 66.
