LANSING, Mich. - Cubs right-hander Mark Prior pitched three hitless innings Thursday in his first minor-league rehabilitation start of the season.
Prior, on the disabled list all season with an inflamed Achilles' tendon and a sore elbow, said there was "room for improvement" after his outing for Class A Lansing of the Midwest League. He struck out five and walked one, throwing 25 of 45 pitches for strikes.
"I wasn't holding anything back," Prior said. "I pitched like it was a regular game at Wrigley Field."
Prior, who went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 2003, last started for the Cubs in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series in October. He pitched in an extended spring training game last weekend.
"I felt good, for the most part," Prior said. "This was the first time I've pitched in a real game, with a crowd, with things on the line."
Prior threw mostly fastballs before a crowd of 9,823.
The Cubs also put right-hander Kerry Wood on the disabled list after deciding they didn't want him returning to the rotation until his sore triceps is completely healed. Wood threw 24 pitches in a bullpen session and was about "95 percent," general manager Jim Hendry said.
EXPOS MOVE: Commissioner Bud Selig expressed confidence that a new home for the Montreal Expos will be selected by mid July. After missing targets for decisions in 2002 and 2003, officials finally appear to be moving ahead. Washington and northern Virginia appear to be the leading contenders.
At the owners meeting in New York, Selig had doctors address owners about steroids, said the sport is moving ahead with a baseball-only channel and said a decision whether to start a World Cup tournament in March must be made within a month.
BONDS STILL AILING: Leftfielder Barry Bonds was out of the lineup for a second straight day, but Giants manager Felipe Alou said no decision has been made on whether to put the slugger on the disabled list. Bonds has missed five of six games with back spasms. Bonds and the Giants visit the Devil Rays for an interleague series June 8-10.
WELLS HURT IN FALL: David Wells said the accident that put him on the disabled list was caused when he tripped over a bar stool in his kitchen.
The Padres left-hander denied reports that the mishap Sunday night happened while he was roughhousing with a friend, but he admitted the chain of events started when a buddy slapped him on the back of the neck.
"I was at my counter, and I just turned around and said, "Knock it off,' took two steps and the bar stool was right there and I kicked it," he said. "When I kicked it, I tripped. I was wearing flip-flops. I lost my balance and went right over. I did a header over the bar stool."
A'S: Hall of Famer outfielder Reggie Jackson's No. 9 jersey will be retired Saturday at Network Associates Coliseum.
BRAVES: The leader of a group that wants to buy the team says Time Warner Inc. is not willing to discuss the offer. "We're obviously disappointed. We would have liked to have done something," Charles Vaughn, an Atlanta investor who helped form the cable network SportSouth USA, said a day after receiving word.
METS: Left-hander Al Leiter went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 12 with shoulder tendinitis.
PIRATES: Shortstop Jack Wilson sat out with a sore left knee a day after playing both games of a doubleheader. An MRI exam found nothing wrong.
RANGERS: Rookie catcher Gerald Laird tore a ligament in his left hand on a tag in the first.
TWINS: Leftfielder Shannon Stewart missed his third straight game with a right foot injury. The strained plantar fascia could send him to the disabled list.
