Two of baseball’s best first basemen had reason to be encouraged Thursday. Derrek Lee looked healthy at the plate, and Todd Helton added to his big spring.

Lee doubled in his first game since March 12, when the Chicago Cubs’ slugger injured his left shoulder with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

“I didn’t know how I would feel at the plate, but I felt pretty comfortable,” Lee said in Mesa, Ariz., after Glendon Rusch pitched Chicago to a 6-1 victory over a Seattle Mariners split squad.

Helton homered and doubled twice, driving in three runs to help the Colorado Rockies beat an Arizona Diamondbacks split squad, 8-4, in Tucson, Ariz.

The five-time All-Star is 9-for-18 with four doubles and six RBIs in his last six games.

“It’s no big deal,” Helton said. “You just want to have a positive frame of mind going into the season, and it always helps to go out and get a few hits.”

He put Colorado up 1-0 in the first with an opposite-field homer on a 3-0 pitch.

“He hit it about 430 feet down the left-field line to the opposite field,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. “There’s not too many guys who can do that.”

Helton struggled early last season, then took off with a .383 average after July.

Arizona’s Craig Counsell played the field for the first time in a game this spring. He didn’t get a ball hit to him in five innings. Counsell is switching back to shortstop after playing second base last season.

“I guess I kind of forgot I didn’t play shortstop last year in this whole thing,” he said. “I’ve just got to get a little more comfortable playing shortstop, that’s for sure.”

In Viera, Fla., Alfonso Soriano’s second day in the outfield was much tougher than his first.

The Washington Nationals’ reluctant new left fielder made three routine grabs during a 1-0 victory over Baltimore, but two catchable balls fell in front of him. An experienced outfielder probably would have charged both and turned them into outs.

In the seventh inning, Soriano loped after a looper by Baltimore’s Nick Markakis, who alertly raced to second for a double when Soriano hesitated.

At Fort Myers, Fla., Boston’s bullpen is finally taking shape 11 days before the season opener. Jon Papelbon will pitch in relief, and closer Keith Foulke is headed for his first appearance on the mound soon.

In other spring training games:

Yankees 8, Astros 1

At Tampa, Fla., Alex Rodriguez stopped an 0-for-13 slide with a two-run homer, and Hideki Matsui added a solo shot for New York. Mariano Rivera worked a perfect sixth. He has given up one run, one hit and struck out 10 in seven innings this spring.

Twins 4, Red Sox 3

At Fort Myers, Fla., Kyle Lohse tossed five shutout innings for Minnesota, improving to 3-0 with a 2.12 earned-run average in five spring starts.

Indians 1, Braves 1, 10 innings

At Kissimmee, Fla., John Thomson set aside questions about his future in Atlanta, pitching six strong innings for the Braves. C.C. Sabathia was impressive for the Indians, allowing one run in six innings.

Tigers 8, Phillies 7, 10 innings

At Lakeland, Fla., Ryan Howard hit his 10th homer of the spring, a Phillies record.

Reds 6, Pirates 2

At Bradenton, Fla., Cincinnati lefty Dave Williams limited his former team to an unearned run and two hits in three innings.

Cardinals 4, Dodgers 2

At Vero Beach, Fla., Jae Seo made his Dodgers debut, allowing three runs and eight hits in five innings.

White Sox 5, Rangers 4

At Surprise, Ariz., Texas starter Kevin Millwood allowed three runs and six hits in 41â3 innings, his second start of the spring.

Athletics 6, Angels 5, 10 innings

At Tempe, Ariz., Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera hit back-to-back homers off Dan Meyer.

Brewers 7, Giants 3

At Phoenix, No. 5 starter Dave Bush pitched six scoreless innings for Milwaukee.

Blue Jays 8, Devil Rays 3

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Shea Hillenbrand and Russ Adams each homered and drove in three runs. Scott Kazmir was picked to be Tampa Bay’s opening-day starter.