Female umpire calls exhibition

Gagne, Rogers to start season on DL

Kenny Rogers and Eric Gagne will start the season on the disabled list, while Freddy Sanchez and Jim Edmonds might be ready soon.

But the most intriguing person on the field at spring training Thursday has no shot at being in the big leagues next week – she’ll be making close calls in the minors.

Ria Cortesio became the first female umpire to work a major-league exhibition game since Pam Postema in 1989 when she was on the bases as the Chicago Cubs beat an Arizona Diamondbacks split squad, 7-4, in Mesa, Ariz.

Cortesio hustled all over the infield and made her calls with an emphatic fist pump. Always in the right position, she did what every umpire hopes to do during a ballgame: She blended in.

Her performance before a HoHoKam Park-record crowd of 12,917 was pretty much like the sunny 64-degree day. It was flawless.

“It was pretty uneventful. I didn’t have much,” Cortesio said.

At least not on the field. Her phone started ringing early Thursday morning as the hype surrounding her assignment began to build.

“When I found out I had this game, my plan was to sneak in, work the game and sneak out and hope no one noticed,” she said. “That didn’t happen.”

No female umpire ever has worked a regular-season game in the majors. Cortesio obviously hopes to be the first. That’s her plan.

“Absolute best-case scenario, we’re looking at 2009 to get a couple of games,” she said.

At Lakeland, Fla., Rogers was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a tired arm, a move that makes Chad Durbin the Detroit Tigers’ fifth starter.

The move, retroactive to Sunday, sends Rogers to the DL for the first time since 2001. Manager Jim Leyland said the 42-year-old left-hander would miss only one start.

Texas will put Gagne on the DL to start the season, giving the closer more time to come back from elbow and back operations.

The Rangers said Gagne hadn’t had any health setbacks. The 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner has pitched only 151â3 innings over the past two seasons.

“I feel pretty good, but I think this is going to help the team,” Gagne said in Surprise, Ariz., after throwing 15 pitches in a minor-league game.

At Bradenton, Fla., Sanchez went 2-for-8 in a minor-league intrasquad game, the first time the Pittsburgh Pirates’ infielder ran the bases and played in the field since hurting his knee March 6.

“I just tried to get out there and push it,” Sanchez said.

The NL batting champion (.344) thought he did that successfully – increasing the chances he might be able to play in the Pirates’ season-opening series that starts Monday in Houston.

At Jupiter, Fla., Edmonds finally looked ready for opening day, just in time for the St. Louis Cardinals to begin making their way north.

Edmonds got his first hit and RBI of spring training in the Grapefruit League finale for the World Series champions, who tied the Florida Marlins, 4-4. It was only the fourth game for Edmonds, who missed much of the exhibition schedule while recovering from shoulder and toe surgeries.

Devil Rays 3, Red Sox 3

At Fort Myers, Fla., Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson allowed one run in six innings.

Indians 8, Braves 2

At Kissimmee, Fla., Fausto Carmona pitched six hitless innings, and Cleveland touched Tim Hudson for three runs in the fourth.

Mets 13, Dodgers (ss) 2

At Vero Beach, Fla., Lastings Milledge, fighting for one of the final spots on New York’s roster, returned to action after missing three games because of a bruised right hand and went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Phillies 5, Pirates 5

At Bradenton, Fla., Ryan Howard hit a long home run that landed on a practice field. Pat Burrell followed with another shot off Pittsburgh starter Shawn Chacon.

Brewers 4, Angels (ss) 2

At Phoenix, Geoff Jenkins doubled twice and drove in three runs. Chris Capuano allowed one run in five innings.

Padres (ss) 6, Mariners (ss) 1

At Peoria, Ariz., Jake Peavy needed only 44 pitches to get through his final tuneup of the spring. San Diego’s opening-day starter looked sharp as he threw three shutout innings.

Twins 10, Reds 2

At Sarasota, Fla., Carlos Silva followed his worst performance of spring training with his best, pitching five shutout innings for Minnesota.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3

At Dunedin, Fla., Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter hit opposite-field homers. Rodriguez has hit all four of his home runs in the past week.

White Sox 5, Barons (AA) 4

At Hoover, Ala., Brian Anderson hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth for Chicago, which beat its Double-A affiliate and stopped a seven-game skid.