Baseball Notebook | Griffey homers in spring debut

SARASOTA, Fla. — Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn homered in the first inning Saturday off Zach Duke, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-11 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Griffey, the former Mariner, hit a two-run shot, his first homer of spring training. Dunn added a solo drive off Duke, who gave up six hits and four earned runs in two innings.

Reds manager Dusty Baker rested Griffey and Dunn in the first two Grapefruit League games, giving him a chance to look at younger players.

"It's good to see them swing the bats this well, this early," Baker said.

Lester's rough start

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jon Lester wasn't as sharp as he was the last time he took the mound.

The Tacoma native, who was the winning pitcher for Boston in the 2007 World Series clincher, walked four of nine batters in his first spring start, the Red Sox's 7-6 victory over Minnesota.

Lester gave up five runs — four earned — and got just three outs.

"It's early," Lester said. "My fastball wasn't very good. I was just kind of behind with everything right now. It's just a work in progress. That's what spring training is for."

Piniella erupts

TEMPE, Ariz. — A relatively sleepy Chicago Cubs camp exploded when right-hander Jason Marquis said he'd rather be traded than go to the bullpen, prompting an angry response from manager Lou Piniella.

"Well, if that's the case, he can go somewhere else," Piniella said. "Win a spot in the rotation, you don't have to worry about it. ... I've got seven starters here for five spots. It's a little bit too early to start talking about what he wants to do or not do."

Notes

• Mets RF Ryan Church sustained a concussion in a violent collision with teammate Marlon Anderson and will be sidelined at least a couple of days.

In other Mets news, 1B Carlos Delgado returned to New York for an MRI on his ailing right hip.

• Tom Glavine threw 30 pitches in two innings, striking out two and giving up a homer in the Braves' 7-5 exhibition win over the Astros, his first start for Atlanta in six years.

• Reds SS Alex Gonzalez, who has a compression fracture in his left knee, likely will miss the start of the season.

• Nationals RHP Shawn Hill will seek a second opinion after complaining of tightness in his right forearm. An MRI Friday showed no evidence of a tendon tear or swelling.

• RHP Chien-Ming Wang likely will be the Yankees' opening-day starter, manager Joe Girardi said.