Dodgers put Gagne on DL; Yanks' Brown leaves early

Kevin Brown's fickle back is acting up again for the New York Yankees, just in time for the regular season. Eric Gagne's elbow isn't doing much better.

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed their closer on the 15-day disabled list Friday night with a sprained right elbow. Gagne felt soreness in the elbow -- the same one repaired with Tommy John surgery in 1995 -- after Thursday's game.

"It wasn't on any one pitch. There wasn't a bolt of pain or any severe pain, from what I understand," general manager Paul DePodesta said. "He had an MRI today and there's no tear, so he is structurally sound. His soreness is over the drill holes where the surgery was done 10 years ago, but structurally, he's in real good shape."

Earlier, Brown left his final spring outing after three innings because he felt "stiff and achy." Now the 39-year-old right-hander, ineffective for much of last year because of back pain, could miss his first scheduled start next week.

"We just hope it's nothing that's going to lay him up," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We're going to have to see how he is. Certainly if he's not healthy, we're going to have to look at it and see if we make an adjustment."

Brown gave up four runs and six hits in a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. Carlos Pena touched him up for a two-run homer and an RBI single.

"I thought I'd go ahead and get out of there before I had a chance to do any real damage," Brown said.

He had been scheduled to make his first start next Friday against Baltimore at Yankee Stadium.

Jaret Wright, currently the fifth starter, isn't slated to make his first start until April 15 at Baltimore. Wright, who allowed two hits in four scoreless innings Friday, could move into Brown's slot.

"I'm ready for anything," Wright said. "Whatever they want to do. It's definitely not something where you want to get in there by default."

If Brown is sidelined for an extended period, Tanyon Sturtze could become New York's No. 5 starter.

With Gagne out at least two weeks, the Dodgers could turn to Yhency Brazoban, Duaner Sanchez or Giovanni Carrara to close games.

"Fortunately, we have a lot of depth this year on our pitching staff, but we're taxing that depth a little earlier than I thought were going to have to -- with the number of guys who are going to start the season on the DL," DePodesta said.

Elsewhere, Curt Schilling and Ted Lilly will start the year on the disabled list, as expected.

Schilling is still working his way back from right ankle surgery in November, so the Red Sox placed him on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 26.

"He should only miss about 10 days of the season, if everything goes according to plan," manager Terry Francona said in Phoenix, where his team played Arizona. "His rehab is going very well."

Toronto placed Lilly on the 15-day disabled list, also retroactive to March 25. He has not pitched in a major league exhibition game this spring because of left shoulder tendinitis.

Kris Benson's first regular-season start was pushed back two days because the New York Mets pitcher has a strained right pectoral muscle.

He originally was scheduled to start the third game of the season next Thursday in Cincinnati, but left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii will pitch instead. Benson will go Saturday in Atlanta.

"I was never really concerned about it," Benson said in Port St. Lucie, Fla. "I felt I could start my regular day, but this way they have a definite starter on Thursday."

In other news, the Diamondbacks chose their No. 5 starter, giving the job to Brad Halsey over fellow left-hander Michael Gosling, who will begin the season as a long reliever.

Carlos Baerga was reassigned to the Washington Nationals' minor league camp and will try to catch on with another team.

And All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford agreed to a $15.25 million, four-year contract with Tampa Bay that could be worth up to $32.5 million over six seasons.

In other spring training games:

Diamondbacks 10, Red Sox 3

At Phoenix, Brandon Webb pitched six solid innings in his final tuneup for the regular season. Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was chased after getting only two outs. He allowed six runs, six hits and two walks in the first inning.

Boston right-hander Wade Miller (right shoulder strain) and outfielder Adam Stern (broken right thumb) were put on the DL retroactive to March 25.

Nationals 3, Devil Rays 2

At Viera, Fla., Nick Johnson homered and Zach Day threw six strong innings for Washington, which broke camp and packed up in preparation for its inaugural season.

Pirates 5, Twins 4

At Bradenton, Fla., Mark Redman had another rough outing, but Jack Wilson homered for Pittsburgh. Carlos Silva allowed two hits over five scoreless innings for Minnesota in his first start since March 18.

Rangers 11, Rockies 7

At Albuquerque, N.M., Byung-Hyun Kim was battered in his Colorado debut, allowing six earned runs and six hits in just one-third of an inning. Texas starter Kenny Rogers gave up only one earned run in five innings.

Astros 8, Round Rock 2

At Round Rock, Texas, Andy Pettitte pitched five scoreless innings against Houston's Triple-A affiliate before leaving with two runners on in the sixth. He is scheduled to start the second game of the season against St. Louis.

Reds 6, Blue Jays 2

At Memphis, Tenn., Danny Graves threw a scoreless inning and Cincinnati scored five runs off Pete Walker in the first. Sean Casey had an RBI double.

Marlins 11, Mets 9

At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Mark Little's two-run homer in the ninth inning helped Florida survive New York's five-run rally in the home half. Carlos Delgado and Miguel Cabrera also homered for the Marlins.

Brewers 7, White Sox 6

At Milwaukee, Junior Spivey homered and had three RBIs, and Derrick Turnbow saved his third game of the spring for the Brewers.

Orioles 3, Cardinals 1

At Oklahoma City, Bruce Chen secured the fifth spot in Baltimore's rotation with five scoreless innings and Luis Matos drove in the winning run with a triple in the ninth inning.