KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Pat Venditte can see why he’s such a curiosity. It’s not every day that a pitcher throws with both arms.
Venditte showed off his ambidextrous talents for the New York Yankees on Tuesday, giving up one run in 11/3 innings during a 9-6 split-squad loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Making his first appearance for the Yankees, Venditte took over for CC Sabathia with two outs in the fifth inning and tossed four warmup pitches with each hand. The 24-year-old reliever switched back and forth, depending on whether he was facing a righty or lefty, and gave up two hits and a walk.
“I think I have to,” he said. “I don’t have overpowering stuff from either side, so I think I really need this.”
Verditte, who uses a six-finger glove, pitched for two teams in Class A last season and went a combined 4-2 with 22 saves and a 1.87 ERA. He is scheduled to begin the season at Class A Tampa.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Sabathia said. “I felt like we kept changing pitchers before I figured out what was happening.”
Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami pitched five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run. He was scheduled to go longer but he developed a blister on his right index finger and manager Bobby Cox decided to take him out as a precaution.
Clint Sammons hit his first homer of the spring in the fourth off Sabathia. Troy Glaus raised his spring average to .372 with two doubles, and Melky Cabrera also had two hits against his former teammates.
Reyes plays in minors
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes played in minor league game Tuesday, his first action since being sidelined with a thyroid problem.
Reyes, who returned to camp last Wednesday, went 1-for-5 with a double against the Cardinals’ Triple-A team and played three innings in the field. He took batting practice for the first time Monday.
Cubs release Millar
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Chicago Cubs released Kevin Millar on Tuesday, giving their final roster spot to infielder Chad Tracy.
The 38-year-old Millar hit .242 in 18 games this spring. He batted .223 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs for Toronto last year.
He has also played for Florida, Boston and Baltimore.