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Lee throws 3 to stop Rangers in Mariners debut

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Cliff Lee pitched his first three innings of the Cactus League season, threw 46 pitches, gave up five hits and one run, said he felt no pain in his left foot and perhaps most importantly, finished the day with the same team with whom he started.

And the Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Wednesday.

In the past three years, Lee has been sent down to the minors and brought back up (2007), won a Cy Young (2008), traded to Philadelphia (last July), gone 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in the postseason (including 2-0 in the World Series) and been traded to the Mariners. He's moved so much that if all his magazine subscriptions ever do catch up to him, there will probably be so many yellow forwarding slips that the SI swimsuit cover model may look like she won the Tour de France.

Lee, who would be eligible for free agency after the season, said he's had no contract discussions with the Mariners yet. Although he's only been sharing a clubhouse with his new teammates less than a month, he said that's long enough for him to know he can be comfortable with Seattle. "It didn't take me long to realize that it's good people here and a good organization here," he said after his three innings against Texas. "In free agency, you don't get a chance to spend time with the team and the guys to see if you're going to like it."

He said he would prefer not to deal with any contract issues once the season starts.

"I'm focused on preparing for the season. If I sign here, great, and if that doesn't work out and I become a free agent, that's good, too. It's a win-win situation," Lee said. "I'm just going to prepare and take care of business and try to give the team a chance to win every time I take the mound. I could be traded again. You never know what's going to happen. That's the nature of this business. All I can do is control what I can control. Take care of my preparation and get ready for the season."

Lee's Cactus League debut was delayed due to surgery to remove a floating bone spur from his left foot. He said the foot feels fine and that it is a non-issue. He said he probably will throw about 60 pitches his next game.

"I'm glad he's on our team," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "It's good to have a guy who understands how to pitch out of jams. A guy who doesn't lose his composure, who's won a World Series [game], who's won a Cy Young. That's where we hope there's some influence on some of the younger guys, like Ryan Rowland-Smith, or Felix Hernandez even. It's nice to be able to have him in the rotation."

Mike Sweeney, a 15-year veteran who signed a minor league deal right before camp, had a three-run double for Kansas City and is 10 for 13 in four spring games.

Milton Bradley had an RBI groundout in the first and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth before Sweeney's bases-clearing double.

C.J. Wilson, getting a chance to move from the bullpen to the Texas rotation, allowed a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki and a leadoff walk to Josh Wilson in the third. Both scored. Wilson struck out two, walked one and yielded one hit in his three innings.

"I ended up throwing my full allotment of pitches which is good," Wilson said. "The thing they have been stressing with me a lot is minimizing big innings and just going out there and challenging guys to hit the ball and put it in play."

Hard-throwing Neftali Feliz, who also could transition into the rotation, gave up four runs and four hits over two innings. All three of his strikeouts came in the fourth, and all the runs came in the fifth.

Game notes
Texas stars 3B Michael Young, 2B Ian Kinsler and CF Josh Hamilton got the day off. They are scheduled to make the two-hour trip to Tucson for Thursday's game against Colorado. ... Wakamatsu said LHP Erik Bedard, recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, is long-tossing with no problems. "He is still a ways away from getting on the mound, but everything right now is extremely good," Wakamatsu said. Bedard might be sidelined until June.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.