Barry Bonds took a swing during batting practice, and San Francisco Giants trainer Stan Conte suddenly became the center of attention.

Bonds injured his back during warmups Wednesday and missed San Francisco's game against the Texas Rangers, leaving Conte to provide a hopeful prognosis about the Giants slugger.

"This has happened to him before," Conte said in Scottsdale, Ariz. "It's not considered serious. But in the best interest of everyone, he's not going to play today. Barry wanted to play, but I convinced him not to.

"It's just a stiffness that occurs from time to time. He has no pain down his leg. It's really just an ache in his back. He's had this before."

Bonds swung at a batting-practice pitch, then walked out of the batting cage and threw his bat down.

He was flat on the grass behind the cage as Giants assistant trainer Barney Nugent worked on his back. Several minutes later, Bonds stood up, walked back into the cage, swung at another pitch, then walked off the field.

Bonds went to the trainer's room, and the 39-year-old outfielder remained there the rest of the morning.

In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the Marlins expect third baseman Mike Lowell to miss this weekend's games against Houston in Mexico City with an inflamed right elbow.

An MRI performed Monday on the elbow, which has bothered Lowell since last year's World Series, revealed the inflammation. Lowell has been told to rest for five to seven days.

Lowell is 3-for-7 in four spring training games.

In Port St. Lucie, Fla., police said no charges will be filed against Karim Garcia and Shane Spencer in their parking-lot dispute with a local pizza deliveryman.

Eric Vidal, 20, had accused the New York Mets outfielders of roughing him up last week. He filed a report, and police made an investigation into his allegation of misdemeanor simple battery.

The State Attorney's office reviewed the facts and told the Port St. Lucie criminal investigation division there would be no charges.

"I'm just thankful that it's all over," Spencer said. "I'm not happy I was in that situation. It was embarrassing. I'm here to play baseball."

Garcia and Spencer gave statements to police Tuesday at the Mets' spring-training complex.

"I'm just glad they got my side of this and they handled it," Garcia said.

Garcia and Spencer both were fined $500 by the Mets after the dispute last Thursday night. General manager Jim Duquette apologized to a representative of the Big Apple Pizza restaurant chain.

In Tampa, Fla., Gary Sheffield was angry over the New York Yankees' public discussion of his thumb injury.

Sheffield, back at spring training, was upset the Yankees said earlier this week that the torn ligament might require surgery.

"That was out before anybody talked to me, and it's going to be dealt with," Sheffield said. "Everybody should have waited to see what happened before they made those statements."

Following a visit to a hand specialist in New York on Tuesday, the outfielder was cleared to play.

Twins 5, Yankees (ss) 3

At Fort Myers, Fla., Jacque Jones went 2-for-2 with a double and a two-run homer. Hideki Matsui homered for New York.

Blue Jays (ss) 8, Yankees (ss) 2

At Dunedin, Fla., Kevin Brown allowed two runs and five hits over three innings. Toronto starter Pat Hentgen gave up one hit over two scoreless innings.

Blue Jays 13 (ss), Pirates 11

At Bradenton, Fla., Tim Whittaker hit a go-ahead single in the ninth off Hector Almonte after Jorge Sequea hit a two-run homer off Joe Beimel.

Red Sox 4, Cardinals 3

At Jupiter, Fla., Matt Morris gave up a two-run homer in the first to David Ortiz, then allowed only two more baserunners during his last three innings.

Reds 6, Devil Rays 1

At Sarasota, Fla., Brandon Larson had a two-run homer, double and single. He has eight RBIs in the last three games and is hitting .462 this spring with two homers.

Marlins (ss) 15, Orioles 7

At Fort Lauderdale, Ramon Castro hit his team-leading third homer of the spring and had three RBIs.

Expos 7, Indians (ss) 5

At Viera, Fla., Carl Everett homered from both sides of the plate and drove in four runs.

Tigers 9 (ss), Indians 8 (ss)

At Lakeland, Fla., Ivan Rodriguez got fitted for his Marlins World Series ring, then hit a leadoff single to spark a ninth-inning rally for the Tigers. Greg Norton hit a three-run single with two outs.

Tigers (ss) 7, Dodgers (ss) 6

At Vero Beach, Fla., Don Kelly hit a tying two-run double and scored the go-ahead run in a five-run ninth.

Mariners 7, Angels 1

At Tempe, Ariz., Terry Mulholland allowed one run and four hits over three innings in his first appearance of the spring, and Edgar Martinez had three hits and three RBIs.

Rangers 8, Giants 2

At Scottsdale, Alfonso Soriano had two RBIs. He has a hit in every game he's played and is batting .438 (7-for-16).

Brewers 8, Rockies (ss) 5

At Phoenix, Geoff Jenkins hit his first homer of the spring, and Gary Bennett was 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

Diamondbacks 13, Cubs (ss) 7

At Tucson, Ariz., Alex Cintron hit a three-run homer in a six-run sixth, and Brandon Webb allowed one hit in three scoreless innings.

Cubs (ss) 8, Athletics (ss) 3

At Mesa, Ariz., Kerry Wood struck out five in 3 1-3 innings but threw just 35 of 61 pitches for strikes.

Athletics (ss) 6, Padres 3

At Peoria, Ariz., Mark Kotsay homered, doubled and scored three runs against his former team. Ramon Hernandez and Terrence Long, traded for Kotsay, combined to go 1-for-8 for San Diego.

Royals 9, White Sox (ss) 6

At Surprise, Ariz., Aaron Rowland drove in five runs with a two-run single in the first, an RBI single in

the second and a two-run double in the fifth. Dodgers (ss) 4, Marlins (ss) 3

At Jupiter, Fla., Wilkin Ruan singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Dodgers handed the defending world champion Marlins their first loss of the spring.

Astros 1, Mets 0

At Kissimmee, Fla., Houston's Roy Oswalt faced 11 batters and gave up just one hit in his second appearance since offseason groin surgery.

Braves 5, Phillies 0

At Kissimmee, Fla., Marcus Giles homered for the second straight game and Horacio Ramirez threw three perfect innings.

Rockies 6, White Sox 5

At Tucson, Ariz., Kit Pellow hit two homers, and Aaron Miles had the game-winning RBI single in the ninth against his former team.