FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Scott Erickson kept feeding Mark McGwire fastballs yesterday, and McGwire kept putting them into play. At least he wasn't putting them into orbit.

McGwire went 2-for-2 without a homer against Erickson in St. Louis' 7-4 victory over the Orioles before an overflow crowd at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. He blooped a broken-bat single into left field in the first inning and lined another single into center in the third.

Facing left-hander Terry Burrows leading off the sixth, McGwire lined to second and was removed from the game.

Erickson, one of the game's true power pitchers, wasn't going to change his methods, even for McGwire.

"I was falling behind him," Erickson said. "I threw one breaking ball and missed, then a fastball in and he broke his bat. The other one was a fastball down the middle."

Erickson got off to a rough start, walking leadoff hitter David Howard and allowing J. D. Drew's third homer of the spring, a missile to left-center field on a pitch "right down the middle with nothing on it." McGwire singled and moved to second on a wild pitch, but Erickson retired the next three batters, including Shawon Dunston on a liner to third with two outs.

Erickson went four innings, as Mike Mussina did the previous day. He didn't allow another run after the first, escaping a jam in the fourth when former Oriole Eric Davis reached on an error and Dunston beat out a high chopper to short. Erickson got Fernando Tatis to ground into a double play and retired Eli Marrero on a liner to third.

"It's the same as any other start down here. I'm trying to build up the stamina, go the extra inning and get the pitches up," Erickson said. "I feel all right. My velocity's not anywhere near what it should be. Once you start popping the ball pretty good, that's a good sign your getting closer to where you want to be."

DeShields throws

While his teammates took batting practice and shagged flies before the game, second baseman Delino DeShields did some throwing with assistant trainer Brian Ebel.

It's not much, but it's a start.

DeShields has a plastic splint on his left hand to protect a fractured thumb and won't be able to swing a bat for about three weeks. Unable to wear a glove, he had strength and conditioning coach Tim Bishop stand beside him and catch the return throws from Ebel.

Later, DeShields said his arm felt good.

McGwire draws crowd

Many of the Orioles put lunch on hold yesterday. With McGwire taking batting practice, the clubhouse spread could wait.

About 25 players, coaches and front-office executives crowded into the dugout and on a metal bench to watch McGwire tee off, and they weren't disappointed. He hit nine balls out, including two that crashed into the scoreboard in left-center field. Most of his blasts cleared the high screen in left and touched down on one of the back fields. A few others were pulled foul, but traveled just as far.

Fans arrived early to get the best view, and they broke into a loud ovation each time McGwire stepped out of the cage. Davis, who signed with the Cardinals as a free agent this winter, turned to them and waved his batting helmet.

"Thanks. It was nothing," he said, grinning.

Hoiles on track

Chris Hoiles will split time today between designated hitter and absentee race car owner. Two years of preparation come to fruition this afternoon when Hoiles Motor Sports places an entry into the Busch Series event at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Ga.

"It's an exciting thing," Hoiles said. "We've been looking forward to this for a long time. It's an opportunity for us to get some exposure and hopefully get rolling toward bigger things."

The team's entry was jeopardized last week when a corporate sponsor withdrew. However, an individual stepped forward to commit much of the $30,000 needed for the week.

Blood ahead of schedule

Minor-league pitcher Darin Blood resumed throwing this week and hopes to salvage some of his time in camp before most likely winding up at Triple-A Rochester.

Blood was shut down in January after having arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. He threw off a mound for 20 minutes on Monday and for 30 the next day.

"So far so good. No setbacks," said Blood, who was acquired from San Francisco in late July for outfielder Joe Carter. "Monday I was a little hesitant at first, being the first time out there, but once I got that out of the way and was able to just relax and throw, it felt pretty good.

"Right now, I'm just playing it by ear, making sure we don't have any problems. So far it's been an excellent recovery and we're ahead of schedule."

Umps file Cuba grievance

Baseball umpires filed a grievance to prevent the American League from sending them to Cuba for the Orioles' historic exhibition game.

The Associated Press reports that the grievance is probably over money. As part of the agreement with Cuban sports officials for the Orioles' exhibition games, half of the umpiring crew was to come from the American League, the other half from Cuba.

Sun staff writer Joe Strauss contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 3/13/99