Twins to honor Puckett

The Minnesota Twins paid tribute to Kirby Puckett at their spring training home in Fort Myers, Fla., when they played there yesterday for the first time since the Hall of Famer's death.

The grounds crew stenciled Puckett's retired uniform No. 34 in red in front of the third- and first-base lines. Flags flew at half-staff, and players and fans observed a moment of silence before the Twins' 3-2 loss to Cincinnati.

Puckett died Monday, a day after a stroke. The popular outfielder, who led the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991, was 45.

Center fielder Torii Hunter, who served as an apprentice to Puckett while Hunter was in the minor leagues, hung a Puckett jersey next to his locker and said he will bring it with him when the team breaks camp and heads back to Minneapolis.

Some of the Twins players and coaches will make the trip to Minneapolis Sunday to attend a memorial service at the Metrodome. The Twins will honor Puckett in a free public ceremony Sunday evening at the stadium, with testimonials from family, friends, and current and former Twins, along with video highlights of his life and career. The family plans a private ceremony earlier that day.

In yesterday's game, Edwin Encarnacion and Dewayne Wise homered for the Reds in a 3-2 victory. Encarnacion is hitting .500 (8 for 16) with four homers, seven extra-base hits, and 10 RBIs.

Roger Clemens said it's unlikely he'll start pitching at the beginning of the major league season, which would seem to mean he's angling to return to the Astros, if he decides to pitch at all past the World Baseball Classic. ''I don't see myself starting this season unless something really, really kicks in to where I get that edge. I'm just trying to fade away a little bit," said Clemens, who starts for Team USA tomorrow against South Africa . . . Mets pitcher Pedro Martínez threw his longest bullpen session in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and appears ready to face batters soon. Martínez, whose right big toe hurts because of the repeated motion of his follow-through, threw 62 pitches, nearly double his previous high.

Pittsburgh's Sean Casey, facing Cincinnati for the first time since the December trade that sent him to his hometown team, was struck in the helmet by a pitch from Reds lefthander Michael Gosling in the third inning of a 5-0 Pirates victory in Sarasota, Fla. Casey, who had minor swelling above his right eye, was on the ground for about 30 seconds as the crowd was silenced and Gosling covered his head while crouching in front of the mound. Casey went to first base and left the game after the inning. ''Yeah, I thought I had some friends over here," Casey said with a laugh. After the inning, Casey, who played eight years for the Reds, approached Gosling to let him know he had no problem with the pitch. Gosling pitched three scoreless innings, but was upset with the pitch that hit Casey. ''He is the worst person you could hit," he said. ''I was really glad to see him get up and run to first base."

Andy Marte, who was acquired from the Red Sox in the Coco Crisp deal, went 4 for 4 with a home run, double, and three RBIs to lead Cleveland over Toronto, 7-4, in a split-squad game in Dunedin, Fla. . . . Paul Byrd, who signed a two-year, $14.25 million deal, gave up seven runs and nine hits in 1 2/3 innings as Cleveland's split-squad team fell to the Mets, 7-1, in Winter Haven, Fla. . . . Washington general manager Jim Bowden was angry following the Nationals' 7-4, 10-inning loss to St. Louis in Viera, Fla. ''I have been embarrassed the last two days," Bowden said. ''There's going to be major cuts in the next 48 hours." Center fielder Marlon Byrd's 10th-inning error allowed the tiebreaking run to score, and the Nationals dropped to 1-6-1. On Tuesday, the Nationals were routed by Florida, 22-12 . . . Josh Barfield, son of former major leaguer Jesse, had four hits, including a ninth-inning grand slam, and Doug Mirabelli homered and drove in four in the Padres' 13-8 win over the Cubs in Mesa, Ariz. . . . Eric Gagne, in his first game since undergoing right elbow surgery in June, threw a five-pitch inning and Jeff Kent, who had surgery on his right wrist, went 2 for 3 in the Dodgers' 9-3 victory over Baltimore in Vero Beach, Fla. Bill Mueller hit a two-run homer in the sixth.