Oakland's Anderson leaves with forearm stiffness

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) " Brett Anderson brushed off his tweaked forearm like a seasoned veteran. Carl Pavano also didn't seem too concerned Friday about his difficult day on the mound.

Anderson threw two scoreless innings in the Oakland Athletics' 7-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians before departing with left forearm stiffness. The top prospect said it wasn't serious.

"It's just stiffness, nothing major," he said. "They're just being overly cautious here in spring training."

Anderson, a 21-year-old left-hander, is a candidate for Oakland's rotation even though he's never pitched above Double-A in the regular season. The A's decided against taking any chances when he mentioned the stiffness.

"I told them I was 100 percent fine and I could have gone more, but they were being overly cautious, which is definitely understandable," Anderson said.

Anderson has allowed two runs in 11 2-3 innings this spring. He said he will make his next start on Wednesday against the White Sox.

"I don't anticipate him missing anything," manager Bob Geren said.

Pavano had a rough outing for the Indians, surrendering six runs and seven hits in four innings. He struck out two and walked three.

"Result-wise, no one wants to go out there and give up six runs, but there are some things that I am trying to establish right now and I think I took a positive step in that direction," Pavano said.

Indians manager Eric Wedge said he wasn't concerned about Pavano's results.

"He was on-line again and the baseball is doing what he wants it to do, but I felt like he got the ball elevated a little bit," Wedge said. "He is a guy who needs to leverage the baseball."

Josh Barfield, who is making the transition from second base to utilityman this spring, started in center for Cleveland and made two diving catches.

"He has looked really good," Wedge said. "I think that he has looked best in center field. The more versatile he can be, the better."

Rajai Davis had three hits and Cliff Pennington had three RBIs for Oakland, which also got some positive news about right-hander Justin Duchscherer.

Duchscherer threw 25 pitches in the bullpen at the team's complex in Phoenix. It was his first time throwing off a mound in three weeks. He had been battling a sore elbow.

"I'm excited, because it's the first time I've thrown with some velocity without pain," he said. "That's certainly a positive sign."

Duchscherer threw all of his pitches, working at about 90 percent. He is not sure what the next step will be for him, but he is at least a week from getting into an exhibition game. It is too late for Duchscherer to be ready to start the season in the A's rotation, but there has been some talk about him beginning the season in the bullpen while he builds his pitch count.

"The only way I'd pitch out of relief is to build my pitch count up to start," Duchscherer said. "I don't want to be a reliever. I'd rather help the team by throwing two, three innings, whatever I can. Ultimately that's up to them. Whatever they think is best."

Pitching coach Curt Young said if all goes well Duchscherer would throw again on Monday.

Victor Martinez homered for the Tribe.

Notes: Indians RHP Fausto Carmona escaped serious injury after being struck in the right forearm with a line drive in an intrasquad game on Thursday. He is not certain he will be able to make his next scheduled start, but he didn't think the injury would keep him out long term. ... Oakland 3B Eric Chavez will undergo strenuous testing on Saturday to determine if he's ready to take the next step in his rehab. Chavez, who had shoulder surgery last August, has been throwing for a week, but he hasn't hit in nearly two weeks. The A's are still hoping he can be ready for opening day. ... 2B Mark Ellis is scheduled to play defense in a minor league game on Saturday, his first time in the field in a game this spring. Ellis, who is rehabbing from shoulder surgery, would then play a second minor league game on Monday, and make his defensive debut in a big league game on Wednesday against the White Sox. Ellis has been hitting all spring. ... SS Orlando Cabrera missed a second consecutive day of workouts because of an illness, Geren said. ... Oakland 1B Jason Giambi will be back in the field on Saturday after spending a few days at designated hitter because of sore legs.