Pavano loses in rehab start with Tampa
Pavano, pitching against the Brevard County Manatees, the Brewers' Florida State League affiliate, allowed three unearned runs on four hits, walking one and striking out four. He threw 80 pitches, 61 for strikes.
The right-hander, who now has 30 days to complete his rehab assignment, gave up a home run in the outing, also allowing three stolen bases.
"Hopefully five days from now, he's pitching another ballgame," manager Joe Torre said before Sunday's game. "I'm happy he's starting the clock, because he seems like he's ready, both emotionally and physically."
Pavano missed most of Spring Training while recovering from a back injury, then had another setback when he bruised his backside while diving into first base on March 30.
Down under: If Gary Sheffield is forced to spend time on the disabled list, the Yankees could call up either Kevin Thompson or Melky Cabrera to take his place on the roster.
Thompson, who has been the starting right fielder for Triple-A Columbus, is hitting .286 with three home runs, nine RBIs and a team-leading 20 runs scored in 26 games. Cabrera, the Clippers' center fielder, is hitting .368 with three homers and a team-best 21 RBIs in 29 games.
"We have some players that have been playing well down below," Torre said. "If we do have to lay him up a little bit, we'll dip into our Minor League system and find a player who can come up here and have a chance to help us."
Even with Bernie Williams and Bubba Crosby on the roster, Torre could hand the starting job to one of the youngsters should Sheffield land on the DL.
"If somebody is playing every day at the Minor League level, you probably should try to play them every day here," the manager said. "We'll decide when we see who that person is."
Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com.