Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer said yesterday he doubts he'll be ready to play by opening day due to lingering pain and inflammation in his lower back.

The reigning AL batting champion isn't sure when he'll be able to return.

"We really don't have a timetable," Mauer said. "It all just depends on how I feel. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later. There's good days and bad days.

Mauer has inflammation in the sacroiliac joint, which connects the spine to the pelvis.

Mauer had offseason surgery Dec. 22 to remove a blockage from one of his kidneys, but he said this injury isn't related to that.

ELSEWHERE

Astros: Ivan Rodriguez's $1.5 million, one-year contract with Houston was finalized after the catcher passed his physical. The 13-time Gold Glove winner hit .276 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 115 games last season with Detroit and the Yankees. Rodriguez expects to make his spring debut for the Astros tomorrow. He played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Rangers: Outfielder Andruw Jones is staying with Texas at least through the weekend, even though he has not been added to the major league roster. Jones said he agreed with the Rangers to extend by three days a provision in his minor league contract that would allow the five-time All-Star to become a free agent if he's not put on the big league roster. That pushed the deadline to Monday.

At Fort Myers, Fla.

PITTSBURGH 000 012 100— 4 11 1

BOSTON 130 011 32X—11 11 2

Karstens, D.Veal (4), Bautista (5), Burnett (7), Meek (8), Bootcheck (8) and Diaz, J.Jaramillo; Buchholz, Papelbon (6), Saito (7), Okajima (8), Lopez (9) and Varitek, Kottaras. W—Buchholz. L—Karstens. HRs—Boston, Ambres (1), Varitek (2).

At Kissimmee, Fla.

CINCINNATI 000 000 002—2 5 0

HOUSTON 020 002 00X—4 9 1

Cueto, Masset (6) and Hanigan, Castillo; Ortiz, Sampson (7), B.Norris (9), Fulchino (9) and Quintero. W—Ortiz. L—Cueto. Sv—Fulchino. HRs—Houston, Berkman (1).

At Jupiter, Fla.

PHILADELPHIA 010 001 000 0—2 9 0

ST. LOUIS 002 000 000 0—2 6 1

Carrasco, Durbin (5), Madson (7), Koplove (8), Woods (10) and Ruiz, Paulino; Wainwright, Miller (6), F.Salas (7), Kinney (9), L.Gregerson (10) and Molina, M.Pagnozzi. HRs—Philadelphia, Howard (6). St. Louis, Ankiel (2).

At Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

NEW YORK (N) 002 020 000—4 8 1

BALTIMORE 000 000 000—0 8 0

Perez, Parnell (4), O'Day (6), Stokes (8), Dessens (9) and Rivera, Castro; Baez, Albers (5), Ray (6), McCrory (8), Mickolio (9) and Zaun, Wieters. W—Perez. L—Baez.

At Dunedin, Fla.

TAMPA BAY 210 100 000— 4 8 1

TORONTO 010 058 01X—15 16 0

Garza, Niemann (5), C.Medlock (6), C.Mason (8) and Navarro, Hernandez; B.Mills, Frasor (6), Camp (7), League (8), Carlson (9) and Barajas, Barrett. W—B.Mills. L—Niemann. HRs—Tampa Bay, Crawford (1). Toronto, S.Shoffit (1).

At Fort Myers, Fla.

NEW YORK (A) 000 001 021—4 9 1

MINNESOTA 001 010 000—2 7 0

Hughes, Johnson (5), A.Claggett (7), Robertson (8), Igawa (9) and Molina, Cervelli; Perkins, Nathan (6), Ayala (7), Mijares (8), J.Jones (9) and Redmond, J.Christy. W—A.Claggett. L—Mijares. Sv—Igawa. HRs—New York (A), Linden (1), Teixeira (1), Jackson (2).

At Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

FLORIDA 200 200 002 2—8 16 0

ATLANTA 000 110 220 0—6 13 1

Miller, Badenhop (6), Nunez (7), Martinez (8), Kensing (9), De La Cruz (10) and Baker, B.Hayes; Lowe, Gonzalez (6), Carlyle (7), Acosta (8), Fruto (10) and Ross, Colina. W—Kensing. L—Fruto. Sv—De La Cruz. HRs—Atlanta, J.Heyward (2), Ross (2).

At Lakeland, Fla.

WASHINGTON 000 000 200—2 6 1

DETROIT 100 400 00X—5 11 0

Balester, Wagner (5), Glover (7), Shell (8) and Valentin, Molina; Robertson, Lyon (5), Williamson (6), F.Ni (7), C.Fien (7), Seay (9) and Treanor, M.St. Pierre. W—Robertson. L—Balester. Sv—Seay. HRs—Detroit, Sheffield (3).

At Mesa, Ariz.

SAN DIEGO 200 000 001—3 4 2

CHICAGO (N) 101 200 10X—5 11 2

Correia, Hampson (5), G.Burke (7), E.Moreno (8) and Hundley, M.Canham; M.Atkins, Marmol (3), Gregg (5), J.Waddell (6), Guzman (7), Hart (9) and Soto, Bako. W—Marmol. L—Correia. Sv—Hart. HRs—San Diego, Blanks (4). Chicago (N), Johnson (1).

At Tempe, Ariz.

ARIZONA 000 100 000—1 6 3

LOS ANGELES (A) 022 000 11X—6 8 0

Garland, Schoeneweis (5), Pena (6), Korecky (7) and Carlin, J.Skelton; Weaver, Fuentes (5), A.Ortega (6), M.Tobin (7), Palmer (8) and Mathis, Budde. W—Weaver. L—Garland.

At Glendale, Ariz.

SAN FRANCISCO 120 201 202—10 17 1

CHICAGO (A) 030 000 000— 3 7 2

Zito, Sadler (7), Hinshaw (8), Wilson (9) and Holm, B.Posey; Contreras, J.Ely (4), J.Marquez (5), C.Torres (7), J.Lujan (9) and Stewart, Lucy. W—Zito. L—J.Ely.

At Goodyear, Ariz.

OAKLAND 040 200 000—6 11 0

CLEVELAND 004 110 01X—7 10 0

Anderson, J.Simmons (3), Wuertz (5), D.Bailey (7), Marshall (8) and L.Powell, J.Galarraga; Pavano, Lewis (5) and Martinez, C.Gimenez. W—Lewis. L—Marshall. HRs—Oakland, Cunningham (2). Cleveland, Martinez (3).

At Peoria, Ariz.

MILWAUKEE 100 003 200—6 15 0

SEATTLE 000 030 020—5 9 0

McClung, Stetter (5), L.Gulin (8) and Rivera; Vargas, Aardsma (6), Messenger (7), Lowe (8), White (9) and Johnson, A.Moore. W—Stetter. L—Aardsma. Sv—L.Gulin. HRs—Milwaukee, Hardy (1), McGehee (4), Rivera (3). Seattle, Griffey Jr. (1), Johnson (1).

At Tucson, Ariz.

TEXAS 303 002 102—11 15 0

COLORADO 000 111 011— 5 11 1

Harrison, Turnbow (6), P.Strop (7), Corey (8) and Teagarden, Melhuse; Marquis, Morillo (6), Corpas (7), Street (8), Grilli (9) and Fasano, Phillips. W—Harrison. L—Marquis. HRs—Texas, Cruz (4), Catalanotto (1). Colorado, Stewart (2).