PHOENIX — Once again wearing his crisp, white uniform with the blue "99" stenciled on the back, the Dodgers' Manny Ramirez finally stepped into the batter's box again in a game -- and couldn't find a pitch to hit.
Ramirez walked in his first two plate appearances Friday, taking eight pitches before he even swung the bat, and then singled before leaving in the fifth inning of the Dodgers' 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers at Camelback Ranch.
Three times up, three times on. And so Ramirez, late to spring training after signing a two-year, $45-million contract, was back in action.
"I said, 'You haven't lost any of your flair, from last year to this year,' " Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said.
Despite his perfect on-base percentage, Ramirez complained about his timing at the plate. But he said his legs -- a balky hamstring had delayed his Cactus League debut for one day -- felt fine.
"It takes time, that's why we're here in spring training, to get a lot of at-bats, make a lot of mistakes and get it out of your system and move on to the season," Ramirez said.
Batting third as the designated hitter, Ramirez walked twice against Texas starter Doug Mathis, then singled to center in the fifth off Elizardo Ramirez before being replaced by a pinch-runner.
He walked the first time after taking a strike and four balls and drawing a loud cheer from the crowd of 8,389. Ramirez took three more balls from Mathis in his second at-bat before weakly fouling off two pitches and drawing ball four.
"I was ready for my pitch, they didn't give it to me, so I walked, no hard feelings," Ramirez said.
After his first walk, Ramirez moved to second on a single by Andre Ethier, reached third on a single by James Loney, then scored when Texas second baseman German Duran bobbled a throw from Elvis Andrus on a grounder hit by Casey Blake.
Ramirez, 36, had planned to play his first spring-training game Thursday but was scratched from the lineup after experiencing stiffness in his left hamstring after morning running drills.
That meant fans at Camelback Ranch's main diamond had to wait until Friday to get their first look at Ramirez, and 15 minutes before the game they stood against the guard rail on the left-field line to watch him stretch and jog in the outfield.
"I'm pretty happy to see him back," said Dan Lopez, a 38-year-old Mesa, Ariz., resident and spring-game season ticket holder who was wearing a Ramirez T-shirt. "They need him on the offense."
