Carlos Silva a contender for a spot in Cubs' rotation

MESA, Ariz. — Carlos Silva is telling everyone — including his mother — that he is back to being an effective major-league pitcher.

"I talk to my mother before and after (every) game, and the message I sent to her said: 'The way that I feel today, I don't feel for a long, long time. Today, I feel like it was me,' " said Silva, whose four shutout innings Tuesday led the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

When the Cubs wanted to send Milton Bradley to Seattle, Silva was the high-priced underachiever the Mariners insisted Chicago take in the deal.

The Cubs hoped he'd pitch as he did during his four seasons in Minnesota and not his two years in Seattle — where at 5-18 with a 7.01 ERA, Silva was one of the worst starters in baseball.

After getting pounded in his first spring outing, he has pitched seven straight scoreless innings. Silva, who has two years and $25 million left on his contract, was especially strong Tuesday, limiting Texas to two hits and striking out three.

"You can't throw the ball better than he did today," manager Lou Piniella said. "Boy, he made it look relatively easy."

Now Silva is closing in on a spot in the Cubs' rotation.

"I'm very competitive. I want to make the rotation. But the only thing I want to do is help this team," Silva said. "Deep inside, I want to say I feel good about the way I pitch."

'3 Dog' eulogized

Former Dodgers center fielder Willie Davis, who died last week at age 69, was remembered as an electrifying on-field presence and a larger-than-life personality in a memorial service Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

"I like to believe the president saw the news and felt a little sadness," his daughter, Kim, said in an hour-long service, "as did the mailman, the man at the doughnut shop, the drug addict downtown, and the 45-year-old who remembers the lightning speed of the 3 Dog."

He was part of two championship teams, won three Gold Gloves and remains the franchise leader in hits (2,091), extra-base hits (585), at-bats (7,495), runs (1,004), triples (110) and total bases (3,094).

Notes

• Highly regarded Boston Red Sox outfield prospect Ryan Westmoreland, 19, has undergone surgery in Arizona to remove a cavernous malformation in his brain.

• Edwin Jackson, slated to be Arizona's No. 2 starting pitcher, allowed seven runs and six hits in 2-1/3 innings in a 13-7 loss to Cincinnati, and said rushing his delivery was to blame.

• The strength of the Los Angeles Dodgers' middle relief grew more questionable when the team announced that right-hander Cory Wade, 26, would undergo exploratory surgery on his throwing shoulder Wednesday in Los Angeles, probably sidelining him for two months.

• Defending AL batting champ Joe Mauer of Minnesota got two hits in his return from a four-day absence in a loss to Baltimore Orioles, giving him a .600 batting average this spring.

• Ryan Howard hit his first home run of the spring and highly touted Domonic Brown connected twice, leading Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies over Detroit 6-1.

• Former major-league infielder Chuck Knoblauch has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on his common-law wife in Houston, in exchange for deferred-adjudication probation that could expunge it from his record in a year.

• The Washington Nationals, who led the majors last year with 103 losses, ended an 0-11 skid with a pair of split-squad victories. They beat Florida 12-3 with four home runs, including a grand slam by Willie Harris, and St. Louis 4-2.

• Jake Westbrook outpitched two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and Travis Hafner drove in three runs, leading Cleveland over San Francisco.

• Jered Weaver was erratic through 3-1/3 innings — five walks, three runs allowed — for the Los Angeles Angels in their 4-3 over San Diego, but said he was largely experimenting with a two-seam fastball.