The Boston Red Sox are in a holding pattern with Josh Beckett after the ace left Saturday’s spring game without facing a batter when he was bothered by back spasms.

Beckett’s back pain began when he landed on a soft spot after his first warmup pitch. He threw five more, then walked off the field before the game even started.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how it feels tomorrow” was Beckett’s only comment three hours after he called catcher Jason Varitek to the mound following his sixth warmup pitch in Fort Myers, Fla.

Greg Maddux had no such health problems in Surprise, Ariz. After needing only 18 pitches to get six outs in his spring debut Tuesday, the Padres right-hander allowed one run and one hit over three innings in a 9-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Maddux gave up a leadoff double to Ian Kinsler, who eventually scored on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly. He retired eight straight batters until hitting Kinsler with a pitch with two outs in the third inning.

“That was a desert ball,” Maddux joked. “A dry spitter.”

The 41-year-old Maddux said the baseballs were rubbed up right, but some were just slick.

In other spring games:

Marlins (ss) 12, Mets 4 (ss)

At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Mike Pelfrey struggled, hurting his chance at earning a spot in the New York rotation. The right-hander allowed seven runs and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings.

Mets (ss) 4, Orioles 1

At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., George Sherrill pitched a perfect fourth inning and has emerged as the favorite to become Baltimore’s new closer.

Dodgers 20, Cardinals 6

At Jupiter, Fla., Rafael Furcal, Delwyn Young, and George Lombard homered for Los Angeles, which finished with 20 hits.

Nationals 12, Astros (ss) 10

At Kissimmee, Fla., Ryan Zimmerman agreed to a slight raise that bumps his salary this season to $465,000 and homered and drove in four runs for Washington.

Astros (ss) 7, Braves (ss) 4

At Kissimmee, Fla., Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in four innings and Hunter Pence had three RBIs for Houston.

Reds 13, Braves (ss) 8

At Sarasota, Fla., Brandon Phillips homered and drove in four runs for Cincinnati.

Indians 9, Phillies 5

At Winter Haven, Fla., Fausto Carmona pitched three shutout innings and Ryan Garko connected for a three-run homer to lead Cleveland. Garko finished with four RBIs.

Blue Jays 4, Tigers 3

At Dunedin, Fla., Scott Rolen hit his first homer of the spring and John Parrish struck out seven in three innings for Toronto.

Twins 8, Pirates 4

At Bradenton, Fla., Craig Monroe and Jason Kubel homered on consecutive pitches thrown by Pittsburgh’s Matt Morris during Minnesota’s four-run third.

Rays 4, Yankees 1

Four days after Carl Crawford barreled over a catcher on a play at the plate, Elliot Johnson lowered his shoulder and floored New York catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Athletics (ss) 7, Cubs (ss) 6

At Phoenix, Daryle Ward had three hits, including a double and home run off Oakland starter Rich Harden.

Cubs (ss) 4, Diamondbacks 1

At Mesa, Ariz., Alfonso Soriano returned to Chicago’s lineup and had two hits. Soriano had played in only one game this spring because of a minor break at the top of his right middle finger.

Rockies 6, Angels (ss) 2

At Tucson, Ariz., Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer and Ubaldo Jimenez struck out three in four shutout innings for Colorado.

Angels (ss) 6, Giants (ss) 6

At Tempe, Ariz., Ray Durham hit a three-run double for San Francisco and Torii Hunter had his second homer of the spring for Los Angeles.

White Sox 6, Giants (ss) 4

At Tucson, Ariz., Brad Eldred hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for Chicago.

Brewers 8, Royals 2

At Phoenix, Mike Cameron hit his second homer of the spring for Milwaukee.