TEMPE, Ariz. — Nomar Garciaparra had two hits and scored a run in his debut for the Oakland Athletics, an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels today.

Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., who had offseason surgery on his left knee, also played for the first time this spring. He grounded out to second in his only at-bat.

Garciaparra signed with the Athletics on March 6 after batting .264 with eight homers in 163 at-bats for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He went 2-for-3 with a double, but was low-key about the results.

"It's still the first day," Garciaparra said. "It's a good thing we've got a lot of spring left. I'm all right. We'll see how it is the next day. That's the biggest thing."

Matthews is competing for a spot in a crowded outfield. The Angels added free agent right fielder Bobby Abreu in the offseason, and manager Mike Scioscia wouldn't discuss his plans for Matthews, who hit .242 with eight homers in 426 at-bats in 2008.

"He ran and moved well in right field," Scioscia said. "We'll see where we are when we open the season. Gary first has to get healthy. We have lot of guys battling for at-bats.

"He's coming off of surgery. He's a full go as far as getting into games. There is a lot of work ahead for Gary before he's doing the things he needs to do on the field," Scioscia said.

Angels starter Jered Weaver gave up a run and four hits in 1 2-3 innings and has allowed eight hits and two runs in 2 1-3 innings over two outings this spring. Weaver had been held back due to stiffness in his shoulder.

"His stuff looked very good," Scioscia said. "For where he is in the spring now, we feel very good where his stuff is. It's just going to be a matter of going out there and putting pitches together."

Weaver said he felt better about his pitching Sunday than his first outing.

"It's coming along," Weaver said. "I'm not quite there yet."

A's top prospect Brett Anderson allowed three hits in four scoreless innings.

"He threw the ball great," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "He probably had eight or 10 broken bats. He really pitched inside and used his offspeed (pitches). It was a great game."

Said Anderson: "The better competition I face, I'm more locked in and my stuff is sharper. I'd rather face Torii Hunter and Gary Matthews than the guys I faced in Double-A."