DENVER -- Colorado Rockies outfielder

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Larry Walker will miss Sunday's season opener against the San Diego Padres in Monterrey, Mexico due to his strained right rib-cage muscle.

Rockies manager Jim Leyland announced his decision after today's Colorado's 10-6 exhibition victory over the Boston Red Sox.

"He is going to travel with the team but he will not be put on the disabled list," said Leyland, who will make his Rockies' managerial debut Sunday.

It will mark the first time a baseball opener is played beyond the borders of the United States or Canada.

Walker, the National League batting champion last season and the 1997 Most Valuable Player, suffered the injury during batting practice Tuesday and continued to experience discomfort throughout the week.

LAST MONTH, THE ROCKIES signed Walker to a six-year, $75 million extension with a no-trade clause. At $12.5 million per season, Walker is one of baseball's highest-paid players. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown, at an average of $15 million per season, tops the list.

Walker, 32, became the third player in the last 69 years to hit .360 or better in back-to-back seasons when he won his first batting crown in 1998. The right fielder also won a Gold Glove for the second straight season, his fourth honor overall.

Injuries limited the Canadian to 130 games last year, but he hit .363 with 23 homers and 67 RBI. In just 454 at-bats he still finished third with a .630 slugging percentage, fourth with 46 doubles and eighth with 113 runs scored in the NL.

Walker is Colorado's all-time leader with a .335 batting average, .643 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage. The 10-year veteran has spent the last four seasons with the Rockies.

DeShields starts season on DL

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles set their roster for Monday's season opener, placing second baseman Delino DeShields and pitcher Scott Kamieniecki on the 15-day disabled list today among a series of moves.

DeShields fractured his left thumb early in spring training and could miss the first month of the season. Losing the 29-year-old for any length of time would be a blow for the Orioles, who lost Roberto Alomar to Cleveland via free agency. DeShields hit .290 with seven homers, 44 RBI and 26 stolen bases for the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

Kamieniecki was expected to fill one of the final two spots in the starting rotation but was placed on the DL with a strained left hamstring. He suffered through an injury-plagued 1998, going 2-6 with a 6.75 ERA in 12 games, including 11 starts.

Baltimore also purchased the contracts of righthanded reliever Mike Fetters and infielder Jesse Garcia from Triple-A Rochester. The Orioles assigned righthander Doug Linton and outfielder Lyle Mouton to Rochester.

Hollandsworth's injury woes continue

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Todd Hollandsworth, the 1996 National League Rookie of the Year, will start the season on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring.

The Dodgers placed Hollandsworth on the DL tonight, one day after he suffered the injury in an 8-1 rout of Anaheim in the one-game Freeway Series.

Hollandsworth, who turns 26 on April 20, was the subject of offseason trade rumors after slumping to .269 with three homers and 20 RBI in only 55 games last year. He missed the final 103 games after tearing cartilage in his left shoulder.

Hollandsworth was selected as the NL's top rookie in 1996 after batting .291 with 12 homers, 59 RBI and 21 stolen bases.