The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Mark Prior threw nearly 50 pitches off a mound Wednesday and expects to start throwing to batters at the Chicago Cubs' extended spring training camp next week.

Recovering from right Achilles' tendinitis and a sore elbow, Prior has thrown about 85 pitches since Monday, including some curveballs off a flat surface Wednesday. He threw only 10 pitches in his first session last week.

Prior plans to throw some breaking balls off the mound during his next throwing session in a few days.

"It went all right," Prior said Wednesday. "I'm not as accurate as I'd like to be and I'm not hitting my spots, but I think it will come. It was only my third bullpen session (Wednesday). I'm not necessarily worried."

Prior, 23, was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA last season in helping the Cubs reach the NL championship series.

The right-hander will continue his bullpen sessions until heading to camp in Mesa, Ariz., next week.

ALL-STAR GAME: Pittsburgh and San Francisco, both of which have opened new ballparks since 2000, have emerged as the front-runners to host the 2006 All-Star game.

Baseball in recent years has rotated its annual midsummer game among the numerous cities which have opened new parks since the early 1990s, and both Pittsburgh and San Francisco are making strong pitches for the 2006 game.

St. Louis would also like to stage its first All-Star game since 1966 when the Cardinals open their new ballpark in 2006.

PIRATES: Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong might have tipped his pitches while being roughed up by the Chicago Cubs in each of his last two starts.

Vogelsong was told in a phone call Wednesday - he wouldn't say who called - that the Cubs knew what was coming as he gave up 19 hits and 15 earned runs over eight innings in the consecutive losses.

"I can think of a couple of things off the top of my head that it is, but I'm not sure," said Vogelsong, whose best pitch is a moving fastball that has hit 96 mph this season. "I'm going to have to look at the tape and see what it is."

The right-hander gave up three homers in each loss, 9-1 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and 8-3 in Chicago on April 14.

SHORT HOPS: Heavy rains and more wet weather in the forecast postponed Wednesday night's game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field.

No makeup date has been scheduled. The teams will play the finale of their three-game series at 12:05 p.m. today.

• Indians pitcher Jason Bere will not be able to throw for two months after having elbow surgery this week, another setback for the right-hander. Bere, 32, on the disabled list 10 times in his career, was experiencing numbness in his pitching hand during extended spring training in Florida.

• The Minnesota Twins traded left-hander Brad Thomas to the Boston Red Sox for a player or cash. Thomas was 0-0 with a 16.87 ERA in three relief appearances for the Twins.

• New York Yankees right-hander Jorge DePaula will have elbow ligament replacement surgery today and miss the remainder of the season. DePaula, 24, pitched in three games this season, starting one and going 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA.