TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera cleared another hurdle in his recovery from knee surgery Friday morning, when he faced hitters for the first time since his injury.

Rivera threw 20 pitches in live batting practice to two hitters, Kyle Roller and Rob Segedin, and afterward proclaimed himself "excited'' to be back on the mound.

"Not nervous, excited,'' the 43-year-old Rivera said after the brief session. "This is the first BP I'm throwing in almost a year, so I'm real happy with the results.''

Rivera's 2012 season ended May 3 in Kansas City when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee shagging fly balls during batting practice. He had thrown several bullpen sessions in camp and has taken part in all the pitchers' fielding drills but had yet to face hitters in a live situation.

And he approached it with enthusiasm, calling his first two pitches strikes from the mound and shouting "There you go!'' to Segedin as he lined the third pitch into center field.

"Basically, I just wanted to see the hitters, seeing how they swing at the ball and how they react to the pitches,'' he said.