Ace on track after finding slider

Scott Kazmir's out pitch is working again, helping him to his best outing of the spring.

By JOANNE KORTH
Published March 19, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Dirk Shadd] Scott Kazmir delivers a 5 1/3-inning outing vs. the Phillies in which he struck out seven and was consistently ahead in the count.

CLEARWATER - Scott Kazmir has thrown plenty of pitches this spring. Maybe too many.

But not until Sunday did any of them look like his slider.

Kazmir was sharp through five-plus innings against the Phillies. He threw first-pitch strikes, got ahead in counts and threw his slider effectively for the first time.

"I felt great," he said. "I was working that slider and I finally got a good feel for it and was able to bury it."

Kazmir, making his fourth start of the spring, allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking one. He also hit one batter.

"Kazmir pitched free and easy," said third-base coach Tom Foley, who served as manager for the 5-4 split-squad win. "It was nice watching him pitch."

The runs all came in the sixth, which Kazmir started in order to reach 90 pitches for the day. He gave up a bloop single, a run-scoring double to Ryan Howard and a two-run home run to Pat Burrell on his 89th pitch.

"There were a couple pitches I wish I could have back," Kazmir, 23, said. "I tried to elevate a fastball with Burrell and it ended up being right down the middle, belt high. With Howard, I tried to go outside with the first pitch and it ended up being inner third.

"All in all, it felt good. I felt like I had my command and I'm just happy to get my slider back."

Kazmir, likely to be the opening-day starter against the Yankees April 2, had not been especially sharp in his previous spring appearances, going 0-1 with an 8.64 ERA. Questions about the left-hander's shoulder lingered after his 2006 season ended early because of stiffness.

Sunday's outing felt like a turning point.

Kazmir struck out the side in the second and the leadoff hitter in the third. The slider was not always the strikeout pitch, but the threat kept hitters off-balance.

"It was good to see him pitching like that," leftfielder Carl Crawford said. "It's good he can go out there and show everybody he's healthy again. It was a good outing to have with so many questions about his shoulder."

Kazmir is scheduled to make two more starts this spring. The goal is to be in the 95-100 pitch range in his next start, then taper back to 60-65 in his final appearance.

"It felt comfortable the whole time," Kazmir said. "I felt like I was stronger than I've ever been at this time during spring training. So, I wasn't worried at all."

[Last modified March 18, 2007, 22:39:20]