Kazmir is up to speed

Rays' ace solid on mound, at plate

Scott Kazmir had a much better day than Bronson Arroyo.

Kazmir drove in three runs yesterday, and the Rays took advantage of Arroyo's struggles with his breaking ball, rolling to an 11-2 victory over the Reds at Sarasota, Fla.

Kazmir struck out five and gave up four hits in six innings, including Jay Bruce's two-run homer. He also had a wind-blown, two-run double in Tampa Bay's eight-run fourth inning off Arroyo, who couldn't get his breaking pitches to work. Kazmir later added a run-scoring single.

"It was just fun out there," Kazmir said.

The lefthander spent time in the bullpen after his last start trying to correct a flaw in his delivery. He tends to lean his head to the side when he throws, causing his pitches to drift a bit. He practiced keeping his head straight ahead, and got satisfying results against the Reds.

"That really helped," he said. "I can see an improvement."

After his 95-pitch performance, Kazmir was pleased with how things were going with one week left in spring training.

"I'm very confident," he said. "My arm feels incredible."

Kazmir threw 89 and 95 pitches, respectively, in his last two outings. He's scheduled to start the Rays' second game of the season, April 8 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella picked Kevin Gregg to be the team's closer heading into the season. Gregg beat out Carlos Marmol, the Cubs' top setup man last year. They both spent spring training vying to replace All-Star closer Kerry Wood, who signed with Cleveland.

"Gregg came in here and hasn't given up a run all spring," Piniella said.

The Cubs obtained Gregg, 30, from Florida. Last season, he saved 29 games for the Marlins.

"That's where I'm comfortable. That's what I've done for the last couple of years," he said.

Marmol returns to his role of setup man to begin the season.

Fleet-footed Brett Gardner grabbed the Yankees' center field job, beating out Melky Cabrera this spring by showing improvement at the plate. "Both of them played great," manager Joe Girardi said. "Gardie finished up strong and had a great camp. Right now I think Gardie has a little bit of the edge. He brings a little more speed to the lineup." Gardner batted .228 over 42 games in 2008, but was successful on 13 of 14 stolen-base attempts. He is hitting .385 with five steals in 22 spring training games. The Yankees plan to have Cabrera on the regular-season roster in a backup role . . . Without a hint of doubt, Seattle's Brandon Morrow said his future will be as a relief pitcher. Morrow confirmed what manager Don Wakamatsu announced earlier - that Morrow will head back to the bullpen for the start of the season . . . Randy Johnson thinks he's ready for the regular season despite some down time this spring. Johnson, 45, preparing for his first season with the Giants, threw 80 pitches in a minor league camp game in Scottsdale, Ariz., giving up seven hits and two runs. The Big Unit was 1-2 with a 2.38 ERA in four spring training starts. He missed one start because of biceps tenderness. "I feel good where I'm at now," he said . . . Josh Hamilton homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs to help the Rangers beat the Angels, 13-7, in Surprise, Ariz. Also in the game, Vladimir Guerrero returned to the Angels lineup after missing two games with pink eye and had a pair of doubles . . . Chris Denorfia hit a two-run home run in the ninth as the A's beat the Rockies, 7-6, in Phoenix to snap a 10-game skid . . . The Tigers placed oft-injured reliever Joel Zumaya on the list with a sore right shoulder.