KISSIMMEE, Fla. - If his second major league comeback were to be slowed by an injury, left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir would want it to be an arm ailment.
"It's not good to go through pains in other parts of your body," Kazmir said Thursday after his third spring training start for the Atlanta Braves. "You tend to compensate, and you get into bad habits."
The 34-year-old reached 89 mph while allowing two runs and four hits in three innings of a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros.
FILE - This is a Feb. 22, 2018, file photo showing Scott Kazmir of the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Kazmir is trying to revive his career after missing all of last season, and he might've come to the right place. The Braves have a couple of openings in their rotation. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)"It's crazy to even say it, but from experience it seems like you'd almost want it to be your arm that goes down," Kazmir said. "You're probably going to shut it down when there's something wrong with your arm, as opposed to some little thing you've got going on somewhere else.
"You figure 'I'll compensate, I'll figure something out.' But it doesn't always work out that way."
Kazmir is in the final season of a $48 million, three-year contract he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His left hip started to bother him in September 2016, and his only games last year were four Class A appearances during an injury rehabilitation assignment. The Braves acquired him in a December trade that sent outfielder Matt Kemp to the Dodgers.
Kazmir hopes to earn a spot in a youthful rotation projected to include Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Brandon McCarthy, Sean Newcomb and Luiz Gohara - who has yet to pitch this spring because of a groin injury.
At this stage of his career, Kazmir does not have the velocity that helped him lead the American League in strikeouts in 2007 and earn the start for the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series opener.
"There have been glimpses of it that were a little more than I actually expected," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "He's gone through everything that was drawn up for him to do up to this point, so that's a good thing."
As recently as 2016, Kazmir's fastball averaged 92 mph.
"It just doesn't come overnight apparently," he said. "It definitely feels like there's a lot more in the tank. It's not like I'm trying to force something through a certain pain or restriction. Historically in spring training I really don't throw hard at all, especially the first couple out there."
He thought his cut fastball was flat Thursday, and he allowed a home run to Derek Fisher.
"You definitely have to find a way to compensate and get the job done," Kazmir said. "I know the velo is going to be there once I'm synched up."