Mariners pitcher James Paxton got a late start to the spring and finished spring training with a 7.84 ERA but said he's not concerned with his spring numbers, MLB.com reports.
"I didn’t get the results, obviously," Paxton said. "But I felt like I got myself ready. I feel like my arm is where I need it to be to take that next step up here. I know it didn’t look like it, but I felt like I threw some good pitches and my stuff is where I want to be right now. Once I get out on the mound and it’s for real, it’ll change a little bit."
Paxton will square off with the Angels Tuesday, and he went 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA against the team in 2014, including picking up two wins in the first seven days of the season.
"We know each other pretty well now," Paxton said. "Then it becomes baseball. It’s the game within the game now, the chess match. They know what I’ve got. I know what they’ve got. So it makes it fun."