Scherzer gives up 1 hit as Hens blank Durham

While Carlos Guillen worked out at Fifth Third Field yesterday, he didn't play in the contest against Durham.

Thanks to Max Scherzer, the Hens didn't need Guillen.

Scherzer who was sent to Toledo by the parent Tigers last Saturday, was impressive in his first start here. The 25-year-old righthander allowed just one hit in eight innings to lead the Hens to a 4-0 victory over Durham.

Scherzer consistently threw fastballs in the 92-95 mph range while throwing his change-up and curve for strikes. The only hit the Bulls managed was a double by Rashad Eldridge in the second that would have been a single except for a bad hop past Ryan Raburn in center.

Scherzer said he made a change in his mechanics that allowed him to throw strikes on 67 of his 103 pitches last night. He finished with 10 strikeouts.

"I was working on shortening my arm action to allow my arm to find my natural arm slot," Scherzer said. "I think that made my secondary stuff better, and allowed me to pitch with three pitches.

"I was able to get my slider over, get my change-up over, and I was able to throw them out of the zone when I needed to."

It was a far cry from the pitcher who struggled to a 1-4 record and 7.29 ERA in eight starts with the Tigers.

"I've been battling it the last four or five starts," Scherzer said. "I knew something wasn't right - I've been battling it and battling it. But I never lost confidence. You have to have a strong backbone.

"The day I got optioned down was the day I saw what the [mechanical] fix needed to be. Hopefully I can keep having success."

The only tough decision Hens manager Larry Parrish had with Scherzer was determining when to take him out of the game. Scherzer lobbied to pitch the eighth, but was pulled in the ninth in favor of Robbie Weinhardt.

Meanwhile, Guillen spent his second day in Toledo taking ground balls and making double-play throws at second base while running the bases and taking batting practice. The veteran infielder will work out with the Hens today, then join the team on the road when it begins a series in Syracuse tomorrow.

"I'm almost 100 percent right now," he said. "I ran the bases the last two days, and I feel good."

Guillen, who went on the disabled list April 22 with a strained hamstring, said he doesn't know how much time he'll spend with the Hens.

Guillen hasn't played second base since playing in 12 games there with Seattle in 1998-99. But the 34-year-old didn't hesitate when asked whether he was more concerned by the hamstring injury or the move to second.

"The injury [is the bigger concern]," Guillen said. "I want to stay healthy and stay on the field. I'm here to make sure my leg feels better. I'm trying to get ready to head north."

Guillen will add punch to a lineup that has been producing enough runs to help the Hens win their last six games, during which Toledo has outscored the opposition 30-13.

The offensive hero yesterday was Jeff Frazier, who followed hits by Scott Sizemore and Ryan Raburn in the sixth with a three-run home run to left.

"He's just a guy that puts all different types of pitches in play," Parrish said of Frazier. "I was thinking that Frazier was the guy who was on [Durham starting pitcher Heath Phillips] in his first two at-bats, so we couldn't have scripted it any better than to have him come up [to the plate] in that situation.

"I didn't know he was going to hit a homer, but I thought we could score at least one run with him at the plate."

NOTES: Ryan Strieby remains on the active roster but was available only in an emergency. … Jeff Larish also remains on the active roster, but is not available because of his groin injury. … The Mud Hens feasted on a spread from P.F. Chang's after the game courtesy of Guillen.

Contact John Wagner at:

jwagner@theblade.com

or 419-724-6481.