BRADENTON Josh Fogg settles onto Pirates pitching staff

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- As Pirates right-hander Josh Fogg finished up his 60-pitch outing Sunday in a minor league intrasquad game, manager Lloyd McClendon probably breathed a sigh of relief more than 100 miles away in central Florida.
The Pirates' unsettled pitching staff began to straighten itself as Fogg, who missed a scheduled start Tuesday because of a sore muscle in his left side, threw about 60 pitches with no discomfort.
"He [Fogg] just wanted to get the feel for all his pitches and locate them; I didn't care how hard he threw," said Williams, who watched Fogg pitch. "His next outing [Friday or Saturday], he'll have to open it up and get himself ready for the season. The main thing is that he's healthy."
No. 3 starter
Fogg, counted on to be the Pirates' No. 3 starter after going 10-9 with a 5.26 ERA last season, was a worry because he missed six weeks early last season with a similar injury, an oblique muscle injury on his left side.
Unlike last season, when Fogg initially tried to pitch through the injury, McClendon immediately shut him down last week and wouldn't let him pitch. As a result, Fogg's start Sunday was his first time to the mound in 10 days.
"If I had pitched the last time, you never know what would have happened," said Fogg, who allowed three hits and two runs while facing 17 batters. "Mac was smart enough to shut me down and rest and recover and I think it helped."
Fogg didn't throw many fastballs, concentrating instead on keeping his curveball and changeup down in the strike zone. He retired nine batters in a row at one point, five on ground balls, and might not have allowed any runs if a major league defense had been behind him.
"I just wanted to come over and throw strikes and get back in the groove and be healthy," said Fogg, who won a combined 22 games the last two seasons. "It felt great today. I felt all my stuff was there and I had a good sinker and had a good changeup. A couple of curveballs I missed with, but I'm still working on that."
Beimel has new pitch
Joe Beimel, the top left-hander out of the Pirates bullpen at the end of last season, polished his new sidearm delivery during another minor league intrasquad game Sunday.
After Beimel struggled with a 7.77 ERA over the second half of last season, pitching coach Spin Williams suggested he throw some pitches sidearm to keep left-handed hitters off balance.
With former sidearm-throwing reliever Kent Tekulve monitoring every pitch, Beimel threw about half of his 40 pitches sidearm, at various speeds.