JUPITER, Fla. -- Miami Marlins right-hander Mat Latos admitted to looking back toward the scoreboard a few times during his spring debut Friday afternoon.
You couldn't blame him after various injuries limited him to just 16 starts in 2014.
Making his first appearance in a game since Sept. 7, Latos tossed three scoreless innings in Miami's 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium.
Latos allowed two hits with two walks and two strikeouts -- one on a changeup and one on a fastball. He threw 39 pitches (22 strikes). A pair of double plays helped him avoid any damage.
"It was good," Latos said. "Good to get the adrenaline flowing and be able to compete at the highest level. From going to throwing out here on the back fields facing minor-league guys to then facing a good-hitting ballclub like the Cardinals -- it was good. I had to make pitches and get outs when I needed to. A couple ground-ball double plays saved me."
Earlier this week, the Marlins elected to get Latos in a simulation game on the back fields rather than in Grapefruit League play to control the environment he worked in -- from pitch count to cool downs between innings. He threw 31 pitches to a mix of minor-league and major-league players.
After Friday's outing, the 27-year-old righty said he feels fine, just like he did after the sim game.
"Just need to throw strikes," Latos said. "That's it. Not throwing in a game with adrenaline to going out there throwing to those guys you find it in the back of your head to be too fine against a good-hitting ball club like that and then you find yourself in trouble. Just continue to work hard, be in here every day and get better and go from there."
Manager Mike Redmond, who liked how Latos threw strikes and got early contact, didn't downplay what Latos could mean to the rotation in 2015.
Until 2014, Latos had started at least 31 games in four straight seasons. He is 60-45 with a 3.34 ERA over parts of six big-league seasons. Latos provides another top-of-the-rotation arm to complement All-Star Henderson Alvarez with ace Jose Fernandez on the mound.
"He would be huge for us," Redmond said. "That's why we went out and traded for him. This guy's pitched in big games, won big games, won a lot of games. That's the guy we need. We need him to come out and pitch and win ballgames for us. It's a big year for him, too. Hopefully he'll be able to go out there and strengthen our starting pitching staff and win some games."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
