Percival All The Way Back

NEW YORK - The 34 appearances RHP Troy Percival made for St. Louis last season were about making sure he could pitch again after missing two years with elbow problems.

It wasn't until Saturday that Percival felt he had truly returned. Coming on to retire Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu in order in the ninth inning, Percival recorded the 325th save of his career - and his first since July 7, 2005. He wasn't sure exactly how long it had been, but he was aware Saturday was different.

"It registered when I was getting loose in the bullpen and I was running out there," Percival said. "I was like, 'Man, it's been a long time since I felt adrenalin.' I didn't have any adrenalin when I pitched last year."

Percival was so geared up, firing his warmup pitches all over the place before the ninth, that he made a mechanical change on the spot, shortening his leg kick and just letting his arm work. He registered as high as 94 mph on the scoreboard radar gun, but he said he didn't realize how hard he was throwing.

"I didn't feel anything," he said. "I was out there just saying, 'You know what? You've been here a million times. Throw quality pitches and don't worry about strikeouts.' I knew I could get the job done. It was just a matter of, don't let the emotions take over."

When it was finished, he appreciated what he had accomplished while looking forward to more of the same.

"It was No. 325, but the all-important was it was No. 1. I've got that out of the way now," he said. "I think everything from here, emotionally, will be a lot easier."

POSITIVE OUTLOOK: Dioner Navarro knew he had hurt his hand badly as soon as he sliced his fingers open while grabbing the net in front of the dugout to try to keep from falling.

"I didn't say nothing, I just showed my hand to the Rays' trainers because I felt it. I looked at it and freaked out. Pretty bad," Navarro said. "I almost threw up when I saw it. I was like, 'I didn't know a piece of net could do this.'"

Navarro needed eight stitches to close the gash in his ring finger and four more to repair his middle finger. He'll miss at least two weeks, but he was thankful he didn't break anything or damage any tendons.

Shawn Riggans will be the primary starter while Navarro is out, but veteran Mike DiFelice will get his chances.

The Rays could re-sign Josh Paul, who was released at the end of spring training, to replace DiFelice in Durham for the time being.

JOHNSON'S DEBUT: Elliot Johnson made sure his major-league debut was memorable.

After singling off Andy Pettitte in his second at-bat Saturday, Johnson got picked off by the left-hander as he tried to steal second. He ended up going 1-for-4 on the day.

At least Johnson got the milestone baseball. It was in his locker, inscribed with details of the game, and he took it out to admire it.

"It's going in the trophy case," he said. "As soon as I get one."

KAZMIR'S PROGRESS: LHP Scott Kazmir threw off the bullpen mound at the Naimoli Complex for 18 minutes Saturday morning. About half of his 60 pitches were change-ups or sliders.

"I'm letting it go pretty nice," Kazmir said. "I wasn't really held back at all."

The strained left elbow that has kept him out since Feb. 26 seems no longer to be a problem. He reported no pain immediately after his session.

The next step for Kazmir is throwing live batting practice for the first time Tuesday at Tropicana Field. As of now, he's scheduled for another live BP session a couple of days after that, but he could move straight to a two-inning stint in an extended spring training game if all goes well Tuesday.

Marc Lancaster, Carter Gaddis