Cosart works on curveball in start vs. Yankees

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- For Jarred Cosart, Saturday's outing was more about working in more curveballs than it was anything else. That's why he wasn't too worried about the results, giving up two hits and two runs (one earned) in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Cosart said he's been working with pitching coach Brent Strom on establishing his curveball the last few days, because he thinks it could get hitters off his fastball if he can throw more strikes. He threw 75 percent strikes with his curveball in the first inning and 65 percent in the second inning.

"Brent told me if I can do that throughout the year, I'm going to have a lot of success," Cosart said. "They're really not worried about the fastball as much right now, because they think it's going to be there, and I do, too. But at the same time, I've still got to throw more strikes.

"I obviously threw too many pitches today, which is something I'm going to work on in my next start. I threw a couple of good changeups and [Brett Gardner's second-inning double] I kind of just cut it and it ran right into his bat."

After the game, Cosart leaned on veterans Jerome Williams and Scott Feldman for more advice.

"In the first, I got ahead of every batter with two strikes, so they said maybe my mindset going forward, instead of trying to embarrass the hitter, should be just to throw a quality pitch the next time," he said.