LAKELAND, Fla. -- The questions about velocity have been wearing on Daniel Norris. But after his scoreless inning Friday night against the Yankees, he couldn’t hide his encouragement.

It was a slight uptick, from 91 mph up to 93. But it was the first time he has thrown 93 in a long time.

“It was really nice to see that,” Norris said. “Even my breaking stuff was sharper. It was a total breakthrough.”

The bump followed a tweak in Norris’ mechanics after teammate Jordan Zimmermann made a suggestion.

“Zim came up to me last week and he’s like, ‘I know why you’re not throwing hard,’” Norris said. “I just wasn’t getting over my front side.”

Norris has been working to eliminate the recoil at the end of his delivery. He was throwing freely in his start last Sunday, but was more deliberate and wasn’t still finishing strong. On Zimmermann’s suggestion, Norris put more focus on creating more momentum forward, towards home plate, and finishing the pitch.

“It felt easy,” Norris said. “I’ve been trying to force it, grinding and throwing 90, and last night it was not [forced] at all.”

Norris threw a hitless eighth inning Friday, his lone baserunner a walk on a 3-2 pitch.

The one-inning performance was shorter than his first two outings, both starts on split-squad days. Whether it signifies a transition to a potential bullpen role, or was simply meant to let him focus his energy in a shorter burst, remains to be seen.

“If we get him fixed up -- and [Friday] was a step in the right direction -- we’ll find something for him,” said pitching coach Rick Anderson.

Tigers acquire backup catcher Rupp
The Tigers added to their catching depth on Friday by sending cash considerations to the Giants in exchange for Cameron Rupp, who will report to Lakeland as a non-roster invite to Major League camp. He does not have to be added to the 40-man roster at this time.

The 30-year-old Rupp spent parts of five seasons with the Phillies, batting .234 with 39 home runs, 124 RBIs and a .705 OPS, before playing at the Triple-A level with three different organizations last year. He batted .223 with 15 homers, 44 RBIs and a .745 OPS between the Twins, Astros and Mariners organizations.

Rupp signed a Minor League deal with the Giants in January. He joins Grayson Greiner, John Hicks, Bobby Wilson, Hector Sanchez, Jake Rogers, Kade Scivicque and Brady Policelli among catchers in Tigers camp. Greiner is expected to serve as the starting catcher, with Hicks backing him up.

If Hicks grabs more playing time at first base and designated hitter, depending on Miguel Cabrera’s placement, the Tigers could carry a third catcher, something Detroit skipper Ron Gardenhire did at times during his Twins managerial tenure. Otherwise, some combination of Rupp, Wilson and Sanchez will end up at Triple-A Toledo.

Fulmer not flummoxed by velocity
Michael Fulmer’s first pitch Saturday registered at 92 mph on the Joker Marchant Stadium radar gun. It was his hardest pitch of the afternoon. His other fastballs in his three-inning performance in Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Braves ranged from 89 to 91 mph, as confirmed by a scout in attendance.

That’s about the same as his previous outing last Monday, though he topped out at 93 mph in that start. But Fulmer said it’s not a concern at this point in camp.

“It’s not like it just vanished anywhere,” Fulmer said. “It’s going to come back. Today was just one of those days. Everything felt great in the bullpen. I thought the ball was going to come out really well today. I thought I was going to get it up for you guys, but the timing was a little bit off.”

Fulmer allowed two runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. One of those hits was a grounder down the third-base line that hit the bag and hopped into left field. He threw 29 of his 44 pitches for strikes, and said he was more encouraged by his sinker, which induced called third strikes in his final inning to Freddie Freeman and Johan Camargo.

His fastball, he said, will pick up as he works on getting more explosiveness from his legs.

“That’s something we really haven’t been focused on, because when you’re coming back from [knee] surgery, you’re really working on strengthening,” Fulmer said. “I think that’s our next phase.”

Quick hits
Tests on Drew VerHagen’s right arm confirmed inflammation around his shoulder but no structural damage, VerHagen said Saturday morning. The reliever will continue on medication until the inflammation goes down.

Up next
Matt Moore will make his fourth start of the spring on Sunday, when the Tigers welcome the Yankees to Joker Marchant Stadium for a 1:05 p.m. ET game. Nestor Cortes Jr. will start for New York. Most Tigers regulars are expected to play ahead of a two-day swing to Fort Myers and a scheduled off-day. Listen in on MLB Gameday Audio online and on AM 1270 in Detroit.