Kaz scratched Sunday and from season opener

ROGER MOONEY
rmooney@bradenton.com

TAMPA – Scott Kazmir’s scheduled start Sunday against visiting Detroit has been scratched, a move that will prevent the Tampa Bay left-hander from pitching Opening Day on March 31 in Baltimore.

“It’s probably going to definitely knock out the opening day assignment, and we’re just going to have to figure out how we’re going to set it up after that,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said Saturday before the Rays game against the Yankees at Legends Field.

Kazmir, who was rehabbing from a strained pitching elbow suffered Feb. 26, was scheduled to pitch two innings Sunday, but Maddon said the club feels his arm strength isn’t where it should be for that kind of a workload.

“We just want to build up a little more arm strength before we put him back out there,” Maddon said. “He’s fine. There’s not a thing wrong with him. During the season he probably would have pitched, but I want to build up a little more arm strength.”

James Shields will start in place of Kazmir Sunday and will start Opening Day, too.