Jackson shows kinks in rehab start for 51s

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

Edwin Jackson returned to Cashman Field for the first time since June on Wednesday, but he looked more like a pitcher fresh from a Double-A callup than one on a major-league rehabilitation assignment.

In his second rehab outing with the 51s after suffering a slight muscle strain in his right arm just after being called up to the Dodgers, Jackson allowed five runs -- three of them earned -- in 1 1/3 innings, without giving up a hit. He lasted only 45 pitches, 16 for strikes, before being pulled from the game, behind 5-0.

Jackson had five walks, one wild pitch, and one hit batsman. Two of the walks, and the wild pitch, resulted in Fresno runs.

Just under an hour after being pulled from the game, Jackson sat in the 51s' clubhouse, facing his locker with headphones and an iPod drowning out his surroundings.

"I just didn't establish a comfort level, and it went downhill from there," he said, adding that he had no pain in his arm. "Tonight, that wasn't a problem, it was just throwing strikes."

Jackson figures to be a part of the Dodgers' plans for their stretch run, especially as the team's pitching has struggled in recent weeks. But with Wednesday's struggles, and only 12 games left in the Triple-A season, rehabilitation might not be an option much longer.

In his previous rehab appearance, Aug. 20 at Tucson, Jackson gave up two hits and struck out one Sidewinder in two innings.

51s manager Terry Kennedy seemed perplexed by Jackson's outing.

"If he keeps throwing like this, he could be here for a while," Kennedy said. "He needs to work on a few things, but he can't help at the big leagues ... I don't know ... just ... I don't know."

Jackson said he's not worrying about what, if anything, the pennant race holds for him.

"As far as I'm concerned, the game's over now," he said. "I try to get through day-by-day. September and October are too far away. You can't play looking that far ahead."

In 12 innings with Las Vegas overall, Nomo has allowed 17 hits, eight runs, walked six batters and struck out 15. More than half of those strikeouts, and nearly half the walks, came last weekend at Salt Lake, in four innings.

Earlier this season, Ross was just getting into his groove when a family member slammed a car door on his hand and broke it. Now, with his batting average up to .273 and coming off a bout with the flu that benched him after a stretch when he hit five home runs in five nights, Ross is out again. He was hit in the right wrist by a pitch in the first inning, and sat in a cast in the clubhouse watching the Olympics for the rest of the game.

Ross is scheduled to have X-rays today.