"Scott Kazmir spent four weeks on the DL ostensibly with shoulder fatigue. Truthfully, the fatigue might have been in those who were tired of watching him pitch the way he was pitching.

But Kazmir returned from the DL Saturday and gave the Angels a reason for optimism - if you're in to that kind of thing - by going five innings and allowing just one unearned run on three hits in a 10-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The victory gave the Angels back-to-back wins for the first time since they came out of the All-Star break with three consecutive wins over the Mariners. For Kazmir, the win was his first since June 18 in Chicago. In four starts between wins, Kazmir was 0-4 with a 13.73 ERA that included a club-record 13-run beatdown in Oakland on July 10 (his final start before going on the DL).

"It's very important, just for me personally to be able to have more confidence in myself," Kazmir said of his bounce-back start. "It's tough to have that when you're not throwing the way you know you're capable of, not getting the results you want. I got a little down on myself, sure.

"This is definitely something I can build on."

The down time on the DL also allowed Kazmir to build strength in his shoulder and it showed Saturday. All of his pitches had more life on them, his fastball clocking in at 93-94 mph after registering around 90 mph much of the season. His wayward slider also seemed to have regained some bite."