"After seven weeks, five starts in extended spring training — even a few days on something called a "Baseball Ranch" — and nothing has really changed for Scott Kazmir.

The erratic left-hander failed to get through two innings in his first rehab start with Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday. Kazmir left the game with another in a long line of unsightly stat lines — six runs, two hits, four walks and a hit batter in 1 2/3 innings.

"I feel good. My arm feels strong and everything, I just have some things I'm trying to iron out," Kazmir said to reporters at the game. "I'm not consistent at the plate that's for sure. It's something where I'm just going to keep at it and keep working. Hopefully I'll be able to get something behind the ball a little bit and have good direction.

"It was kind of a flip of a coin if I was going to be able to get it over the plate. It really had no direction and no drive straight to the plate."

For the Angels, it was an uncomfortably familiar performance. In his lone start for them this season April 3 in Kansas City, Kazmir allowed five runs on five hits, two walks, a balk and two hit batters in 1 2/3 innings. He went on the DL shortly after that start with lower back stiffness and has been floating in DL-extended spring limbo ever since.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said he and pitching coach Mike Butcher spoke with Salt Lake manager Keith Johnson and pitching coach Erik Bennett after Kazmir's start and there was no indication that any physical issues - new or old - were at the root of Kazmir's latest flop."