"Brad Lidge threw in a game situation for the first time in more than a week, and after a scoreless inning against the Pirates' minor leaguers, he said he felt as good as he has all spring.

Lidge threw 16 pitches -- 12 for strikes -- in a scoreless first inning, striking out one batter and allowing just one hit on a looper over the shortstop's head.

Afterward, Lidge said his sore shoulder felt good, allowing him to get a better trajectory on his fastball than he had before being sidelined with biceps tendinitis last week.

"One thing that was really hard for me to do before this game was throwing my fastball down," Lidge said. "I kept leaving them up. My shoulder feels to the point now where I can angle my fastball again."

While Lidge's velocity has been down this spring, clocking in at about 88 mph on his fastball during his first few outings, he said the angle on his fastball is more important because it sets up his slider as an out pitch.

Lidge said he hopes to be throwing in the low 90s again by the time the season starts and the adrenaline gets flowing, but he said that 93 and 94 mph aren't necessary for him to get hitters out.

"Last year I wasn't throwing as hard the second half of the season and I had one of the best runs of my career," said Lidge, who converted 17 of 18 save chances and posted a 0.73 ERA during the final two months of 2010.

Lidge will play catch today, and if there is no residual pain in his shoulder, he said he expects to pitch in a major league game by Thursday. From there, he'll likely throw every other day until the team breaks camp next week, but he said he may not get a chance to throw back-to-back days until the season starts.

For now, however, the key will be moving forward one more day without pain."