"Twins righthander Joe Nathan on Tuesday was more nervous for a spring game than a veteran with his credentials should be.

"At the same time, it was a big step for me," he said.

His past year has been filled with baby steps and bigger steps. Tuesday's game was a major checkpoint on his road back to the majors, and he breezed through it with a scoreless fourth inning in a game the Twins dropped 5-0 to Boston at Hammond Stadium.

Nathan is one more step closer now to returning as the Twins closer. He missed all of last season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during an outing against the Red Sox on March 6. He missed the Twins' inaugural season at Target Field and a second consecutive AL Central title.

With Matt Capps ready to step in to close if Nathan falters, Nathan has sailed through rehabilitation and workouts without a hitch.

Now he has to stay healthy and prove he has got his old stuff and command back.

"Definitely excited for it and it went well," Nathan said. "I was excited the way it went. I was able to mix in most of my pitches."

He admitted that he had looked forward to Tuesday's outing for a long time. It's not about finally getting to pitch at Target Field as it is proving during this camp that he can be nails again.

He received a loud ovation from the sellout crowd of 7,963 as he made his familiar jog to the mound and warmed up.

Nathan walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia around a pair of fly-ball outs, then got Drew Sutton to ground to second to end the inning.

He thew 20 pitches -- 20 of the most meaningful pitches he has thrown in some time. His adrenaline was pumping. He let all his pitches loose."