After the first batter singled up the middle and the second laid down a "perfect bunt," Stephen Fife lost a little of the calm he brought to the mound in his first Salem start.

"I was like, well, welcome to the Carolina League," Fife said. "I got a little worked up about it."

A lot of deep breaths and taking the game "pitch to pitch, moment to moment," helped the Fife regain his composure. He escaped that first inning without any damage and allowed just one run on six hits in six innings.

The third-round draft pick from Boise, Idaho, went 0-3 with a 2.70 ERA in Greenville to start the season, walking four and striking out 35 in 38 ²₃ innings. He struck out five and did not allow a walk Thursday, using a mix of a two-seam fastball, curveball and change-up.

He said he thought he had his best stuff going, but was disappointed with the hitters' reactions to what he considered "some pretty good change-ups."

"They just took 'em. Just stood there," Fife said. "Maybe it'll be all right. Maybe I'll get some swings and misses down the road."

Fife got a late start to his season because of inflammation in his biceps tendon and rotator cuff that caused a pinched labrum right before the end of spring training. He went five weeks without throwing and got his first start in Greenville on May 30.

"I feel back to normal now," Fife said. "I'm finally in the flow of the routine. I finally feel able to find my pitches every few days in both the sidelines and the games."

One pitch that hasn't shown up yet is his slider.

Fife said the Red Sox have wanted him to focus on his curveball and change-up and not the slider he developed in college while trying to figure out how to throw a cutter.

Most pitchers have either a curve or slider, not both. But Fife would like to take his slider out of the bullpen "in a couple of weeks, if they'll let me.

"A slider looks like a fastball coming out of your hand. It's a little more of a swing inducer," he said. "A curve is a little easier to see out of the hand."

Coast lines

Salem reliever Jason Blackey has given up just one run in five outings in his rehab assignment with the Gulf Coast Red Sox. He has walked five and struck out eight in seven innings.

On the same team, Casey Kelley has debuted as a hitter but not yet as a shortstop. He singled, walked and drove in a run in his first game as designated hitter.