ALVAREZ ACES MINOR TEST

DUNEDIN, FLA.— The only time Henderson Alvarez looked unsure of himself on Thursday was after he pitched seven sharp innings against Yankee minorleaguers, when a Toronto sports radio personality asked him to record a station plug.

The 21-year-old hard-throwing Venezuelan isn’t much of a talker, but his arm spoke loud and clear as he took the mound for the Class-a Dunedin Blue Jays while the big-league team travelled to Fort Myers to face the Red Sox.

Alvarez breezed through seven innings in only 72 pitches, allowing two hits, no runs, no walks while striking out four. His fastball topped out at 95 m.p.h. Of thestar.com/sports his 72 pitches, he threw only 15 balls. Fifteen of his 21 outs came on ground balls.

“He’s staying down in the zone better now than he ever has,” said Jays pitching coach Bruce Walton, adding that the coaching staff has been encouraging the young pitcher to try for more ground-ball outs. “We keep harping on him: ‘We know you throw hard, we know you can jump up to 95 or 96, but we don’t necessarily need that all the time.”

Alvarez is in line to start the home opener against the Red Sox on April 9. Brendan Kennedy