Shields can’t find a groove

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Scot Shields is perfect in one respect this spring. In three exhibition games, two big league and one minor league, he walked his first batter on four pitches.

“I’m three for three on that,” Shields said before the Angels’ 8-1 Cactus League win over San Francisco on Thursday.

The setup man’s sense of humor is definitely intact. The rest of him? Well, nobody has called all the king’s men, but Shields hasn’t put things together this spring, the combination of a sore shoulder and some mechanical kinks resulting in some choppy play.

Shields didn’t make his first spring appearance until March 13, and in three games, he has given up six earned runs and eight hits in four innings, walking three and striking out one.

With the season opener 10 days away, Shields will have only two or three more appearances to smooth out his complicated delivery and find his rhythm.

“This happens every spring,” Shields said of his shoulder problems. “But I feel ready to go, and my arm feels good. I just have to get down to business and throw more strikes.”

Shields did that Wednesday in a triple-A game. After walking his first batter, he threw 17 of his next 20 fastballs for strikes. After giving up two runs in his first inning, he gave up an infield single and retired three batters in the second.

“That’s why they wanted me to go down and throw two innings, to get more pitches and my mechanics in sync,” Shields said. “The second inning was good, so hopefully that’s the end of it.”

Shields has a similar attitude toward his second-half struggles in 2007, when he had a 7.36 earned-run average in 31 games, compared with a 1.70 ERA in 40 first-half games.

“Take my word for it -- people can believe what they want, but I think that’s in the past,” Shields said. “I’m ready to pitch like I know I can.”

Trouble in paradise

Tension interrupted a placid camp Thursday morning when relievers Darren Oliver and Justin Speier nearly came to blows.

Oliver had placed a box of belongings in front of Speier’s locker, which is next to Oliver’s, and Speier, known for his pranks, dumped the contents of the box onto the floor, an attempt at a joke. Oliver didn’t think it was funny.

“Don’t dump my . . . all over the place!” Oliver yelled before going face-to-face with Speier, who seemed stunned by Oliver’s reaction. “I’m not going to fight a teammate,” Speier said.

No punches were thrown, and teammates separated the two. Manager Mike Scioscia did not witness the skirmish, but upon hearing what happened, he downplayed the incident.

Speier said he apologized to Oliver, who said, “Yeah, we’re all right.”

The kid is all right

Nick Adenhart boosted his chances of replacing the injured John Lackey, giving up three hits, striking out six and walking two in six scoreless innings against San Francisco.

Adenhart, a 21-year-old right-hander who is competing with Dustin Moseley for the final rotation spot, has a 2.89 ERA in five spring games, with 13 strikeouts and three walks in 18 2/3 innings.

Scioscia said the decision would be made at “the 11th hour -- this thing could go to the last day of spring training.”

Nicked up

Gary Matthews Jr., who singled twice and has seven hits in his last seven plate appearances, left the game in the fourth inning because of a bruised left gluteus, an injury he suffered sliding into home plate.

Vladimir Guerrero left the game after three innings because of an irritation in his right knee, which he tweaked Wednesday against Oakland. Neither injury is serious, but Scioscia said Guerrero probably will not play tonight.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com