Saito’s wild start ends well after all

VIERA, Fla. -- Maybe it was the butterflies. Or the swirling wind whipping around Space Coast Stadium.

Either way, Takashi Saito’s return to a big league mound didn’t get off to a good start Saturday when the All-Star closer chucked his first warmup pitch all the way to the backstop in the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 6-1 Grapefruit League win over the Washington Nationals.

“I just over did it,” Saito, sidelined all spring because of a sore right calf, said through interpreter Kenji Nimura. “I wasn’t really nervous, but I have a really short period to prepare myself for opening day. So I have to get as much as possible [done] in this short period of time.

“When something like that goes through my mind, sometimes I overthrow.”

Saito’s first two pitches to Willie Harris also missed the strike zone badly, but he got better after that, throwing six of his last eight pitches for strikes and retiring the side on three consecutive ground balls.

“First and foremost, I wanted to make sure that my calf was OK,” said Saito, sitting in front of his locker with his shoulder, elbow and the lower half of his right leg all wrapped in bandages. “And I got that cleared. So I was very relieved.”

Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said Saito will make six more one-inning appearances in spring training to get ready for the regular season.

“I’m happy,” Honeycutt said. “The main thing for me is he didn’t feel any [pain].”

Brad Penny, the probable opening-day starter, preceded Saito on the mound, holding the Nationals to two walks and a two-out second-inning double in five innings, his longest outing of the spring. The right-hander, who has given up only a run and five hits in 10 innings, retired the last eight batters he faced.

The win was the first in five games for the Dodgers under fill-in Manager Tom Lasorda.

Ethier keeps rolling

Andre Ethier continued his torrid spring, driving in four runs and finishing three for four, including a team-leading fourth home run.

“The last two years, I haven’t been able to give a fair showing of what I’m capable of doing,” said Ethier, who leads the Dodgers with 10 runs batted in, nine runs and 24 total bases, and is second with 12 hits. “I haven’t felt this good since I played double A and my shoulder was healthy. Mechanically, I feel like I’m getting back to where I’m able to swing [like] before that injury.”

Ethier, then with Oakland, was selected the Texas League player of the year in 2005 after batting .319 with 104 runs, 18 homers and 80 RBIs in 131 games at Midland.

But despite his gaudy spring numbers, Ethier figures to compete for playing time during the season with Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones and Matt Kemp, the probable starters in the outfield.

“It’s going to be tough to make out the lineup,” bench coach Bob Schaefer said. “We’ve got four solid outfielders. We’re always going to have a good guy on the bench.”

Ethier’s homer, a wind-blown two-run shot to left field in the fourth inning, gave the Dodgers at least one homer in 10 consecutive games.

Abreu on the mend

Infielder Tony Abreu, limited to three Grapefruit League at-bats because of an abdominal injury, stayed at Dodgertown to play four innings at second base in a minor league game. Abreu, who walked and grounded out twice in three plate appearances, will be reevaluated by the training staff today and if he passes that test he could be back in the lineup before the team leaves Florida on Tuesday. . . . Jeff Kent, sidelined since March 5 because of a tender hamstring, had five plate appearances in the same game but did not play in the field. He also is expected back shortly. . . . Non-roster third baseman Blake DeWitt, who has played brilliantly since being summoned from minor league camp a week ago, had his toughest day in a Dodgers uniform against the Nationals, committing his first error, going hitless in four at-bats and hitting into two double plays, although one came on a ball he lined sharply to the mound.

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com