kelly presnell / arizona daily star

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Max Scherzer still has to build up his pitch count and stamina, but the latest results are promising.

Scherzer, a Tucson Sidewinders right-hander, threw two scoreless innings Wednesday night in his second appearance since landing on the disabled list June 18 for shoulder inflammation.

The Arizona Diamondbacks' former first-round draft pick struck out one, walked one and allowed no hits.

Scherzer said his shoulder has felt good for the last month, and his fastball command has improved, but his change-up and slider can be sharper.

"You can't return to perfect form when you take a month off, so I understand that and I'll just try to get better every time I go out," said Scherzer before Tucson's 15-7 loss to the Iowa Cubs on Thursday.

Scherzer's velocity topped out at 98 mph and averaged 94 mph.

"I saw the ball come out of his hand freer and easier," pitching coach Mike Parrott said, adding that Scherzer will throw about 45 pitches in a start Sunday at TEP. "I saw him have to put forth less effort to get better results."

Scherzer had allowed two runs and two hits, walked two and struck out none in one-third of an inning Sunday at Tacoma in his first appearance off the DL.

"I had no feel of any pitches, of anywhere the strike zone was," he said.

"You take a month off doing anything, you're not going to be the same."

Scherzer threw two bullpen sessions during the nearly five weeks "off" and worked on strengthening the muscles around his rotator cuff.

The D-backs wanted to be cautious with the shoulder inflammation, although an MRI showed no structural damage.

Scherzer was shut down for two weeks for more serious shoulder tendinitis during his final season at Missouri.

"It was the right decision," Scherzer said of the D-backs resting him for a month. "They wanted to protect from any structural damage, so they took every precaution they could to prevent that from happening. My shoulder's stronger, so that won't happen again. In the long run, it was good for me."

The Diamondbacks have promoted six pitchers from the Sidewinders this season, including Scherzer. He pitched 31 innings in the majors from April to June — and could get another look.

"If they need me to be in the bullpen, I'm more than willing to help them out," said Scherzer, who has posted a 3.25 ERA and struck out 44 and walked nine in 27 2/3 Triple-A innings.

"Whatever they need to do to get wins, I'll be glad to help them. Any role they would like me to have. I just have to try to get better every time I go out."

In Thursday's game, Tucson starter A.J. Shappi allowed eight runs in three innings, including a grand slam to Micah Hoffpauir.

Sidewinders first baseman Josh Whitesell hit his 19th homer, tops on the team, was 4 for 5 with three RBIs, and scored twice in the loss.

● Attendance for the final Thirsty Thursday for the Sidewinders in Tucson was 9,405.

● Whitesell hit a three-run home run over the center field wall in the third inning, the first Sidewinder to clear the "green monster" since Brian Barden on July 18, 2006..

● D-backs reliever Juan Cruz is expected to pitch an inning in relief today on a rehab stint.

● Outfielder Jeff Salazar is day-to-day with quadriceps tightness. He might also sit out today's game, manager Bill Plummer said.