BRADENTON, Fla. — James McDonald is hardly concerned about the crispness of his fastball or the break on his curveball. And for that matter, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ right-hander isn’t overly focused on controlling an opponent’s running game at the moment.

All McDonald really wants out of spring training is to put the ball where it’s supposed to go following a second half last season when the only place the ball seemed to go was the outfield and beyond.

McDonald took his tentative first steps toward putting the final two months of last year behind him, pitching a pair of scoreless innings Sunday in a 9-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The 28-year-old walked one, struck out one and settled down in the second inning after needing 21 pitches to get through the first. He used just eight pitches to get three outs in the second, working a little faster than he’s used to in an effort to keep his defense involved.

“When you slow the pace of the game up, it slows your defense up,” McDonald said. “If you keep the game going, the pitches come a little faster, guys will be on their toes a little more and I’ll probably be a little better.”

Things certainly couldn’t be much worse than the second half of last year, when he went 3-5 with a 7.52 ERA. The precision that helped him get off to a 10-3 start evaporated as the Pirates found themselves in the clutches of an actual postseason race.

Manager Clint Hurdle believes McDonald is the efficient guy who dazzled at times in the spring and early summer, not the one who limped to the finish.