PITTSBURGH - No wins, two losses, 10.45 earned run average.

Such numbers aren't welcome by any pitcher at any level of baseball, let alone the major leagues.

But Butler native and Chicago Cubs starter Matt Clement was saddled with them after his first four spring training appearances last month.

"I was never really worried about it," Clement said. "I wasn't getting many people out, but I was getting myself ready.

"It just took a lot longer for me to find it this year, that's all," he added.

Clement's final Cactus League appearance was a five-inning stint against Anaheim, when he permitted three earned runs.

"I had a couple of easy innings and I have to admit, they felt pretty good," he said.

He's had plenty of easy innings lately.

Clement is 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA through his first three starts this season and allowed only one earned run in 12

innings pitched in his last two outings, both victories.

"There was never any problem with Matt," said Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild. "It's not easy pitching in Arizona and I didn't see anything in his motion or delivery that I didn't like."

Clement has 17 strikeouts in 16

innings this year, but he also has walked 10 and hit three batters.

Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .194 against him. Right-handed hitters are batting just .226 against him lifetime.

"I like the way things feel when the ball leaves my hand now," Clement said. "It wasn't that way in spring training. I consider it a lesson learned.

"I finished on a strong note last year. Then you're off for a few months, come back and I figured I'd pick up where I left off. I found out it doesn't always work that way.

"I really had to work at it this spring, but I found it. Now I just want to build off the momentum of my last two starts," Clement added.

Because he began spring training with a spot in the starting rotation, Clement said he never worried about impressing the coaches in preseason.

"My slider's my best pitch and I could have relied on it all spring if I wanted to impress people," he said. "It was more important for me to work on my other pitches."

Rothschild said Clement can go at hitters with a number of pitches, "and it's hard to decide what pitch we should rely on early when he leaves the bullpen.

"Matt can struggle in the first inning of games - a lot of pitchers can - because it takes a while to get a feel for the mound and to get comfortable out there. Because Matt counts so much on the movement of his pitches, it can affect him more," Rothschild added.

Clement threw 107 pitches in his last start - 28 alone in the first inning of an 8-1 win over Cincinnati.

"I'm right where I should be right now," Clement said. "There's no sense in overextending myself now. You want to be able to do that in August and September."

Because he wears No. 30, Clement's locker stall is next to the No. 31 of Greg Maddux on road trips.

"You're talking about a guy who's won 15 games a year for 16 years in a row," Clement said. "He knows the league, he knows how to set up hitters. You bet I listen to what he has to say about pitching."

For the first time in his career, Clement is pitching for a team predicted by many to reach the World Series this year.

The Cubs have not even had consecutive winning seasons since 1971-72. They have not reached postseason play in consecutive years since 1907-08.

And they began the regular season with ace pitcher Mark Prior on the disabled list.

"It's exciting to be the team to beat, but it's challenging because everyone's ready to play us," Clement said. "We miss Mark, but we can pick it up for him because this pitching staff is so deep."