Indians lefthander Scott Lewis was rocked around at Double-A Erie on Monday, giving up five extra-base hits—including a first-inning, three-run home run to Sea Wolves second baseman Michael Hollimon—in just three innings of Akron’s 9-4 loss.

Lewis, who led all the minors with a 1.48 ERA at high Class A Kinston last season, allowed five runs on seven hits in the abbreviated outing and according to Akron pitching coach Greg Hibbard, is still a work in progress despite the gaudy numbers.

“Physically and delivery-wise there are some things we’re working on,” Hibbard said. “One thing he wants to get better at is throwing his curveball for strikes more, he’d like to throw his changeup more to get outs. He’s using them both and he’s not afraid to throw them . . . he’s just not real confident that they’re going to get outs.

“He’s so good with his fastball to both sides of the plate at 88-89 (mph) and he’s very fluid. For him to get to the next level, he’s going to have to command a second or a third offspeed pitch.”

In addition to not fully trusting his secondary pitches, the other area of ongoing concern with Lewis is the durability factor. The 23-year-old had Tommy John surgery during his sophomore season at Ohio State, then had several bouts with minor biceps tendinitis during his first two seasons in the system. The Indians have taken a baby steps approach with Lewis, who won the 2006 ERA title in just 116 innings, limiting his pitch count considerably in Kinston last season. The 2004 third-rounder is up to 70 pitches now, which the club hopes to expand to 90 next month.

“He’s just getting back into the feel of things and he’s bouncing back a lot quicker (between starts),” Hibbard said. “The ultimate goal for me would be for him to go into a full side day where he’s throwing off the mound between starts.

“Right now he’s just doing some flat ground stuff and it seems to be working for him and he’s bouncing back. I’m continually getting feedback from him just to see where he’s at from outing to outing and it’s something we obviously have to monitor very closely based on how he feels.”