During the 2020 shutdown, a little-known baseball league managed by well-known former Major Leaguers popped up outside of Houston in Sugar Land, Texas, home to a reputable independent team known as the Skeeters.

The four-team coalition was called the Constellation Energy League. One club was called “Eastern Reyes del Tigre,” and on the pitching staff was a three-time All-Star and a 12-year Major League veteran who was considering attempting a comeback: Scott Kazmir.

The season lasted a couple of months, from July to the end of August. Kazmir made four appearances (three starts) and reached the low 90s with his fastball with enough consistency to convince himself that it was at least possible to try to find his way back into the big league fold.

The 37-year-old left-hander began that journey in earnest on Friday, when he pitched an inning of relief in the Giants’ 9-8 win over the Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium. Kazmir touched 91-92 mph with his fastball in his one inning of work, allowing a pair of base hits to open the frame but also recording two strikeouts.

“The nerves were definitely there, to say the least,” Kazmir said.

The jitters were justified. It’s been 4 1/2 years since Kazmir last pitched in the big leagues. His final appearance for the Dodgers occurred on Sept. 23, 2016, and he missed all of ’17 with a hip injury. His comeback attempt with the Braves the next season didn’t pan out, and now, three years later, he’s hoping this go-around with the Giants will.

Friday was a first step, albeit a modest one. Kazmir set reasonable expectations for this outing, recognizing that between his frazzled nerves and this being his first appearance in a while, it may not be perfect.

But it was pretty good.

“I didn't want to embarrass myself out there first time out and just throw nothing but balls and overthrow everything,” he said. “I was a nervous wreck out there, but after that first couple pitches, I feel like it kind of went away to where I stopped thinking about what not to do, and just go out there and attack. It felt like it started to get a lot more comfortable, probably after the second batter.”

Kazmir arrived to Spring Training prepared to compete, having spent most of the offseason throwing bullpen sessions and making sure he didn’t fiddle with his arm strength or lose his edge. He was up to 85 or 90 pitches after throwing bullpens approximately once a week, and he arrived to Giants camp feeling strong and stretched out.

Now he just needs to reacquaint himself a little more with the pitcher-catcher dynamic. Kazmir got crossed up a few times with catcher Buster Posey, more due to the pitcher’s nerves than the catcher’s signs.

“I was so jacked up with what pitch I wanted to throw at that time, that I didn't even pay attention too much to the sequence and ended up getting it wrong quite a few times,” Kazmir said. “A couple of times I had to step off the mound, like I was messing with my cleats, but it was clearly that I had the wrong grip in my hand and realized it halfway through. That's something that's going to happen. Hopefully we can build on this.”

Manager Gabe Kapler noticed the nerves but chalked that part up to normal adrenaline that a pitcher experiences when he goes to the mound. Besides that, Kapler just saw a veteran pitcher with good velocity who showed the same type of changeup that was a key part of Kazmir’s repertoire during his prime years.

“He attacked the strike zone, was very competitive, came into the dugout pretty fired up,” Kapler said. “I thought it was a good outing.”

Scottsdale Stadium may feel like it’s light years from Constellation Field, where the only people evaluating Kazmir in that popup pandemic league were the teams’ managers: Pete Incaviglia, Roger Clemens, Greg Swindell and Dave Eiland.

The stakes today are much higher. With a good spring showing, who knows?

“At times it feels like you're light years away from being in affiliated ball, much less being in the big leagues,” Kazmir said. “But it’s just really about staying focused on progressing and just not thinking too far ahead. That's what I was able to do this offseason.”