COSTA MESA Will Dissly Jersey , Calif. (AP) If it was up to Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James, his training camp debut would have happened before Thursday.

The Chargers decided to be cautious with their first-round draft pick as he recovered from a minor hamstring strain and delayed James’ first workout in pads.

”I feel like I was ready Monday, but you know it’s an ongoing process.” James said. ”You never know with those soft tissue injuries, so I know they got my back. They only want what’s best.”

James sustained the injury one week prior to the start of training camp while working out on his own, but there was no hint the former Florida State standout was limited in any way. During a position drill, James even joined his fellow defensive backs in an impromptu dance party.

In the team period, James was smooth and explosive in limited repetitions to earn praise from head coach Anthony Lynn.

”He looks good,” Lynn said. ”He looks good in his uniform. I mean, he’s a good-looking safety, but it’s just good to see him back out there because he had such a good offseason.”

The decision to be cautious with James was understandable after cornerback Jason Verrett sustained a torn Achilles tendon during a conditioning test last week before the start of training camp. Trevor Williams, a possible replacement for Verrett, sustained an ankle injury on Tuesday, but Lynn said it was not a high-ankle sprain and that Williams could return in a week.

James acknowledged some frustration at missing the start of his first training camp Olivier Vernon Jersey , but recognized why the Chargers would not want to risk having the injury linger into the regular season. Instead, he is focused on making the most of his time going forward.

”They know what I can do,” James said. ”They drafted me in the first round for a reason. Just really come out here and become a master of my craft, learn my movements and be where I’m supposed to be on the field.”

With James on the field, the Chargers can start to figure out their safety pairings in earnest. Tre Boston started 15 games last season, but was not re-signed in free agency. James was drafted No. 17 overall to fill that vacancy and play next to incumbent Jahleel Addae.

James is learning how to play as both a free safety and a strong safety right now, but Addae said differentiating between the two positions can be overblown in coordinator Gus Bradley’s 4-3 defense.

”Coach always says it best,” Addae said. ”We don’t have no strong safety, we don’t have no free safety. We just have safeties. All of us are interchangeable.”

James credited Addae and the other Chargers defensive backs with helping him adjust quickly to the NFL.

”I sit right behind him in the meeting room and I try to pick his brain, and he don’t mind helping me,” James said. ”He’s a great guy. Adrian Phillips, he helps me. Our whole DB room and our coaches that we have are great people to be around, and they only want what’s best.”

Still Nathan Peterman Jersey , James compared the learning process to feeding a baby.

”They give me a little spoonful, and then I got to wait a little bit, and they give me some more,” James said.

NOTES: The Chargers signed receiver Marcus Peterson and cornerback Channing Stribling on Thursday after placing Verrett and tight end Austin Roberts (torn ACL) on injured reserve.

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Monday night’s 4-0 blanking of the Cleveland Indians marked the 10,000th win in St. Louis Cardinals history.

Number 10,001 might come a bit tougher on Tuesday night.

That’s because St. Louis (41-36) will have to deal with Cleveland ace Corey Kluber in the middle game of the teams’ three-game interleague series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Kluber (11-3, 2.10), who at this point might be a favorite to win his third American League Cy Young Award, is coming off one of his standard dominating outings. In a 12-0 win Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, Kluber permitted just one hit and one walk in seven innings, fanning seven.

Following a rare hiccup in a June 15 loss to Minnesota, which touched him for four hits and four runs in five innings, Kluber was back in form.

“It seems like every five days Caleb Sturgis Jersey , you try to come up with something different to say,” Indians manager Terry Francona said to mlb.com. “But his level of consistency is so high that, man, it’s just fun to watch.”

The Cardinals got a taste of Kluber’s level of consistency three years ago on a cold May night in Cleveland, and it went down about as well as a bottle of pesticide. Kluber fanned 18 and walked none over eight innings, ceding just one hit in a 2-0 victory that was the highlight of a 9-16 season hampered by a lack of run support.

That St. Louis lineup bore little resemblance to the one that Kluber will face Tuesday night, just like the Cardinals’ starter bears little resemblance to the one that opened this season pitching at a Cy Young level.

Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.24) has seen his earned run average double since coming off the disabled list on June 5, failing to make it past the fifth inning in four straight starts. Martinez was pummeled for eight hits and seven runs, five earned, over four innings of an 11-3 defeat Thursday night in Milwaukee.

But St. Louis manager Mike Matheny says Martinez is getting closer to the pitcher that pitched to a 1.62 ERA in his first eight starts.

“I thought his stuff was better last game than his line suggested,” Matheny said of Martinez. “He knows how close he is to getting locked in, so I’m excited to see him pitch tomorrow.”

Martinez Trey Hendrickson Jersey , who will face the Indians (43-34) for the first time in his MLB career, has usually delivered shutdown efforts in interleague outings. In 16 career games, 12 of them starts, against American League competition, Martinez is 4-4 with a 1.97 ERA.

The Cardinals became the seventh MLB franchise to reach five figures in victories with a good all-around outing. They held an explosive offense to four hits, scored all their runs with two outs and played a clean game defensively.

“I’d take that every night,” Matheny said. “Give them a zero, give us a few runs and I’ll trust our bullpen. Guys came through with big hits. We did a lot of things right … it was a big day.”

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