WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Like most veterans, Brad Ausmus isn't going to spend much time mulling over his Spring Training statistics, good or bad.

But it is hard to ignore Ausmus' .550 average after nine spring games. Including his 2-for-2 performance on Wednesday, Ausmus has 11 hits in 20 at-bats this month.

"We're reading into it too much right now," Ausmus said, noting that he usually posts good numbers during the exhibition season. "It's been two, 2 1/2 weeks of Spring Training. It doesn't mean anything."

But he would go as far to admit that he's adjusting well to his new plate approach, which includes a leg kick just before he swings.

"I'm feeling more and more comfortable with the timing of it," Ausmus said. "I like it, and I'm going to stay with it. But let's not have a parade yet."

Adding a leg kick can be complicated. A player has to make sure he doesn't lunge at the ball, which can be a natural reaction when a player starts his swing by raising his front leg.

Manager Phil Garner likened Ausmus' new kick to one that Luis Gonzalez adopted years ago, which helped him transition into a power hitter.

"He reaches with his leg and his weight stays back," Garner said of Gonzalez. "If you kick your leg, the tendency is you want to come off the back side real fast, and that's not good. The biggest thing for me with the leg kick is you've got to get it down and stay back at the same time. When you raise your leg, by definition, you almost have to put your weight back."

Garner sees some correlation between Ausmus' new approach and his high spring batting average.

"Part of this has to be because of the changes he's made, no question," Garner said. "He's staying back and he is using his lower half much better."

Oswalt looks sharp: Opening Day starter Roy Oswalt had few difficulties through his four-inning outing against the Tribe on Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.

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But Oswalt strayed from the curveball, which he acknowledged needs some work.

"The curveball wasn't really there today, but I could spot the fastball around a little better," he said. "I pitched off it most of today. The curveball wasn't working too well. The spin's not quite right yet. It's kind of sideways instead of over the top."

Oswalt has allowed five runs over nine innings this spring, spanning three starts.

Power game: Garner finally received the offensive performance from his team that he's been waiting for all spring on Wednesday when the Astros tagged the Tribe for 16 hits, four of which were home runs. Adam Everett, Morgan Ensberg, Luke Scott and Ausmus all went deep.

"I asked for runs in bunches and and that's what we got," Garner said. "Now, I want to continue that for seven months."

Back to basics: Unsatisfied with the Astros' general lack of execution in terms of hitting the cutoff man this spring, Garner recently ran a couple of extra drills as a refresher course.

"The last session, we got a little more serious about it," Garner said. "Now I've seen them hitting the cutoff man the last few ballgames and that's good. You can't get lackadaisical. Yeah, we have kids out there, but that doesn't excuse it. Kids ought to be able to hit them, too.

"My pet peeve is, I want the cutoff man hit. The number of times you airmail a ball and you don't get a guy out and you let a guy go second, you ruin your double-play opportunity. It's not worth it."

Berkman improving: Garner stands by his belief that Lance Berkman is not going to be ready to play when the regular season begins April 5, but the skipper is pleased with how much progress Berkman has made during Spring Training.

"I was really encouraged yesterday," Garner said. "He was running bases at third and was much more agile than I thought he would be. He moved better than I thought."

The Astros are targeting a return date of sometime around May 1.

"The strength's not going to be there right away," Garner said. "Even if we got him back early, I don't think you could play him every day. He'd play a couple days and get a day off until his strength is back."

Health issues: Right-hander Chad Harville was scheduled to pitch an inning of relief on Wednesday at Winter Haven, but he did not make the trip after coming down with the stomach flu. ... Mike Lamb, who has not played since straining his hamstring last Friday, could be ready to return to the field as early as Thursday, when the Astros travel to Vero Beach to play the Dodgers. Garner plans to play Lamb at first base for a couple of days before trying him in the outfield.

Coming up: The Astros make their only trip to Vero Beach on Thursday to play the Los Angeles Dodgers. Left-hander Andy Pettitte, who missed a start after he sprained his ankle last week, is scheduled to make his first exhibition start of the spring season. Pettitte will face lefty Kazuhisa Ishii.