Drew Smyly threw into the fourth inning on Thursday, and Desmond Jennings continued his hot Spring hitting in the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not to be outdone, Logan Forsythe collected three hits in the Rays 12-hit attack.
Smyly was sharp in his 3-1/3 inning outing. Throwing 35 of 51 pitches for strikes, the lefty allowed just two hits while striking out three and walking none. He was replaced in the fourth after giving up a single to Jordy Mercer on his 51st pitch.
The left-handed hurler now has thrown 5-1/3 scoreless innings this Spring, telling reporters after his appearance on the mound that he feels great:
I’m feeling great, my arm feels great right nowI’m just trying to get my work in, work on my pitches, just go out there and compete and have fun. …I’m just looking forward to a healthy 2016. You can’t dwell on stuff. Every player goes through it. Injuries are part of the game.
You can hear his presser (via Rays Radio) below.
Parker Markel, Danny Farquhar, Kyle McPherson, Andrew Bellatti and Tyler Sturdevant followed Smyly, and all pitched scoreless baseball while allowing just one hit and one walk. Adam Wilk relinquished the afternoon’s only run on a solo homer by Michael Suchy.
In a concerning turn of events, Brad Miller committed his third throwing error of the spring for the team. As I wrote in November following the trade for Miller, Logan Morrison and Farquhar, the shortstop has shown some real slick fielding work, and a 1.9 UZR (roughly average) for his career. He is a player with strong range, yet he is a bit error prone as exemplified by his 14 errors in 750-1/3 innings at short last season — 39 over the past three seasons.
Offensively speaking, Tampa Bay scored its first two runs in the third inning on Jennings’ home run ― his first homer of the spring, and the Rays fourth homer overall. Jennings has collected five hits ― four doubles and a homer ― and seven runs batted in.
Jennings played in just 28 games last season due to an injured left knee, and complications of oral surgery.
It’s a relief just to be able to play the game again, to be actually on the field having fun, Jennings said. I’m not trying to go back to last season. It is what it is and it happened. It’s over and I’m just trying to move forward. I feel pretty good.
The homer scored Forsythe, who singled two batters ahead of Jennings in the batting order. Manager Kevin Cash said Forsythe is one of several candidates for the leadoff spot in the upcoming season. More on that in Noteworthiness.
Corey Dickerson also singled to left in the fifth inning for Tampa bay’s third run, and Cameron Seitzer singled home a pair of runs in the seventh.
The New What Next
Jake Odorizzi will make his third start of the Spring on Friday, when the Rays travel to Bradenton to play a rematch with the Pirates. Also scheduled to pitch are Steve Geltz, Ryan Garton, Adam Reifer, and Blake Snell. We’ll post the starting lineup upon availability.
Rays 3/11/16
Souza RF
Kiermaier CF
Jennings LF
Morrison 1B
Casali DH
Miller SS
Motter 2B
Conger C
Shaffer 3B
Odorizzi RHP
Noteworthiness
— On Forsythe leading off… Forsythe was the Rays’ best hitter last season, batting .281 in 153 games. Yet none of his production came as a leadoff hitter. Be that as it may, Cash told reporters that he’s considering a move to the top of the order.
— Rookie catcher Justin O’Conner was optioned to the minor leagues Wednesday in the team’s first roster reduction of the Spring. O’Conner has been taking treatments for a herniated disk in his back.
— Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the Rays have signed RHP David Carpenter, who was released recently by Braves, to a minor league deal. Carpenter has been in the majors four-plus years, also with the Yankees and Nationals.
— Steve Pearce said his right calf muscle first felt tight on Tuesday. He has started running on a pool treadmil, and aims to return as soon as possible.