After a tough 11-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Port Charlotte on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back against the Minnesota Twins on Friday. The Rays enter the day 6-8 in Grapefruit League action.
Both Tyler Glasnow and Jalen Beeks were sharp against Toronto, which Rays Manager Kevin Cash noted in his post game presser.
He was probably the highlight. Obviously not our best performance. We didn’t catch the ball, we didn’t hit the ball, we didn’t pitch it. I did think Tyler did a good job coming out, he looked really good. I didn’t see his last outing, but talking to (pitching coach Kyle Snyder) it was very encouraging. Also Jalen Beeks looked good. … Other than that, get ready to play tomorrow.
— Kevin Cash
Colin Poche, however, struggled in during his outing, allowing three free passes and two hits, while getting none out. Poche enters play with a 12.27 S
I don’t have a good answer other than obviously he’s not commanding the baseball, and that’s not him. I’m confident that he’ll get back into a groove it’s just taking a little more time than maybe we’d all like to see.
— Kevin Cash
Following the game, Poche got a call from former minor league manager, and current Blue Jays coach, Shelley Duncan. Poche had similar control issues in his first full season with the Diamondbacks and feels he needs to get back to being more aggressive with his fastball, writes Neil Solondz (Rays Radio).
The New What Next
Kevin Cash will start Jake Faria, who threw three efficient innings over the weekend. Also scheduled to pitch are Ryan Merritt, Hunter Wood, Oliver Drake, Adam Kolarek, Ricardo Pinto, Luis Santos, and Hoby Milner. Faria will be opposed be Jose Berrios.
Rays 3/8/19 Starting Lineup
- B. Lowe LF
- Garcia RF
- Choi 1B
- Adames SS
- Wendle 2B
- Perez C
- N. Lowe DH
- Arroyo 3B
- Bonifacio CF
- Faria RHP
Noteworthiness
— Brandon Lowe will make his first start of the Spring in the outfield.
— Ryan Yarbrough (groin tightness) felt good coming out of his bullpen session yesterday. The southpaw is slated to return to action on Sunday.
— Matt Duffy (hamstring) has passed all of his tests and is scheduled to return to the lineup on Saturday as expected. Kevin Cash said once Duffy gets in a couple of games at third, they will start giving him some reps in the outfield, which was part of the plan coming into Spring Training.
— Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will pitch Monday in Clearwater against the Phillies, while Charlie Morton will throw a simulated game on Tuesday rather than face the Blue Jays in Dunedin.
— Cash told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the first wave of roster cuts will be “fairly large,” as they need to start focusing on the guys who will/could be part of the big-league squad.