The Rays ended their first day of Grapefruit League action with a 1-1 record, following a 3-2 loss at the hands of Pittsburgh and a 4-3 win against the Red Sox.
It’s kind of hard to note the good, bad, and argyle of the Red Sox game since it wasn’t on the radio, though we are pretty excited to see that Leslie Anderson drove in two runs while going yard, finishing the day 1-2 at the plate. Desmond Jennings also had a good day at the plate, going 2-2 with a run, while Jack Cust went 1-4 on the day.
Steve Slowinski of DRaysBay noted that Leslie Anderson,
Did hit the first homerun of the spring for the Rays…but in the field, I was less than impressed. He seemed awkward at first base and slow to react on grounders. Maybe it was just a bad game for him, but there’s definitely a reason Anderson has remained Triple-A fodder for so long.
Pitching wise, Alex Colome and Brandon Gomes both had good days on the mound, each going an inning and striking out a batter. Colome allowed a walk, while neither gave up a hit.
On the flip side of things, the Rays took a loss to the Pirates. Tampa Bay didn’t score a run until the eighth inning, following a Kiermaier base hit which drove in Weglarz and OF Rich Thompson. Thompson ended the day 1-3 at the plate, while Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson each had a hit.
Pitching wise, the Rays looked impressive early on, with Roberto Hernandez, Jeff Niemann, and Fernando Rodney each putting up 1-2-3 innings. Niemann and Rodney looked very impressive, with the tall righty striking out two while showing really good off speed stuff. Rodney struck out the side, shooting the moon as he made his way to the dugout. Enny Romero also looked sharp, going two innings and giving up a pair of hits, while working through a troublesome inning with a pair base runners without relenting a run. Recent acquisition, Mike Montgomery, had a rather tough outing, giving up five hits, a walk, and two runs (both earned) in the sixth.
The Rays will take on the Twins tomorrow in a 1:05 game, in Ft. Myers.