Under the starry skies and bright lights of Ft. Myers, the Tampa Bay Rays took the first game of the 2017 Knutson Cup from the Minnesota Twins, 3-1. The Rays play their home opener in Port Charlotte today against the Pirates.
A few highlights from last night’s ball game follow:
— Brad Miller looked good at second base. Miller made a couple of solid fielding plays in the bottom of the second inning, including one in which he had to backhand a grounder while ranging to his left.
Brad looked good, Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the game. He’s continued to look good.
— Austin Pruitt threw two scoreless innings in his Spring Training debut. Pruitt tossed 20-of-34 pitches for strikes, giving up just one hit while fanning three (all swinging) without walking a batter. The right-hander worked out of a two-out jam in the second inning after INF Daniel Robertson erred twice in a row to load the bases. Pruitt fell behind 3-0 before coming back with three consecutive strikes to leave the bases juiced, and end the frame unscathed.
Cash was encouraged by what he saw:
(Audio courtesy of Rays Radio)
— Tim Beckham, who got the start at shortstop, laced a double to centerfield on the second pitch of his first at-bat, and then lined a triple to the right-center gap on the first pitch he saw in his second at-bat. One batter later, Robertson drove Beckham home on a single to put the Rays up 1-0.
As Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) noted in his morning Heater post, that power potential is what keeps the Rays intrigued and keeps him around. Though he started at shortstop Friday, the Rays will have him move not only around the infield but also, for the first time, to the outfield.
His versatility will also help him keep a spot on the roster.
Beck came out swinging … he looked awesome, Cash said. He’s not short on power, being able to hit the ball out of the ballpark and hit it in the gaps. Nice to see he was ready to go early on.
— RHP Ryne Stanek threw a scoreless sixth inning. The right-hander, who is up for consideration in the 2017 bullpen, hit 99 mph twice and 98 nine times. All told, Stanek threw 16 pitches at 97 or above, and four sliders at 90-93 — allowing a walk and an infield single.
Ryne Stanek, obviously, with the big fastball was impressive, the Rays manager said. You can’t overlook the velocity, it’s pretty impressive.
Note: quotes pulled from the Heater blog.
The New What Next
The Rays will play their first home game of the Grapefruit League season against the Pirates on Saturday. David Carpenter gets the start opposite of Josh Lindblom. Dana Eveland, Danny Farquhar, Cory Rasmus, Justin Marks, Jaime Schultz, Neil Wagner, and Taylor Guerrieri are also expected to take the mound for Tampa Bay.
Rays 2/25/17 Starting Lineup
Dickerson DH
Kiermaier CF
Weeks 1B
Bauers LF
Franklin 2B
Casali C
Adames SS
Leonard 3B
Peterson RF
Carpenter RHP
Noteworthiness
— INF/OF Rickie Weeks will make his first appearance at first base. Weeks told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) Logan Morrison has been very helpful, and that the biggest adjustment will be positioning.
— Former Ray John “Mikey” Jaso will face his original organization Saturday, playing first base, and hitting third, for the Pirates.