PORT CHARLOTTE – The first eight innings of Wednesday’s 5-2 victory against the Pirates were pretty impressive for the Rays.
Starter Zack Littell threw six strong innings, shortstop Taylor Walls made some highlight-reel defensive stops, and Eloy Jimenez and Danny Jansen both hit home runs. Still, it was the ninth inning that seemed to excite manager Kevin Cash the most.
Closer Pete Fairbanks looked impressive with a three-up, three-down inning, throwing eight strikes among his 11 pitches. Fairbanks struggled with his control earlier in the camp and spent time working on his delivery with pitching coaches Kyle Snyder and Jorge Moncada.
“The strike zone and the velocity uptick? He was up to 97 to 99 mph. Really encouraged,” Cash said. “That was probably the brightest spot of the day. There was a lot to like. (Josh) Lowe swinging the bat well, Mason Montgomery and Manny (Rodriguez) both came in and did well, Littell looked like himself with a nice bounce-back outing.
“But highlighted by Pete right there. That was awesome.”
Another Jansen jack
Jansen, one of Tampa Bay’s two main offseason acquisitions, has quietly put together a strong spring. The former Toronto and Boston catcher is hitting .320 with a team-high six walks and yanked his second home run down the leftfield line. “It feels like we’ve seen that a lot,” Cash said. “He’s hit some pull-side home runs against us. I just think he’s going to do so much for our offense.”
Remaining roster
* minor-league contract invitee; + IL
Pitchers (21): Shane Baz, Hunter Bigge, Joe Boyle, Taj Bradley, Garrett Cleavinger, Mason Englert, Alex Faedo, Pete Fairbanks, Jonathan Hernández*, Kevin Kelly, Nathan Lavender+, Zack Littell, Shane McClanahan, Mason Montgomery, Ryan Pepiot, Drew Rasmussen, Manuel Rodríguez, Connor Seabold*, Edwin Uceta, Mike Vasil, Nathan Wiles*
Catchers (5): Tres Barrera*, Danny Jansen, Ricardo Genovés*, Kenny Piper* Ben Rortvedt
Infielders (12): Jonathan Aranda, Jose Caballero, Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz, Ha-Seong Kim, Brandon Lowe, Curtis Mead, Coco Montes*, Tanner Murray*, Bob Seymour*, Taylor Walls, Jake Westbrook*
Outfielders (6): Jonny DeLuca, Eloy Jiménez*, Josh Lowe, Christopher Morel, Richie Palacios, Tristan Peters*
Thursday: at Blue Jays
1:07, TD Ballpark, Dunedin
Radio: MLB.com (free, signup required)
Pitchers: Rays — Taj Bradley, Hunter Bigge, Nathan Wiles. Blue Jays — Bowden Francis, Chad Green, Nick Sandlin, Kevin Gowdy.
Tickets/info: raysbaseball.com
On deck
Friday: vs. Braves, 1:05. Rays — Drew Rasmussen; Braves — TBA
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Saturday: vs. Red Sox, 1:05. Rays — TBA; Red Sox — Tanner Houck
Sunday: at Yankees, 1:05. Rays — TBA; Yankees — TBA
Remaining schedule
(games 1:05 unless noted)
Monday: at Phillies, 12:35, Clearwater
28: vs. Rockies, regular-season opener, Tampa, 4:10
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