With 2 weeks until opener, Rays ‘need to do some things better’

PORT CHARLOTTE — The first month of spring training for the Rays has gone relatively well, with no major injuries or issues, and some signs of offensive spark.

But with the March 28 season opener against the Rockies just two weeks away, Rays manager Kevin Cash wants to see some noticeable improvement in certain areas of their play.

“I’m happy that we’re getting our work in,” Cash said before the 14-4 win over the Nationals. “We need to do some things a little bit better.

“Our defense, we’ve got to clean it up. Catch the ball that you’re supposed to catch, make the routine play behind the pitchers.”

Cash said they need to do better on the mound, that “the pitchers need to get the ball over the plate a little bit more.”

Though spring is often a time for experimenting with tweaks to grip and new pitches, Cash said he talked with pitching coach Kyle Snyder about focusing more going forward on strike throwing.

“There’s some guys that we want to start seeing — let’s get the ball in the zone consistently,” Cash said. “Mix the pitches with what you’re going to take into the season and go from there.”

After a 14-4 win over Washington, the Rays are 8-8-3 for the spring, with 11 games left. Offensively, they ranked fourth in the majors with a .277 average, 13th with a .783 OPS and with 22 homers. Pitching wise, they led the majors with a .227 opponents average, ranked sixth with a 4.42 ERA, and tied for 12th with 1.42 walks/hits per inning.

Rays rally to Breakout win

The Rays rallied for a 7-5 win over the Red Sox in the Spring Breakout series opener matching two of the most prospect-laden organizations.

With the score 5-all, the Rays took the lead in the seventh on a single by Adrian Santana, then added to the lead on a homer by Carson Williams, their top prospect.

Williams said he was extra motivated as he is close friends with Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer, who homered earlier.

“He said he had more pop than me,” Williams said. “He hit the homer, I had to back it up. He’s smiling at me. That was a blast.”

The Sox flexed some muscle with homers from their top three prospects — Mayer, Kristian Campbell and Roman Anthony, (which struck the building beyond the rightfield boardwalk).

“MLB’s dream,” Williams said.

The Rays showed their speed, as two of the fastest players in the minors, Homer Bush Jr. and Chandler Simpson, pulled off a double steal that set up Williams' RBI grounder in the third.

Bush said they knew they had to run: “What’s understood doesn’t have to be said.”

Overall, Williams said, the game was tons of fun.

“It was a blast,” he said. “It goes to show you how good both teams are. Lot of hitting, lots of good defense. It was pretty special to play in this game.”

Fairbanks to pitch Friday

Closer Pete Fairbanks on Friday is set for his first game action since March 6, when he walked four of six batters and threw only eight strikes among 24 pitches.

Snyder said Fairbanks is fine physically, but “there were some things we felt we could work through.”

Fairbanks said they were trying to “clean up” a few things. “And once we’re there, hopefully we’re there for the duration. I just needed a more controlled setting to not have to worry about necessarily competing with a hitter but more of competing with can I do what I’m trying to do.”

Miscellany

The Rays reduced their spring roster to 57 by reassigning hard-throwing right-hander Cole Wilcox, who is being converted from starter to reliever, to minor-league camp and releasing lefty Jake Brentz, who had big-league time with the Royals. ... Eloy Jimenez, playing outfield for the first time this spring (after only once last season), made a nifty sliding catch in left in the 14-4 win. “I felt a little bit nervous the first inning but after that normal,” he said. ... Non-roster infielder Coco Montes hit a grand slam over the leftfield boardwalk, Taylor Walls had a bases-loaded double and Brandon Lowe his third homer.

• • •

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