Tampa Bay had a great bounce back game this afternoon in Port Charlotte as they rode a 3-run 2nd inning and 4-run 4th to an 8-2 victory over Minnesota. The offense was led by Joey Wendle, Mike Zunino, and the designated hitter, Kevan Smith. Smith is tearing up spring training so far as he is now hitting .400 after a hit, an RBI, and 2 runs today. Zunino connected for his first homerun of the spring in the bottom of the 4th inning scoring 3 including himself. Wendle had a very consistent stat line this afternoon as he had 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs in his 2 at-bats. One of his hits was a 2-run homer to left field keeping the deuces theme. Wendle’s average has now risen north of .400 giving Kevin Cash a difficult task when he attempts to figure out the opening day infield for the Rays.
Rays’ pitchers had a solid day today as the only Minnesota runs came off of a Royce Lewis blast in the 2nd inning. Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson, and Andrew Kittredge all threw perfect innings against the Twins. Castillo punched out two guys and gave up just one hit. Anderson and Kittredge didn’t record a strikeout, but they both also didn’t give up a hit. Both pitchers are very important pieces in the Rays’ bullpen and they are showing why right now. When you play in a division like the American League East, you need relief pitchers that can consistently miss hitters’ barrels and these 3 are some of the best in the business.
Tampa Bay Rays Reviews 