We had double the Rays’ games this afternoon as the spring roster split up between Port Charlotte and neighboring North Port, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. They faced off against Baltimore at home and the Rays’ skipper, Kevin Cash, drew up a possible opening day lineup with Austin Meadows in the leadoff spot. The Orioles starter, Bruce Zimmerman, had his way with the Rays’ hitters as he hurled 3 scoreless innings giving up just one hit on a Willy Adames line drive single. The Rays got on the board against the Baltimore reliever, Cody Carroll though. Willy Adames and Brandon Lowe led it off with a single a piece and then Jose Martinez came through with the clutch RBI single to left field making it 1-0. The offense stayed very quiet after that with only 2 hits the rest of the game.
The former Oriole, Sean Gilmartin, started on the bump in Port Charlotte today. The lefty tossed 2 scoreless frames allowing only 2 hits. Chaz Roe took over in the top of the 3rd and struck out the side after walking a couple Baltimore hitters. Anthony Banda threw back-to-back scoreless innings giving up just one hit, a single to Mason Williams. Diego Castillo threw the 6th inning, striking out the side, and giving up one free base to keep the Orioles from scoring. Colin Poche also pitched very well as he struck out 2 batters in one inning of work. The Rays won this pitcher-friendly contest with a final score of 1-0. The winning pitcher was Anthony Banda. The game over in Northport against Atlanta was also very low-scoring as it ended in a 1-1 draw. The lone Rays’ run in that game came off of an RBI single from the #1 MLB prospect, Wander Franco. It was the 3rd tie of spring training for the Rays, but nevertheless they improved their record today to 9-5.
Tampa Bay Rays Reviews 