Odorizzi 'encouraged' by first rehab outing

ST. PETERSBURG -- Rays right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi made his first rehab start on Wednesday at Class A Advanced Charlotte, tossing 57 pitches over four innings while allowing one run, walking one and striking out two. Odorizzi has been on the disabled list since June 9 (retroactive to June 6) with a left oblique strain.
 
"This is my first time doing a rehab assignment, so it probably went about as well as it could," Odorizzi said. "My arm felt really good, the breaking pitches were really good -- I was surprised with the sharpness after not pitching for three weeks, and it felt like I hadn't skipped a beat. So it was a great sign."
 
Odorizzi reported no pain from the outing and said that it would not take more than one more rehab start -- if that -- before he'll be able to return to the Rays' rotation.
 
"I feel like the stuff I had today, I could have taken into today's [Rays] game and been perfectly fine and out there doing normal things," Odorizzi said. "I was really encouraged with how everything went."
 
The Stone Crabs -- or "Port Charlotte Rays," as Odorizzi called them -- also had John Jaso and James Loney in the starting lineup. Loney (fractured left middle finger) went 2-for-3 before being pulled in the middle of the fifth, and Jaso (left wrist contusion) went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and three strikeouts in Charlotte's 5-2 victory over Bradenton.