Janssen, Dickey appear in Minor League game

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Right-hander Casey Janssen made his unofficial spring debut with a scoreless inning of work in a Minor League game on Friday afternoon.

Janssen had yet to make an appearance this spring because of a sore right shoulder. He threw batting practice earlier this week, and soon after got clearance to pitch in an actual game.

Toronto's closer allowed just one hit while striking out two. He threw 10 of his 17 pitches for strikes, and his next game likely will come against a Major League lineup. The goal remains for Janssen to appear in back-to-back games before the end of camp.

Right-hander R.A. Dickey also pitched in that Minor League game, and he allowed four runs on nine hits over the course of eight innings. Three of those runs came in his final inning of work, and he allowed one home run.

The most important aspect of Dickey's outing was that he once again reached the 100-pitch plateau. It marked his second consecutive start with at least 100 pitches, which had been his stated goal for the past several weeks.

Dickey is now expected to ease back on his pitch count during his final spring start of the year, which will come against the Yankees on March 26. That will mark his final preparation before making an Opening Day start vs. the Rays on March 31.