TAMPA, Fla. -- If Rays starter Matt Andriese could take away any positives from his third start on Sunday, it's that he made it through his longest outing of the spring.
What transpired during those 4 1/3 innings of work in a 7-4 defeat to the Yankees, however, is something the righty admitted he would rather put behind him.
Andriese, who will open the season as Tampa Bay's No. 5 starter, was tagged with six earned runs on seven hits during the afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Aaron Hicks provided the biggest dent to Andriese's final line, slugging a two-run homer to right field in the fourth.
"Usually, I try not to walk guys and today, I was just kind of picking around the zone a little too much, and it kind of got to me a little bit," said Andriese, who also walked four and struck out three on 86 pitches.
"I know I didn't have my stuff today, so it was a little frustrating."
Take away his less-than-sharp performance, and this Spring Training has been a solid one for Andriese, who was 8-8 with a 4.29 ERA in 29 appearances (19 starts) with the Rays last season.
Coming into the game, the 27-year-old hadn't yielded more than one run in any of his three times on the hill. In testing his offspeed arsenal a bit more against New York, his spring ERA ballooned from 2.84 to 6.75. He had difficulty finishing his pitches.
"The walks are a little uncharacteristic," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "They were getting some hits, some walks, [and Andriese] fell behind too many guys. I mean, I think just by the pitch count alone shows that it was a little bit of a battle. You didn't see him have his offspeed, put-away pitches as much as we'd like to see."
With one more Grapefruit League tuneup on tap before the regular season commences, Andriese is hopeful he can come back strong and move forward to what he hopes is a successful third campaign with the Rays.
"Just forget about this one," Andriese said, "and move on to the next one and get ready for the season."
Jeff Odom