Mixed results for Redmond, Rogers vs. Yanks

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- It was a tale of two innings for right-hander Todd Redmond during Sunday afternoon's game against the Yankees.

Redmond entered during the third and walked the first batter he faced. Eduardo Nunez and Carlos Beltran then stepped up and recorded back-to-back homers that easily cleared the wall.

The 28-year-old Redmond eventually settled down and got through the rest of the third inning unscathed before pitching a clean fourth. The wind was blowing out at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, but it was the location of his early pitches that caused most of the problems.

"When I started Spring Training, I felt good. That was the first time so far this spring I got underneath a lot of pitches," Redmond said. "But besides that, I made the adjustment after that first inning and was able to come back out and perform where I needed to be."

It was a minor setback in Redmond's quest to secure the final spot in Toronto's rotation. He was coming off a pair of scoreless innings against the Phillies, but this outing won't help his cause. Still, there's plenty of time remaining this spring, and the club isn't going to make a decision based on one appearance.

Right-hander Esmil Rogers got the start and also had an up-and-down performance. He recorded a three-up-three-down first inning, but then allowed three singles and one run during the second. The consolation is that only one of those three hits was well struck.

Rogers is set to earn $1.84 million this season and likely has a guaranteed job. The question that still hasn't been answered, though, is whether that job will be in the rotation or the bullpen. One big key for Rogers this season could be his changeup, which is what he was working on vs. the Yankees.

"I'm getting confident right now with my changeup and all of my pitches," Rogers said. "I didn't throw the curveball today. ... I threw the cutter, slider and changeup. My sinker was good today, too.

"[The changeup] is what I'm working for, and [playing] Dominican winter ball, I was working on my changeup. Now I feel more comfortable. I had it before, but I didn't have much confidence in it. Right now I can throw it any time I want. I threw it today to [Jacoby] Ellsbury [on a] 2-2 [count]."