After sitting out six days due to right elbow soreness, Rays reliever Nick Anderson returned to the mound in their 7-6 win over the Twins on Wednesday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. But his velocity didn’t come all the way back with him.
Anderson’s fastball sat between 89-92 mph, down from his average of 95.2 mph during the 2020 regular season, as he allowed two runs on three singles and one ground-rule double while recording two outs in the sixth inning. The 30-year-old right-hander didn’t seem concerned afterward, noting that his focus was on his delivery more than competing like he would in a regular-season game.
“It's hard. You step on the mound and you just want to compete and get results, so obviously I didn't really get results at all today,” Anderson said. “But as far as trying to stay a little more collected and within my mechanics, I was pretty happy with that.”
Pitching against the Pirates on March 17, Anderson felt some tightness in his elbow after a few pitches “put a little weird stress on the elbow that I’m not really used to, kind of put myself in a bad situation.” With that in mind, the Rays gave him a little extra time between outings.
Anderson said he has no structural concerns about his elbow, nor was he overly concerned about his velocity on a day when he said he wasn’t throwing “max effort or really trying to step on it.” Rays manager Kevin Cash said it will be important to see how Anderson feels on Thursday.
“Look, I see the same stuff you guys are seeing, and the results aren't as easy as he's made them look in the past,” Cash said. “And the velocities and stuff are a little off than what we've grown accustomed to seeing.”
‘Big step forward’ for Archer
Right-hander Chris Archer looked just about ready for the regular season in Wednesday's start against the Twins. He limited Minnesota to one run on one hit -- an Andrelton Simmons homer -- and struck out two while throwing 31 of 51 pitches for strikes over 3 1/3 innings.
Archer’s fastball velocity ticked up to its typical 94-95 mph at times, and he struck out Nelson Cruz on a nasty slider in the first inning. He was especially pleased with the way his changeup came into play over the course of the outing. Archer will likely throw around 70 pitches in his final Spring Training outing.
“It was nice to have a little adversity. It was nice to pitch with runners on. It was nice to induce a double play,” Archer said. “Personally, I took a big step forward.”
Buntin’ Lowe?
With a man on first base in the first inning, Brandon Lowe reached on a bunt single off Michael Pineda. It was the second time this spring Lowe dropped a bunt to beat the shift, and it likely won’t be the last time he does it this year.
With the Rays’ help, Lowe said he dug into some information about how much he was being shifted and how the occasional bunt -- or even the threat of a bunt to the open side of the field -- could benefit him. So far, it has helped him get on base twice.
“It's something that'll be in the back pocket for sure. Now with the shift being so heavily used -- no matter if you're a pull hitter or not, I feel like everyone's shifting around,” Lowe said. “If that's something that I can throw in there, consistently get down and have that be a wild card and possibly have to use it whenever -- if a slump's happening, or they want a heavy shift like that -- then I'll take the hit.”
Around the horn
• The Rays enjoyed a solid day at the plate. Joey Wendle and Willy Adames homered. Austin Meadows went 2-for-3 with a shift-beating RBI single. And Manuel Margot’s excellent spring continued as he went 2-for-3 with a double.
“Man, he's playing well,” Cash said of Margot, who is batting .393/.471/.571 in 11 games. “He's doing everything defensively, on the bases, and then he's probably been right at the top of the list of the guys having the best springs in camp.”
• High-leverage relievers Diego Castillo (one inning, one strikeout) and Pete Fairbanks (one batter, one strikeout) looked sharp on Wednesday. Non-roster right-hander Andrew Kittredge, who has a good chance to crack the Opening Day bullpen, worked a clean seventh inning. Reliever Ryan Thompson allowed a home run to Trevor Larnach in the eighth.
• Yandy Díaz and Yoshi Tsutsugo played strong defense on the infield corners Wednesday afternoon, drawing praise from Lowe and Cash. The Rays have been particularly impressed with how natural Tsutsugo has looked at first base.
“It's awesome to see a guy that's just kind of never played first base before get put over there and excel the way that he has,” Lowe said. “He really wants to dive in and get better."
• Randy Arozarena had three at-bats as the designated hitter on Monday and has not played the past two days. Cash said Arozarena is fine, but he has experienced some “hand, forearm, everything tightness, soreness” due to the number of swings he has taken. One way to slow him down? Take him out of the lineup.
“He likes to hit,” Cash said. “So the only way to prevent him from hitting is to tell him that he's not allowed to go in the cage and not play him.”
Up next
Michael Wacha will start for the Rays on Thursday, a week away from Opening Day, as Tampa Bay plays the Braves at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla. Wacha is lined up to pitch five innings after an excellent four-inning start against the Twins his last time out. Lefty reliever Ryan Sherriff is scheduled to pitch for the Rays, as are recently reassigned righties Stetson Allie, Hunter Strickland and Yacksel Ríos. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET.