SARASOTA, Fla. -- Pitcher Yovani Gallardo, who worked four innings on Monday against the Rays' Class A team, said Tuesday he was pleased with how his outing went.
"It's feeling better," said Gallardo, whose original outing was cancelled Saturday due to rain. "Getting more ground balls, which is a good sign. It means keeping the ball down in the zone. And I was able to work on some things. I was good all around."
Gallardo faced an extra batter in the fourth inning and manager Buck Showalter, able to watch the outing because the team was off, said the right-hander took it up a notch.
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"There was a different look on his face, the third or fourth inning. He said, 'I'm sorry. I got tired of [working on things].' He went into that competitive mode, which was one of the best things that happened to him," Showalter said. "His velocity picked up two or three miles an hour. His tempo picked up."
Gallardo admitted it can be difficult to crank up the intensity in that kind of scenario -- a Minor League game in Spring Training without crowd noise.
"Yesterday wasn't a good day to begin with. It was a little bit colder than normal and the wind was pretty bad, but the most important thing is, no matter where you're throwing, you've still got to go out there and make pitches and get your work in," Gallardo said. "Overall, it was a good day."