Short hops

• The 30 players who will be on the roster for the trip to Australia should be finalized by Saturday morning, Towers said. He said there's still discussion of whether they'll go with 11 pitchers or 12 on the 25-man roster that will be in place for the two games against the Dodgers in the Opening Series.

"We probably won't make that decision until right before the Dodgers series," Towers said.

• Veteran reliever Brad Ziegler had another rough go of it Friday, allowing three runs on three hits in an inning of work to bump his ERA to 13.50. Gibson noted that Ziegler has had rough springs before and recovered to pitch well in the regular season.

• Rudy Flores, a 21st-round draft pick, continues to impress with his bat, smacking his second homer of the spring to go along with three doubles in 10 at-bats.

"He can rake," Gibson said. "I think he dreams about raking in his sleep."