Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray made his 2021 spring debut Thursday in a 5-3 loss to the Royals in Goodyear, Ariz., pitching two innings. Gray allowed one earned run and one hit with one strikeout.

In the top of the first inning, Gray used his curveball to strike out leadoff batter Kyle Isbel. He got Jorge Soler to end the 1-2-3 inning by breaking his bat on a groundout to third base.

“It was a good first time out,” Reds manager David Bell said. “The fastball looked good, a sharp breaking ball. The one home run [allowed], but I thought he looked really good.”

The only blemish for Gray was Ryan O’Hearn’s home run to right field that opened the top of the second inning.

“I threw a lot of strikes. My breaking stuff was sharp,” Gray said. “There were four or five pitches that I completely missed on. I had a few different thoughts going on when it comes to types of pitches currently that we're messing with. A few things I'm trying to work on here early, then just decide from there if we're going to take it and put it into the game plan or not.

“Overall, I felt better in the first inning than I did in the second, but that's to be expected. Early on, it's going to be, 'Get out there, get on the mound.' I do love to compete, but early on, I am intentionally trying to just make sure everything's clicking, make sure everything feels right.”

Winker debuts

After he was scratched from Monday’s lineup because of a sore right hip, Jesse Winker made his spring debut Thursday while batting lead off and playing left field. Winker was 0-for-2 with a walk and had no issues with the hip.

“I felt really good. I can’t complain,” Winker said.

The left-handed-hitting Winker, who showed that he could hit against lefty pitchers last season with a split slash line of .265/.390/.500, relished the chance to face Royals left-handed starter Danny Duffy.

“Whenever I get the opportunity to face a lefty, I’m going to take it,” Winker said. “I want those at-bats, I want to compete against them. I feel like that’s my job as a hitter. It’s my job as a guy who really wants to have success against lefties. It’s my job to put together good ABs and compete against them.”

Sims throws from a mound

During his first time on a mound this spring, Reds reliever Lucas Sims threw 10 fastballs Wednesday during a “short box” session. That means that the catcher was positioned in front of the plate, and Sims threw about 57-58 feet, rather than the usual 60 feet, six inches.

“But just getting off the mound, I felt like I picked up where I left off last season,” Sims said Thursday. “I feel really good right now. I've been taking this throwing program very seriously because I do understand that I am little behind -- we're playing games.”

Sims shut down his offseason throwing program in mid-January for about three weeks because of right elbow soreness. The club is still hopeful that Sims can be ready in time for Opening Day. But he will have to get through traditional bullpen sessions and live batting practice before he gets into a Cactus League game.

But for now, Sims was pleased with his progress after Wednesday.

“I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got to go to up there,” Sims said. “It was 10 fastballs, but that's probably the happiest I've been on a baseball field for a couple of weeks now, for sure.”

Castellanos to return Friday

Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos, who was scratched from the lineup Tuesday because of right middle finger tendinitis, is slated to play Friday vs. Arizona, Bell said.

Fans in the stands appreciated by players

For both Gray and Winker, it was their first games played in front of fans in about a year. Both took notice and appreciated their presence at Goodyear Ballpark.

“The bullpen was cool, that’s probably where you notice it the most,” Gray said. “Where I notice it the most is the walk out to the bullpen. I’ve got that 10 minutes of a kind of dead period of looking around and taking it in. I guess that’s kind of where I was noticing the most. ... It was neat.”

“It was great,” Winker said. “When you go to a baseball game, there’s a certain buzz in the air, there’s a buzz to a baseball game. There’s chatter, there’s noise, there’s a hot dog guy yelling out ‘hot dogs,’ there’s beer down the left-field line -- that’s what baseball is. Hearing all that today was cool. I’m glad that everyone is allowed to come back and watch baseball games. If people are watching baseball games, that’s a step in the right direction.”