Rays 'unleash Ras' in sharp spring debut

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Making his first start of the spring as he works his way back into the Rays¡¯ rotation, Drew Rasmussen really only ran into trouble about an hour before first pitch Monday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park.

Rasmussen pitched two quick innings on 29 pitches in the Rays¡¯ 5-4 win over the Braves, working around a hit and a walk with a pair of double-play grounders. It was a good first step for the right-hander, who is preparing for the season as a starter after returning from elbow surgery last season as a reliever.

He just might have been a little over-eager to get back on the mound. He stretched and got loose, ready to start his pregame routine, only to look at the clock and realize, as he put it, ¡°Oh, buddy, yeah, the game¡¯s in an hour.¡± He was about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

¡°I felt great. Started my routine a little early today, so that¡¯s all right,¡± Rasmussen said, smiling. ¡°We had to kill a little bit of time pregame, but we¡¯ll get those kinds of things ironed out, and then we¡¯ll get back into the flow.¡±

Manager Kevin Cash said the Rays will ¡°use common sense¡± as they map out and monitor Rasmussen¡¯s progression toward the start of the season. That was evident in him being the last of their top six starters to get into a Grapefruit League game. It¡¯s unclear what kind of restrictions Rasmussen might be under once the season begins, considering his limited workload and injury history.

But the Rays knows what they can expect from Rasmussen when he¡¯s on the mound. Including a handful of assignments as an opener, the right-hander has put together a 2.67 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 50 outings as a big league starter. Having him back in the mix with Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot and Zack Littell gives Tampa Bay even more reason to be optimistic about its rotation heading into the season.

¡°I can't wait,¡± second baseman Brandon Lowe said. ¡°I know he will be [what he was before], because that's just the kind of human being and the kind of player that he is. I know that he has grinded and worked his tail off to get back to what he was pre-injury. I am glad that I don't have to make the decision on any kind of starting pitching, because we have a plethora of it.

¡°I can't wait until we get out there during the year, and it's just [time to] unleash Ras on everybody, because with him and all the other starting pitchers that we have, it's gonna be a fun year.¡±

Rasmussen gave up a single to Ozzie Albies on the first pitch he threw, but Curtis Mead and Jos¨¦ Caballero turned an impressive double play on the next batter, Michael Harris II. Rasmussen began the second inning by walking Garrett Cooper, then got Bryan De La Cruz to hit into another double play before retiring Orlando Arcia.

¡°It¡¯s nice to kind of check that box off,¡± Rasmussen said. ¡°Need to sharpen up a little two-strike execution. But other than that, like, if that's my biggest complaint, we're in a good spot.¡±

Camp notes

? Lowe went 3-for-3 on Monday and capped his performance with a dribbler down the first-base line that rolled into foul territory before sliding back over the line and bouncing off the bag.

¡°That was purely intentional,¡± Lowe deadpanned. ¡°I wanted it to be trying to go foul to make me run hard, and then everybody leave it and let it hit the base. I've been practicing it pretty hard.¡±

? Outfielder Aidan Smith, the Rays¡¯ No. 6 prospect, came over from Minor League camp to back up in right field and delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning.

¡°That was pretty exciting for Aidan Smith to get in there and get that hit,¡± Cash said. ¡°We were excited to have him come over.¡±

? Ricardo Genov¨¦s, a 25-year-old catcher who signed a second consecutive Minor League deal to remain with the Rays, had a costly error in the ninth inning and immediately made up for it by slapping a walkoff single to left.

¡°I thought we were down by one, so I hit the knock, OK, we scored a run, we tied it up,¡± he said. ¡°Then everybody just started running at me. I was like, ¡®What¡¯s happening right now?¡¯¡±

? There was plenty of activity on Field 5 in the 90 minutes leading up to the main game at Charlotte Sports Park, as Bradley, prospect Yoniel Curet and relievers Pete Fairbanks, Manuel Rodr¨ªguez and Garrett Cleavinger pitched in a simulated game.