Tampa Bay Rays News and Links: Drew Smyly, Rays Bats Impress

Last night, the Rays defeated the Orioles, 10-6, with the offense continuing its early spring surge, racking up 17 hits, and 10 runs. The pitching also impressed as Drew Smyly faced most of the Baltimore regulars and struck out three over two perfect innings of work in his spring debut.The only Rays pitcher to really struggle was Justin Marks. In Batimore's big 5th inning he allowed four unearned runs, thanks to two hits, two walks, and errors from Logan Forsythe and Brad Miller. Miller, whose throwing has been seen as suspect, now has three errors this spring.

On the offensive side, Miller, Kevin Kiermaier, and Curt Casali all had multi-hit games. Casali had three hits, while the others had two apiece, including a triple from Kiermaier and a double from Miller. Richie Shaffer also doubled, after being removed from the previous day's game after being hit with a pitch.

Links!

- Neil Solondz continues his 'Getting to Know' series with Patrick Leonard, whom the Rays acquired in the Wade Davis deal.

- Topkin dives into how the Rays research a player's character before making the choice to either sign or trade for him.

- Pre-Arb players have made the headlines a couple of times, but little attention has been focused on the Rays players involved as both Brad Boxberger and Jake Odorizzi will receive less than they did in 2015.

- Curt Casali embraces the challenge of competing for the team's starting catching job.