PEORIA, Ariz. — With less than two weeks to prove himself, every at-bat is essentially an audition for veteran DH/outfielder candidate Andrew McCutchen.
Overall, it was a good first day of auditions.
In three at-bats of a 4-1 win against San Diego Monday, McCutchen made his spring debut with a double, two balls that left the bat at over 100 mph, took a pair of counts to full and saw 16 pitches overall.
“It feels good to get back out there on the field and try to get the game speed of things going,” said McCutchen, who signed Friday and spent the weekend racking up at-bats in the cage and against live pitching. “I’ve trusted the work I’ve done this offseason and I’m trusting the process as best I can. I’m trying to not overdo it and stay within myself. So, it felt good to get the little jitters out of the way – and yes I still get jitters.
Rangers
“It was a good day. I felt like I saw the ball well, worked couple of full counts and made some good contact.”
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Other observations from a day when the Rangers’ starter, Trey Supak, was called back over for a day after being reassigned to minor league camp:
— Right-hander Peyton Gray extended his scoreless streak this spring to 7⅔ innings with a scoreless eighth. It was a “bad” day for Gray. He allowed his second hit of the spring. Gray rebounded from the full-count single to strike out the next two hitters and then popped off the mound to the third base side to field a bunt sharply. And his throw just beat the runner for the final out. Gray has 12 strikeouts and no walks this spring.
Expect the Rangers to get him in earlier in games over the next 10 days to get a better feel for his changeup against established big league hitters. But he has put himself squarely in the competition for a bullpen spot.
— Speaking of guys fighting for a bullpen spot, the general belief was that right-hander Josh Sborz would begin the season in the minors after shoulder surgery. But Sborz’s velocity continues to inch back towards his normal range — it averaged 93 mph in a perfect seventh inning. He’s now made four consecutive scoreless appearances this spring, pitching every third day since Feb. 27. He’s put himself more squarely in the mix for opening day.
— Lefty Tyler Alexander of Southlake, who hasn’t allowed a run in four spring outings, also showed he’s been paying attention to pitchers fielding drills. He popped off the mound to field a bunt and made an accurate flip home to nab Gavin Sheets at home, trying to score on Nick Solak’s bunt. And, yes, this is your note that former Ranger Nick Solak is now in Padres camp. Gray also made a nice play to get the final out of the eighth inning.
Meanwhile, Supak failed to haul in a first-inning flip at first base from Joc Pederson.
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