Advertisement

Rays' Archer says change in status won't affect mind-set

 
Chris Archer, completing a double play on Daric Barton, is likely to be the opening day starter.
Chris Archer, completing a double play on Daric Barton, is likely to be the opening day starter.
Published March 19, 2015

DUNEDIN — RHP Chris Archer's role on the Rays pitching staff will likely change now that RHP Alex Cobb, who was supposed to be the opening day starter, is out indefinitely with tendinitis.

But as far as Archer is concerned, his routine will stay the same.

Archer pitched four shutout innings in the Rays' 9-3 win against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, giving up one hit and striking out three.

With Archer a likely choice to fill Cobb's opening day spot, the pressure on him to perform could mount, especially during the Rays' April schedule, which is filled with American League East opponents. Still, Archer said that won't affect his mind-set.

"I'm just going to try and do me. Anytime I've tried to get outside of myself, I haven't been successful, in any aspect of life," Archer said. "I've learned in baseball that I don't need to do any more than what I'm simply capable of doing."

Archer, who finished last season with a 3.33 ERA while making a team-high 32 starts, said he wasn't fully satisfied with his outing Wednesday. At times, he said, he felt like he was fighting himself on the mound.

Manager Kevin Cash, though, liked how his starter settled in.

"I thought his best inning was his last inning. It seemed like he started to locate his pitches a little bit better," Cash said. "If you're out there, and you don't feel good, and you get those results, it's still a pretty good day."

PILING UP AT-BATS: 3B Evan Longoria had a good day at the plate, hitting a single in the first inning and a home run, his first of the spring, in the third.

But possibly the most important part of Longoria's afternoon wasn't what he did in his at-bats but the sheer number of them.

Longoria said he's enjoying getting three-at-bat games under his belt, something that didn't happen as much last spring as he tried to keep his oft-injured legs fresh. This season, as long as he continues to feel good, Longoria said he'd like to keep them coming.

"I feel like it's worked out a little bit better this year for me personally, in terms of the way I feel, so now it's just trying to build on that the rest of the spring," he said. "Hopefully I can have at least five or 10 more at-bats than I had last spring going into the season, and then try and get out of the gate good."

MEDICAL MATTERS: After nearly a week in the hospital with pneumonia, RHP Alex Colome was released Wednesday afternoon. Cash expects him to have two or three days of little to no activity. … OF Desmond Jennings was in the lineup after missing Tuesday's game because of flu-like symptoms, but he came out after two at-bats because of the illness. … LHP Drew Smyly (shoulder tendinitis) continued playing catch, increasing his distance to 100 feet, but there is no timetable for his return to the mound. … RHP Grant Balfour will throw one more bullpen session Friday before seeing his first game action Monday or Tuesday.

GAME ACTION: Brandon Guyer and Jennings hit back-to-back singles in the second and scored on a David DeJesus single to give the Rays (7-6-1) a 2-0 lead. … Longoria hit the first of the Rays' four home runs in the third, followed by James Loney's shot in the sixth, Richie Shaffer's in the eighth and Curt Casali's in the ninth. … The Rays scored three in the ninth on an Alexi Casilla sacrifice fly, a Shaffer double and a bases-loaded hit by pitch.