Spring Game 27: Brandon Guyer Shines as Rays Lose Final Game

The Grapefruit League season is over, and the Tampa Bay Rays–for what’s it worth–were the champions. The final game, though, did not end quite as they would have hoped as they lost to the Detroit Tigers 6-3.

Matt Moore got the start for the Rays and did not finish with the prettiest numbers, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits in 3 innings of work. Yet there were plenty of positives. Moore struck out 4 without walking a batter after allowing at least 3 walks in his previous 3 outings. More importantly, Moore looked entirely healthy and touched as high as 96 MPH with his fastball. Moore was working on his curveball and his changeup all game as he hoped to finish off his preparation from the regular season. It would have been nice for him to go out and dominant, but there is every reason to think that Moore is every bit as ready for the major leagues as he was last season and perhaps more.

Behind Moore, Grant Balfour, Heath Bell, Joel Peralta, Jake McGee, and Josh Lueke experienced mixed results, with the middle three allowing a run each. But Balfour tossed a perfect frame, Lueke worked around a hit with a strikeout, and McGee threw a few good curveballs.

On the offensive side, the Rays were mostly quiet, with Wil Myers‘ RBI single in the 3rd inning accounting for all their runs in the first 8 innings. Brandon Guyer tripled the Rays’ run total with a 2-run home run in the 9th, just a few innings after he had made a tremendous catch in centerfield to rob Nick Castellanos. Guyer showed what he can do on both sides of the ball in this game, showing the abilities that landed him on the Rays’ roster. Logan Forsythe also had a nice game, going 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Forsythe has stolen 17 of 21 bases in his career, and the Rays will hope to see him pad that total this season.

Tomorrow, the Rays will on their Double-A affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits, in preparation for Opening Day on Monday.