SURPRISE, Ariz. — Fighting the effects of a sinus infection, right-hander Mike Clevinger pitched five innings of one-run, three-hit ball against the Rangers in his second to last start of spring training Wednesday. He struck out three, walked one and got eight ground-ball outs.
In a game lasting one hour, 54 minutes, Rangers hitters were swinging early, a trend Clevinger has noticed all spring. He attributes it to the pitch clock.
“Hitters aren’t going to want to sit there and play with that clock game with pitchers as often,” Clevinger said. “They’re going to want to get their swings off and not have the clock in their subconscious. You’re going to see a lot more early contact from guys.”
The run came on Clint Frazier’s homer in the second, the fourth homer allowed by Clevinger this spring.
Clevinger’s fastball sat in the low 90s, a couple ticks below his norm.
“I just think I didn’t have an extra gear,” he said. “I was an energy vampire today. I was just dead from a sinus infection. If you have that extra gear it’s not a 93-mph fastball, it’s a different ballgame.”
Eloy plays it safe
Eloy Jimenez returned to the lineup as the designated hitter two days after he exited a game with cramping in his right calf. Jimenez was 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
“I have too many things [injuries] in the past,” Jimenez said of his injury history. “Wanted to be better safe than sorry.”
Bummer set for first appearance
Left-hander Aaron Bummer, a key piece to the bullpen, is scheduled for his first game Friday.
“We are going to take that one day at a time,” Grifol said. “We’ll see where he is after that. But that’s going to be one day at a time.”
Bummer is behind the other pitchers due to an offseason throwing program stalled by recurring shoulder and lat issues. The goal is to be ready for Opening Day in eight days.
Vaughn “good” but no target date for return
Grifol did not give a target date for when Andrew Vaughn will return to the lineup but said the first baseman, who hasn’t played in 10 days due to a sore lower back but is feeling “good.”
The expectation remains that Vaughn, who is taking swings, will be ready for the opener.
“It’s not going to take him too long to get ready for the season so if he’s feeling good and he’s going to stay on pace, then he should be right where he needs to be when we start,” Grifol said.
In 31 at-bats, Vaughn was batting .323 after he went 0-for-2 on March 12, his third game in three days.
Zavala’s new headgear
Catcher Seby Zavala has a new, heavier catcher’s helmet this season after he finished last season on the injured list with a concussion.
“I don’t want that to happen again so I got the hockey mask,” Zavala said. “Heavy as can be but it’s good. I took one off the head and could barely feel it.”
A series of foul tips did him in late last season.
“The first blow I took was in [Dylan] Cease’s almost no-hitter [Sept. 3], then I took foul tips off the head every time for the next two weeks,” Zavala said. “It took its toll over the course of a month and I couldn’t really hang any more.”