By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, March 1, 2011

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Manny Ramirez scores the Rays’ first run in the second, bolting from third on a wild pitch and beating Bryan Morris to the plate.
	[JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]

PORT CHARLOTTE — The two hits were solid, and the couple of plays in leftfield smooth.

But most impressive of the good things Manny Ramirez did in Monday’s exhibition, a 6-5 loss to the Pirates, was break from third base on a wild pitch and race home, sliding across the plate with the Rays’ first run.

Even better was his Manny Being Manny explanation of his hustle:

“The game says ‘Play Ball,’ so I just go and play.”

Amid all the new and young players vying for attention in Rays camp, it’s hard to ignore Ramirez’s efforts thus far in terms of work ethic, attitude and performance, with his dash home the latest example.

“We talk about baserunning like almost 100 percent of the time during practice in the morning, so I liked what he did right there,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s alert. He’s buying into everything we’re trying to do here. I liked it a lot.”

The Rays signed Ramirez to be their primary DH but plan to put him in leftfield six or seven times this spring to prepare him for the possibility of some occasional regular-season work.

Ramirez said he was “kinda nervous” about playing the field, “but if I keep going out there, I’m going to keep getting used to it and feel more comfortable and maybe play better.”

With a hard single over shortstop and an RBI single to the right of center, Ramirez is now 3-for-4 this spring.

BIRTHDAY BOY: RHP Jeff Niemann said he hadn’t gotten any gifts yet for his 28th birthday but was pretty pleased with what he gave himself, a 1-2-3 inning that required only 12 pitches. “That’s a great birthday present,” he said.

Niemann looked sharp and felt so good he went to the bullpen and threw another 15-20 pitches.

PITCHING IN: RHP Kyle Farnsworth, the most experienced member of the rebuilt bullpen, also made an impressive debut with a nine-pitch 1-2-3 second. “I’ll take that and bottle it and keep it every day,” he said. … RHP Jeremy Hellickson, recovered from his right hamstring strain, will throw his second bullpen session today. … RHP Juan Cruz is set for his debut Thursday. … RHP Andy Sonnanstine makes the start today and is in line to step into the rotation if the Rays need a fill-in.

PAIN IN THE CALF: RHP Joel Peralta was hobbling a bit after taking a line drive off his left calf, though he recovered to get the out and stayed in the game. “I have not heard anything negative from (head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield), so I imagine it’s all good,” Maddon said.

GAME DETAILS: The Rays (1-2) led 4-0, with a third-inning rally featuring a Reid Brignac double, consecutive singles by Johnny Damon, Evan Longoria and Ramirez then a Ben Zobrist double. … RHP Mike Ekstrom gave it all back, and more, in the fourth, allowing a three-run homer to Garrett Atkins plus a run-scoring wild pitch. … The Rays had a chance to tie in the ninth, but INF Joe Inglett was thrown out trying to steal second.

MISCELLANY: ESPN’s spring bus tour hits Port Charlotte today, with Tim Kurkjian and John Kruk reporting live. … Individual game tickets for the regular season went on sale Monday at all outlets including Ticketmaster and the Tropicana Field box office.

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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. —

The importance of good base running is a major point of emphasis for the Tampa Bay Rays in spring training and Manny Ramirez is paying attention.

The slugger had two hits, drove in a run and played left field for the first time with his new team during a 6-5 loss to a Pittsburgh Pirates split squad on Monday.

Ramirez, signed this month to a $2 million, one-year contract, also made a good impression by scoring from third base on a second-inning wild pitch, sliding into the plate to the delight of the crowd at Charlotte Sports Park.

“We’ve talked about baserunning almost 100 percent of the time during practice in the mornings,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I liked what he did right there. He’s alert. He’s buying into everything we’re trying to do here, and I liked it a lot.”

Garrett Atkins hit a three-run homer for Pittsburgh, delivering the big blow in a five-run fourth inning against right-hander Mike Ekstrom.

Josh Fields had a RBI single for the Pirates, and Chris Snyder scored the winning run on wild pitch during an error-filled seventh inning.

Ramirez started in left field for the Rays after making his spring debut as a designated hitter on Monday. He went 2 for 2, including a RBI single off Fernando Nieve, and scored Tampa Bay’s first run when he scooted home on Bryan Morris’ wild pitch.

“The game says, `play ball,”‘ Ramirez said, shrugging off his heads-up baserunning. “I just go and play.”

It was a relatively quiet day in left for the 12-time All-Star, who only had two balls hit his way. He caught Atkins’ line drive to end the second inning, then fielded Neil Walker’s fourth-inning single before leaving the the game.

The Rays intend to use Ramirez as the regular DH. Still, they also want him to play some in the outfield during spring training so he’s prepared for the possibility they’ll need him to spell Johnny Damon on occasion during the season.

“He did fine. A couple of chances out there,” Maddon said. “I thought he looked really good at the plate. Line drive into left-center, line drive into right-center. I liked his approach at the plate. He looked really good.”

Right-hander Jeff Niemann made his first spring start for the Rays, pitching one scoreless inning. Relievers Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta, signed this winner to help rebuild a bullpen depleted by free agency, both worked scoreless innings, too.

Peralta hit in the back of the left calf by a line drive off the bat of Alex Presley, but was able to throw the runner out at first and finish the inning.

“It hit him pretty squarely in the calf, and we were just concerned that it was going to get too tight,” Maddon said. “But apparently he was fine. He pitched through it. I’ve not heard anything negative Â… so I imagine it’s all good.”

Niemann has been one of Tampa Bay’s most consistent pitchers over the past two seasons. He was 6-0 over his first 12 starts of 2010 and was 10-3 with a 3.12 ERA before being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain on Aug. 9.

He struggled after returning in late August, going 2-5 with a 9.82 ERA in eight appearances, including seven starts.

Nevertheless, the 6-foot-9 right-hander is one of eight big league pitchers with at least 12 victories and a .600 winning percentage each of the past two seasons. The others are Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, CC Sabatahia, Jon Lester, Justin Verlander, Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter.

“It’s always nice to get off to a good start,” Niemann said, adding that the 12-pitch, one-two-three inning was a nice gift on his 28th birthday.

NOTES: Damon, Ben Zobrist and Justin Ruggiano also drove in runs for the Rays. Â… Morris, 9-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 27 combined starts for Class A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona last year, allowed one run and two hits in two innings. The Pirates acquired him from the Dodgers in the three-team trade that Ramirez from Boston to Los Angeles and Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to the Red Sox in July 2008.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP)—Garrett Atkins(notes) hit a three-run homer Monday, leading a Pittsburgh Pirates split squad to a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Atkins delivered the big blow in a five-run fourth inning against right-hander Mike Ekstrom(notes). Josh Fields(notes) had an RBI single for the Pirates and Chris Snyder(notes) scored the decisive run on a wild pitch during an error-filled seventh.

Manny Ramirez(notes) started in left field for the Rays after making his spring debut as a designated hitter on Monday. He went 2 for 2, including an RBI single, and scored Tampa Bay’s first run when he scooted home from third base on a wild pitch.

It was a relatively quiet day in left for the 12-time All-Star, who only had two balls hit his way. He caught Atkins’ line drive to end the second inning, then fielded Neil Walker’s(notes) fourth-inning single before leaving the game.

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, February 28, 2011

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PORT CHARLOTTE — Manager Joe Maddon said there eventually will be a time when Matt Joyce is an everyday outfielder.

And after Maddon watched Joyce grow into a “complete player” the past couple of years, the reason it may not happen this season has more to do with how the Rays roster is built, not the makeup of the 26-year-old Tampa native.

“He finally feels comfortable in his major-league skin; he knows he belongs here,” Maddon said. “He knows he can do this.”

Joyce gained a lot of confidence from last season, when he hit 10 homers — including two grand slams in big moments — while making 63 starts for the American League East champions. But a reason Joyce will get more opportunities this year, while sharing time in rightfield with switch-hitting Ben Zobrist, is the improvement he has made in other areas of his game.

“He’s become a really good outfielder,” Maddon said. “He’s really turned it on defensively. He knows how to play here, we’re not just here to hit home runs. His baserunning has improved dramatically, his defense, his arm, everything has improved. And that’s why we really like him, because he’s a complete player right now.”

Joyce, who starred at Armwood High, wanted to make an impact right away when he was acquired from the Tigers following the 2008 season for 14-game winner Edwin Jackson. But while Jackson made the All-Star team in his first year in Detroit, Joyce was hampered by injuries in the past two spring trainings and spent a large chunk of time in Triple A.

It was, at times, frustrating, and tested Joyce’s patience. However, Joyce passed Tampa Bay’s tests in heeding a challenge to become an all-around player.

“I think something that I really have come a long way with was taking criticism and really working to get better,” Joyce said. “And coming from Detroit, we weren’t big on baserunning. They wanted you to hit, that was the big thing. Over here, they preach the ‘Ray Way’ and want to play the total game. That was a big adjustment for me.”

Joyce made a nice impression last season after getting called up in June, delivering at the plate in clutch situations. He racked up 12 tying or go-ahead RBIs, with 28 of his 40 total RBIs coming with two outs (AL MVP Josh Hamilton, by comparison, had 33). Joyce’s top moments came on a two-out, pinch-hit grand slam in Minnesota July 3 to help lift the Rays to an 8-6 win, and a two-out grand slam to break up Detroit starter Max Scherzer’s no-hitter in his first game against his former team.

“I love those situations,” he said. “I think those situations are what defines somebody.”

Said Evan Longoria: “He had that capability to really seize the moment and get a big hit when we needed it. So I think if he is in that everyday role in rightfield or wherever he is, I’m looking forward to him really coming into his own. Getting those 300-400-500 at-bats under your belt throughout the course of the season, it really helps knowing you’ll be there every day. I look for him to really have a breakout year.”

To play every day, Joyce will have to have success against left-handed pitching, which the Rays believe he will.

One reason is the quality of his at-bats, which Maddon has dubbed “awesome” and “almost 100 percent.” Though Joyce didn’t have many chances against lefties with the Rays, just 25 of his 216 at-bats last season (with only two hits), Maddon said he’ll get more as both Joyce’s experience and the Rays’ platoon-orientated personnel dictate.

And Joyce said he’s more physically prepared for the season-long grind, having picked up things last year from former All-Star leftfielder Carl Crawford’s daily routine, and “exhausting” himself during offseason workouts to make sure he’s healthy.

“Physically, I feel like I’m ready to play 162 games,” he said. “I’m ready.”

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com.

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By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, February 28, 2011

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BRADENTON — After allowing an AL-most and team-record 34 homers last season, RHP James Shields went out Sunday and gave one up in the first inning of his first appearance of the spring.

“I guess it’s only fitting,” he said.

Shields was pleased with the other 16 pitches he threw in the 10-3 loss to the Pirates, feeling comfortable on the mound after an extensive winter workout regimen and some mechanical tweaks after his 13-15, 5.18 season. “Overall I felt great,” he said. “My mechanics are for the most part there.”

Manager Joe Maddon, confident Shields will have a bounceback season, said he liked what he saw and told Shields so afterward. “I’m looking at him just being loose in the arm and the ball coming out well, and he wasn’t falling all over the place,” Maddon said. “Delivery-wise and mechanically, I thought he was sound.”

The homer by No. 3 hitter Andrew McCutchen was somewhat windblown.

CASEY AT THE BAT: Nonroster 1B Casey Kotchman, a former Seminole High star, showed some of the great defense he is known for, ranging far to his right to spear a chopper and complete the play and running down a popup. He also showed some offense, which the Rays will need to see if he’s going to make the team, with two singles, the first through the shortstop hole on a well-executed hit and run.

MISTER ROBINSON: If it’s possible to make an impression in two spring games, C Robinson Chirinos has. Chirinos, acquired from the Cubs in the Matt Garza trade, followed his two-hit, four-RBI debut Saturday with a pinch-hit homer to lead off the ninth.

PITCHING IN: RHP Jeremy Hellickson threw a 32-pitch bullpen session with no issues from the right hamstring strain that had sidelined him since Feb. 17 and is scheduled for game action — after another bullpen and two batting practice sessions — by the end of next week. “He came through it really well,” Maddon said. … RHP Juan Cruz, a veteran reliever on a minor-league deal coming off shoulder surgery, has looked sharp throwing batting practice and will make his game debut midweek. … Projected No. 4 starter Wade Davis will see his first game action Wednesday in relief of David Price.

MANRAY REPORT: Manny Ramirez will play leftfield today and a few other times this spring for the conditioning aspects of running on, off and around the field, but also, depending on how it goes, in prep for some occasional regular-season duty. “I want to put him out there to see what it looks like and see how he feels,” Maddon said.

The folks selling the T-shirts at mannyray.com, with some input from RHP Andy Sonnanstine via mutual friends, are donating $4 from each $18 online sale to a fund for the families of the slain St. Petersburg police officers.

GAME DETAILS: The Rays manufactured runs in the first two innings but didn’t do much else until Chirinos’ homer. … Three relievers — Jonah Bayliss (2 R, 4 H, 1 BB in 1+), Brian Baker (1 R, 2 BB in 12/3) and Richard De Los Santos (4 R, 4 H, 1 BB in 1+) — had to be removed mid-inning due to pitch counts, though Maddon said not all they gave up was their fault.

MISCELLANY: SS Tim Beckham has been dropped from most prospect lists, but Maddon said, “I really have a lot of faith this guy is going to be a very good major-league player.” … “The Hot Stove” radio show airs at 7 tonight on 620-AM with pitching coach Jim Hickey among the guests. … Twenty team employees will help with a Habitat for Humanity house project today in Port Charlotte.

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BRADENTON, Fla.– Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen had a productive day to lead the squad to its first Grapefruit League win of the spring season, a 10-3 victory against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays today at McKechnie Field.

McCutchen was 3 for 3 with a home run, a double, three runs scored and two RBIs in the victory against the Rays, which the Pirates lost to in the spring opener yesterday in Port Charlotte.

Left-handed reliever Joe Beimel, scheduled to pitch an inning in the game, did not appear because of soreness in his elbow. His status is day-to-day.

Leading, 3-2, the Pirates’ two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth inning put distance between themselves and the Rays. Neil Walker had a two-out triple followed by a McCutchen double that made it 4-2. One batter later, Pedro Alvarez doubled to bring McCutchen around and make it 5-2.

Offseason, free agent signing Kevin Correia, a right-handed starter expected to be part of the rotation, was ineffective in his spring training debut, as he didn’t make it through the two innings he was anticipated to work.

Correia was lifted after pitching 1 1/3 innings and yielding two earned runs, although he gave up just two hits. He was done in by two walks and a passed ball.

“The first outing, you just get that adrenaline rush and I was just overthrowing,” said Correia, who went 10-10 with the Padres last season. “My stride will just get too long and everything just flattens out.”

The Pirates fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, when a four-pitch walk to start the game to Desmond Jennings came back to hurt Correia. Jennings stole second base and eventually scored on a groundout to second.

In the bottom of the first, the Pirates tied it at 1-1 when McCutchen drove a pitch over the wall in left field for a solo home run. The power shown by McCutchen was particularly intriguing because, for the second consecutive day, he was hitting in the No. 3 spot in the order after spending 82 games as a leadoff hitter last season.

Ray Olmedo’s groundout to second chased in Felipe Lopez in the second to push Tampa Bay ahead, 2-1.

A Garrett Jones double in the bottom of the fourth scored McCutchen to tie the game at 2-2. McCutchen earlier in the inning had singled sharply to left.

The Pirates then got a bit of a gift — from the sun — to go ahead, 3-2.

Ryan Doumit hit a fly ball that should have been an out caught with common effort, but when center fielder Jennings and right fielder Matt Joyce approached right centerfield, both appeared to lose it in the midday sun. The ball dropped in for a double, and Jones trotted in to push the Pirates to a 3-2 advantage.

From there, the fifth inning rally was enough, even as the Pirates scored five more runs over the seventh and eighth, including a solo home run from catcher Jason Jaramillo.

The Grapefruit League slate continues Monday for the Pirates, when the squad splits. A team — with starting pitcher Paul Maholm — will face Baltimore at home while another with Bryan Morris as the starting pitcher will face the Rays in Port Charlotte.

First published on February 27, 2011 at 4:53 pm

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP)—Right-hander Kevin Correia(notes), the Pittsburgh Pirates’ biggest offseason acquisition, made an early exit Sunday in a 10-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Correia was scheduled to work two innings in his spring training debut, but reached his pitch limit after just 1 1-3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.

In December, the 30-year-old Correia signed a two-year, $8 million contract. He pitched the past two seasons for the San Diego Padres.

James Shields(notes) pitched one inning for Tampa Bay. The righty allowed one hit, a two-out, solo home run by Andrew McCutchen(notes).

McCutchen went 3 for 3, scored three runs, got two RBI and stole a base.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, February 27, 2011

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Reid Brignac has some work to do on offense, notably with his plate discipline, but the Rays say he has made impressive adjustments to his swing already.
	[JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]

PORT CHARLOTTE — Reid Brignac is ready.

He is sure, and all the Rays around him are, too, that after six years as a prospect and 2010 as an apprentice he can handle taking over as their primary shortstop. “This is my year to prove that I can do this every day,” he said. “I believe this is what I’m supposed to do.”

He is 25, as Louisiana as they come and one of the most important replacements the Rays are depending on.

Reid Brignac is some other things, too.

He is extremely self-confident, which his father, Phillip, said has always been the case, and his bosses applaud and he says he has to be.

“If you don’t believe in yourself, who else is going to believe in you?” he said.

But it’s so much that, even his friends acknowledge, it could come across as almost too much.

“He carries himself a little higher than most want or expect, but by far he’s not only a great player but an unbelievable friend,” teammate Sean Rodriguez said. “He’s unique because with that much confidence you’d think it would be tough to want to talk to him, but it’s not at all. It’s the complete opposite. He’s real humble with everyone. He’s harmless.”

He dated a Playboy Playmate, Lauren Anderson (Miss July 2002, and be careful on Google) for a year and a half but is single now, preferring to concentrate on baseball.

He is as fearless as most 25-year-old pro athletes are, but he won’t swim in the ocean or the gulf for fear of sharks (though he loves to fish) and isn’t much for snakes and spiders.

He throws, writes and hits a golf ball right-handed but swings left-handed (after giving up switch-hitting at 13) and eats both ways — and often when it’s Cajun food.

He has a soft side, something of a southern gentleman in cleats. When he got his first tattoo this offseason, it was his maternal grandparents’ names (Naomi and J.E. Caskey) and the date they were killed in a car accident (June 2, 1989), in script on the left side of his chest, over his heart.

“Some guys go get a random … tattoo; I’m not that type of person,” he said. “I’m not going to put something on my body for the rest of my life if it didn’t significantly mean something to me. They were close to me, and my mom still gets extremely upset around holidays because her parents aren’t around, so it’s kind of for her, too.”

He is usually in the middle of it when there are players gathered in the clubhouse, and you can usually hear him, laughing, talking or trying to rap.

“He’s Cajun to the bone, so I guess he don’t meet too many strangers,” his father said. “That’s just the way we are. We’re pretty social people.”

He hangs out with the black players on the team so often that, B.J. Upton said, they jokingly call him White Chocolate and the Light-Skinned Brother.

He was always the little kid playing with the big ones, starting T-ball at 3 against those rough-and-tumble 5-year-olds, through high school where he was the younger brother hanging out with Ryan, who was 3 years older, and his friends, a competitive cuss the whole time. “You can’t be the young guy and be tentative or scared to make a mistake,” he said. “I learned that at a young age.”

He has gotten a lot better as he rose through the minors, especially defense that was so rough Rays officials started asking if he should be moved from shortstop. But with hard work, and lots of help from Rays coaches at every level, he made what executive vice president Andrew Friedman termed “staggering” improvement to above-average overall, with hands manager Joe Maddon says are as good as anyone in the league.

And though his offense still needs some improvement, specifically in plate discipline, the adjustments he has made in his swing already, Maddon said, “are incredible.”

He was headed to LSU on a scholarship out of St. Amant High School — where he also played football (wide receiver) and hoops (point guard), earned academic honors with a 3.5 GPA and was named Mr. St. Amant as a senior — but would sign if he were drafted in the first or second round, which he was by the Rays, 45th overall.

He has shown the kind of poise and leadership the Rays value and, Friedman said, a drive to be great with makeup and competitive desire for success that are “off the charts.”

He has been a winner, as nine of the 11 pro teams he has been on have gone to the playoffs, and he has had only one losing season.

He is ready.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.

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By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, February 27, 2011

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PORT CHARLOTTE — Manager Joe Maddon has a new cause.

Having worked extensively to help the homeless in the Tampa Bay area through his Thanksmas charity program, Maddon has now set his sights on his hometown of Hazleton, Pa.

In short, he wants to help integrate the growing Hispanic population (in excess of 10,000) into a seemingly reluctant old-school community to help keep the whole city from dying.

After meeting with Hispanic families during his holiday visit home, Maddon said he realized the Dominicans and Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics there now are following the same path the European immigrants, including his own family, did generations ago but are not being welcomed.

“It’s exactly what we looked like 50, 60, 70 years ago. … There’s no difference, and I think that’s where the people back home are losing sight, or our memories are too short,” Maddon said. “And at that moment, it slapped me in the face exactly what we needed — these people want to work, they want to help our city thrive, and they want something better for themselves. … “

Eventually, Maddon would like to see the Hispanics opening restaurants and stores to revitalize the city. But his first steps will be more general, to make the Hispanics feel welcome and to raise awareness and some funding.

He hopes to bring in several Hispanic Rays for a postseason visit and wants to host a showing of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life and stage a Thanksmas meal event. With the help of his wife, Jaye, and other relatives who still live in Hazleton, he hopes to find funding for the purchase of a community center, where Hispanic kids could gather after school to stay out of trouble and adults can take English classes.

“Let’s take advantage of these good people and help them assimilate into the community because otherwise the city is going to go away as far as I can tell,” he said. “It’s going to be a very lackluster place to live and not attract anything dynamic. I think these people have a chance to make it a dynamic area.”

RAYS RUMBLINGS: Among the themed dress-up road trips being planned: skinny jeans. … Maddon was ranked MLB’s fifth-best manager by the Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo. … After putting seven Rays prospects in its top 100, Baseball America also raved about LHP Alex Torres, calling him “the most unsung player in the deep Rays system.” BA editors weren’t kind to SS Tim Beckham, saying “there doesn’t appear to be any argument” to place him among the top 300 prospects. … The Rays are planning to travel twice this season by train between New York and Boston. … ESPN’s Buster Olney ranked the Rays’ early season scheduled as the seventh easiest among AL teams.

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By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, February 27, 2011

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New DH Manny Ramirez signs autographs before his first spring training game in a Rays uniform.
	[JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]

PORT CHARLOTTE — Of all things, Manny Ramirez was nervous.

The Rays were opening the exhibition season Saturday — successfully, it turned out, with a 9-5 win over the Pirates — and Ramirez was playing his first game for them. But still, at 38, in his 19th big-league season, DH-ing in an exhibition, nervous?

“I always get nervous the first game,” he said. “Opening day you get kind of butterflies in your stomach.”

Manager Joe Maddon, having raved earlier about Ramirez’s work ethic, said he took the nerves as another positive.

“That impresses me,” Maddon said. “It tells you how much he cares right now, and I think it’s actually a good thing.”

Ramirez went 1-for-2, singling hard to right after taking two strikes his first at-bat, then flying out. “I wasn’t really concerned about getting hits,” Ramirez said. “I just want to get the feel, feeling it like the way I was. And I’m getting there.”

Fellow newcomer Johnny Damon went 0-for-2.

MORE FIRST IMPRESSIONS: RHP Matt Bush was used in the third inning, which means his bosses wanted to see him face the big-league hitters before they leave the game.

And Bush, a 25-year-old trying to make the Rays as a reliever after dealing with alcohol issues, put on a show, keeping his nerves under control and his fastball low, striking out Andrew McCutchen and Matt Diaz and getting Pedro Alvarez to pop out.

“I had fun,” Bush said. “I was excited. I love it. The more guys I can throw against to get my confidence up and to know I can face those guys and have success against them is just, in the long run, going to get me going a lot quicker.”

C Robinson Chirinos, acquired from the Cubs in the Matt Garza trade, came up big with four RBIs, delivering a bases-loaded double on an 0-and-2 pitch and later singling in another run. “It was nice to have a first game like that,” he said.

PRICE CHECK: The four-pitch walk to former college teammate Pedro Alvarez aside, LHP David Price was relatively happy with his 17-pitch, one-hit inning, and particularly pleased with the 1-and-2 fastball that struck out leadoff man Jose Tabata. “I felt better than I thought I was going to, to be honest,” he said.

BOTTOM LINE: RHP Jeff Niemann agreed to a one-year contract for around $950,000, marking a slight pay cut (despite a solid 12-8, 4.39 season) from last season’s $1.032 million due to the unusual circumstance of reaching the end of his original big-league contract without being arbitration eligible. The other 26 pre-arbitration players got one-year deals within the standard salary structure, at or slightly above the $414,000 major-league minimum.

GAME DETAILS: After the Pirates took a 2-0 lead against RHP Adam Russell, the Rays tied it on homers by Evan Longoria and Sean Rodriguez, then broke it open with Chirinos’ double. … RHP Dirk Hayhurst and Rob Delaney each worked a pair of clean innings.

MISCELLANY: Ramirez is scheduled to play leftfield Monday, with Damon as the DH. … RHP Jeremy Hellickson will be back on the mound to throw a bullpen session for the first time since straining his right hamstring Feb. 17. … RHP Albert Suarez will be sidelined another 1-2 weeks after having exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his bruised left knee.

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