Taylor Walls Ejection
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls was ejected from a spring training game against the Houston Astros after he tapped his helmet in disagreement with an umpire’s call.
- Incident Details:
- Umpire Nic Lentz threw Walls out for tapping his helmet after a disputed strike call.
- Walls believed the pitch was outside and should not have been called a strike.
- The disagreement escalated into an argument, with Walls continuing to dispute Lentz’s decision as he left the field.
This incident marked a turning point in an otherwise uneventful game.
Pitching Highlights
On the pitching side, Josh Hader made a notable appearance for Houston:
- Performance:
- Pitched one scoreless inning.
- Struck out two batters.
- His spring total now stands at 2 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
Hader is working on regaining form after missing most of last season due to injury and being traded from San Diego during the offseason.
Injury Updates
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash provided updates on player injuries:
- Isaac Paredes: Expected back soon after undergoing surgery on his right knee last week, but no specific timeline was given for his return.
- Vidal Brujan: Could be ready by Opening Day.
- Luke Raley and Harold Ramirez: Still recovering from injuries but expected back before the end of April.
The Rays’ roster situation remains fluid as they navigate various injuries ahead of Opening Day.
Other MLB News
In related news from around MLB:
- Chicago Cubs: Manager David Ross announced that Marcus Stroman will start Opening Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.
- Chicago White Sox: Manager Pedro Grifol named Lucas Giolito as the Opening Day starter versus the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Manager Dave Roberts announced that Dustin May will start Opening Day against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
- New York Mets: Manager Buck Showalter named Kodai Senga as the Opening Day starter versus the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
- San Francisco Giants: Manager Gabe Kapler named Logan Webb as the Opening Day starter versus the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.
- Seattle Mariners: Manager Scott Servais named Luis Castillo as the Opening Day starter versus the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park.
- St. Louis Cardinals: Manager Oliver Marmol announced that Miles Mikolas will start the opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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