Tanner Rainey retired the first batter he faced this spring in 2021 Grapefruit League action via strikeout, then he walked the bases loaded, with three straight free passes in what was in the end a 22-pitch, seven-strike outing.
It was not the ideal start.
“Obviously timing wasn’t there,” Rainey told reporters when he spoke on a Zoom call shortly after Sunday’s game.
“Not making the pitches that I wanted to do. The best thing I can take from it was that it was healthy, pain free, so definitely something to build on.”
“The good news is after he came out of the game he had no issues health-wise,” as manager Davey Martinez put it.