DUNEDIN, Fla. — Take a spin around the Grapefruit League with “Three Up, Three Down,” an inside look at what is coming up and what went down on Wednesday.
THREE UP
1. Toronto manager John Gibbons confirmed Wednesday that right-hander Marcus Stroman will be the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter on April 3 at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays. Stroman also could start the home opener on April 8 against the Boston Red Sox. Stroman was dominant when he returned from knee surgery performed last March to pitch in September and October.
Stroman worked six innings in a minor-league game on Wednesday in Dunedin, Fla., and right-hander Aaron Sanchez faced the New York Mets in a Grapefruit League game, also in Dunedin.
Sanchez threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings as Toronto won 3-1 on a three-run homer in the ninth by outfielder Ezequiel Carrera.
Stroman said it was an honor to pitch Opening Day.
“I think that brings out the best in me,” he said. “The more pressure, the more that you have to get it done, I feel like the more I rise to the occasion. I’m excited to be the ace, I’m looking forward to running with it and I think I’ve put myself in a position where I’ve worked extremely hard.”
Toronto shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left the game Wednesday after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon in the fourth inning. X-rays were negative and he is listed as day to day with a bone bruise on the knuckles of his right hand.
2. New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury tested his right wrist on Wednesday morning at Steinbrenner Field and was pleased with the results. “Everything went really well,” Ellsbury said.
Ellsbury hit off a tee and took flips and said he will take batting practice on Thursday and possibly play that night against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa. He left the game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday after being hit on the wrist by a pitch.
“Every day it is getting better,” he said. “There is a little swelling, but nothing crazy. I feel good. If they want me to play tomorrow, I’ll play tomorrow, but I’ll see what they have to say. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I feel like I’m on my way.”
3. Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson will be the Philadelphia Phillies’ Opening Day starter on April 4 in Cincinnati. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Wednesday that Aaron Nola will start the home opener at Citizens Bank Park on April 11. Hellickson, 28, was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks and has never started on Opening Day. But he has six years of experience and Nola has made only 13 major-league starts.
“Nobody is better than the next guy as far as we’re concerned,” Mackanin said. “Hellickson has experience. He’s been pitching really well, so we’d like him to be the Opening Day starter.”
Hellickson has 49 career wins, the fewest for a Phillies Opening Day starter since Robert Person in 2002.
“It’s definitely a huge honor,” Hellickson said. “I’ve been a part of five Opening Days now. Just the atmosphere of standing on the line seeing everything, you kind of just think, ‘Hopefully, I can pitch one of these games sometime in my career.’ It’s exciting, that’s for sure.”
After Hellickson and Nola open against the Reds, Charlie Morton will start the third game. The rest of the rotation is still undecided, but Jerad Eickhoff will be one of the starters.
THREE DOWN
1. Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever Jared Hughes has been shut down from throwing with a strained left lat muscle.
Hughes has not pitched since March 16 after giving up eight runs and 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings this spring.
Hughes said he felt pain in the latissimus dorsi, the largest back muscle, in his most recent outing against the Baltimore Orioles, when he allowed three hits and three runs in one inning.
“Never felt it before,” he said. “There was a specific moment in the outing where I felt it. I got through the inning, but overall, it just tightened up, and this is something we need to take care of.
“You still do a lot with your left arm when you pitch, right? So when that arm comes through, it’s pretty painful. You’ve got to take care of that, find a way to treat it, get it healed, then build it back up so it never happens again.”
Hughes had a 2.28 ERA in a career-high 76 appearances in 2015.
2. New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto left the 3-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning with lower-back tightness after taking a called third strike.
The 3 1/2-hour bus ride from Port St. Lucie to Dunedin on Wednesday morning and a shortened preparation time were possible factors, Conforto said.
Conforto was scheduled to remain overnight and play in a split-squad game against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers on Thursday but was returned to Port St. Lucie, where the back will be examined, manager Terry Collins said.
“He’s had it in the past,” Collins said. “He’s had some spasms in the past — early in camp, when you sweat too much or something.”
“It could have been the bus ride,” Conforto said. “Just on the first swing in that second at-bat, it just kind of stiffened up a little bit. … I feel OK. It’s just a little stiff.”
3. Left-hander Daniel Norris was the front-runner for the fifth spot in the Detroit Tigers’ rotation, but he has been inconsistent during spring training and left his start on Tuesday in the first inning with a stiff back after allowing three runs to the Toronto Blue Jays.
“It doesn’t help him even just from a pitch count perspective,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said.
Even without the injury to Norris, which is not considered serious, right-hander Shane Greene has pitched well enough to make him the leading contender for the No. 5 spot.
The first four starters are Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Pelfrey.