Sarasota, Fla. — Anibal Sanchez has had one good outing this spring. Mike Pelfrey has been better in his last two outings.
But of the three presumed combatants for the final rotation spot, left-hander Matthew Boyd has been consistently good throughout the spring.
He continued to pad his case Sunday with five more impressive innings in the Tigers 7-1 exhibition win against the Orioles. He gave up one run and six hits, while striking out four.
“Everything felt good,” Boyd said. “Just another step toward the season.”
Boyd has allowed one run and nine hits in his last two starts covering 10 full innings.