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Keeping Spencer Howard off the Opening Day roster makes little sense

Spencer Howard is back to feeling like himself. In his second outing of the spring on Wednesday, Howard struck out four of the eight batters he faced while topping off at 96 mph on his fastball. He surrendered a two-run home run to the second hitter he faced, a result of falling behind early in the count and trying to make up for it with a middle-in fastball.

Spencer Howard has impressed so far this spring. (Cheryl Pursell)

The 24-year-old rebounded in the second inning by striking out the side. Three of his four strikeouts came on the changeup, which looked like a tantalizing out pitch.