It appears the work Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore put in during the offseason to improve his conditioning and add velocity to his fastball is paying off. Moore was pleased with how his first live bullpen session went Sunday, per The Tampa Tribune.
"Thinking back to where I was last year on the mound in that first live batting practice, I was a lot more encouraged walking off the hill (Sunday)," Moore said. "With the hitters' feedback, where the ball was winding up and where my effort level was, I think those things are all ahead of where we were this time 12 months ago."
Manager Joe Maddon was also happy with what he saw from the left-hander.
"Definitely a lot of hop on the ball," Maddon said. "I'd say for the first day I saw him pitch to live hitters, his velocity looked pretty impressive. I don't know exactly what it was, but there was a lot of jump on the ball and some pretty good break."