Jackson Follows Plan, Gets Results

SARASOTA - There's nothing complicated about Edwin Jackson's plan for this season, and he wasted no time implementing it Friday.

Jackson walked onto the mound for the Rays' spring opener determined to throw strikes, and he did just that. He breezed through a 1-2-3 first inning, getting Ken Griffey Jr. to ground out to end it, and wrapped up the second without trouble after allowing a leadoff single to Adam Dunn. He didn't walk a batter and struck out the last two he faced.

"That's going to be the key this year - making batters put the ball in play and not giving free bases," Jackson said. "If I get hit then I get hit, but I can live with myself better getting hit than just giving them bases."

Not coincidentally, Jackson's goals are in line with the criteria Rays manager Joe Maddon has set forth regarding what he'll be looking for as he sorts out the pitching contenders this spring.

"I saw him very composed out here today," Maddon said of Jackson. "I thought he felt very comfortable. His tempo was good; he was never out of control. He made pitches."

Andy Sonnanstine also fell in line, not allowing a ball out of the infield in a 1-2-3 fifth inning, and Grant Balfour and Chad Orvella did their parts, but others had some trouble adhering to the concept.

Jason Hammel, after giving up a run following a leadoff double in the third, walked two of the first three batters he faced in the fourth and saw one come around to score.

"Hammer was off just a little bit," Maddon said.

Jake McGee was all over the place in the eighth, walking three of the five men he faced and taking a shot off his leg for an infield single. In all, he allowed four runs and didn't record an out.

But the news was mostly good for the Rays in their 7-6 victory. Nobody got hurt and Tampa Bay finally had a chance to direct its pent-up energy toward an actual opponent.

"Finally," B.J. Upton said. "It's tough when you're facing guys with the same color uniform on. To get out there today and actually play in a game for the first time is kind of a relief."

MOVING ON: Given a reprieve from serving the rest of the 50-game suspension he drew last season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, LHP James Houser just wants to move on.

"Obviously, it's a good thing," he said Friday. "I get to play baseball, and that's important to me."

Houser, 23, didn't want to discuss the matter any further. He apparently found out his suspension would be commuted a few days before the Rays confirmed it with the commissioner's office Thursday.

Besides, Houser had other matters on his plate Friday. He pitched in his hometown with his parents, younger brother and other friends and family on hand, coming on to relieve McGee in the eighth and giving up a two-run single before getting out of the inning.

GETTING THERE: After his first real game action at second base, Akinori Iwamura said he's still working through the nuances of the position.

"Some things came natural out of me, but sometimes I had to think," he said through an interpreter. "With a man on third you have to back up the pitcher sometimes and that was pretty new to me. Gappers and the ball down the line, I have to cut off and everything. I need more experience doing that."

FOR OPENERS: Zachary Prince, who is playing Frankie Valli in the production of "Jersey Boys" at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, will sing the national anthem before the Rays' Grapefruit League home opener today.

Longtime ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Donaldson also will host an 11 a.m. reception at Progress Energy Park in conjunction with the Moffitt Cancer Center's drive to raise skin-cancer awareness.

NOTEWORTHY: The Rays wrapped up contracts with the last of their unsigned pre-arbitration players. Scott Dohmann signed and Upton had his contract renewed by the team after failing to agree on terms. Upton will be paid about $415,000 this season. ... Maddon said LHPs Scott Kazmir and David Price felt better Friday, but there was no word on when either would get back on the mound. ... The Rays have painted a home plate in right-center field at Progress Energy Park on the approximate spot the plate would be at their proposed ballpark. ... Monday's Rays Hot Stove show on WDAE, 620 AM, will begin an hour earlier, at 6 p.m., from Champps at International Plaza. Evan Longoria will be the guest, and owner Stuart Sternberg will call into the show.

Marc Lancaster