DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Chris Archer hasn't been told when he will make his first regular-season start. It may be opening day.
Archer allowed one hit over four scoreless innings Wednesday, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-3.
Archer's outing came a few hours after the Rays said pitcher Alex Cobb has tendinitis in his right forearm and will miss his planned outing against Baltimore in the opener on April 6. Tampa Bay President of Baseball Operations Matt Silverman said it's too early to announce Cobb's replacement, and Archer is considered a top contender.
"My mentality is the same," Archer said. "Our pitch count is roughly 100. I'm trying to make the most of that. I've pitched nine innings before, so I know that it's possible. So that's my goal every single time I go out whether I'm pitching April 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th. It doesn't matter to me because I know what I'm capable of."
Toronto's Mark Buehrle gave up three runs and seven hits over 4 1-3 innings.
"They were aggressive early," Buehrle said. "I don't think I was as on location-wise as I've been. But again it's spring training. I felt pretty good, which I think gets me in trouble because I try to over throw instead of staying within myself. I'm going to try to throw a little extra hard and I get in trouble."
Evan Longoria hit a third-inning solo homer off Buehrle. David DeJesus drove in two runs with a second-inning single.
