SANCHEZ HAPPY WITH OUTING

DUNEDIN — The boxscore looked a bit rough, but Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez was satisfied with his first appearance in a game since July 19.

Sanchez came in relief of starter J.A. Happ in the second inning of a Grapefruit League game on Sunday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers and threw one inning, giving up two runs on two hits while also hitting first baseman Dominic Ficociello. He

also struck out a pair. Sanchez gave up a double to Detroit third baseman Ronny Rodriguez to left that scored two runs. But the good thing is he looked strong and his fastball hit 95-96 mph.

“It’s all good. I feel great,” said the 2016 AL ERA leader (3.00). “The ball’s coming out of my hand good. So all signs are good for me.

“It could be better obviously. I felt like I did a lot of good things out there. I probably could have had a clean inning if I just threw all fastballs, but I need to go out there and work on what I need to work at. I’ll take today with a grain of salt.”

Most satisfying was the fact that he had no problems with his finger. Last year blisters on his right middle

finger landed Sanchez on the DL four times.

“I’m so over finger questions,” he said. “I probably won’t (look at his finger on the mound) throughout the year just because I don’t want people asking questions. I think my finger’s in a good spot. There’s no issues today.”