Spring Recap: Brett Cecil hit hard, early; Blue Jays and Yankees settle for draw

It’s not something you see outside of spring training and all-star games, but the Jays-Yankees played to a 5-5 draw today in a game where all the offense pretty much came against starting pitching. The Blue Jays’ projected third starter Brett Cecil, who has gone under the radar a bit this spring, was knocked around in his outing, especially early on. Facing the heart of the Yankees lineup with two outs in the first, the young lefty gave up a run-scoring double to A-Rod and a 2-run shot to Cano in back-to-back fashion – this clearly rattled Cecil, as he was unable to settle into a groove. A hit by pitch and walk later, Cecil narrowly escaped with a ground out, having given up 3 runs. Brett only threw one clean inning, the 4th, before he got into trouble again in the 5th and was removed with the bases loaded. Cecil threw just under 100 pitches on the day; a surprising fact, considering that he could still have two more chances to pitch before the season starts –...