TAMPA, Fla. -- In Spring Training, players don’t often look forward to playing away from their home ballpark. In Florida, it typically requires long drives and a fair amount of time sitting in traffic on Interstate 75. But Taj Bradley was giddy throughout the Rays’ bus ride north to George M. Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday morning.

For one, it was Bradley’s first time facing another team this Spring Training. On top of that, the Yankees were sending out a lineup loaded with familiar faces, including back-to-back superstars in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.

“If I can get the ‘A’ team like that,” Bradley said, “then I’m excited for it.”

The right-hander pitched up to the challenge in his spring debut, allowing two hits with one strikeout over three scoreless innings in the Rays’ 4-3 win. Bradley was efficient, needing only 43 pitches to get through his outing, and used everything in his electric arsenal. His fastball averaged 96.7 mph, according to Statcast, and New York’s lineup managed only three hard-hit balls against him.

It’s only Spring Training, but the 22-year-old was pleased with the results. So were manager Kevin Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder.

“That was really encouraging, and I felt like he might have gotten better as the outing [had] more pitches tacked on,” Cash said. “Taj certainly set the tone going against that lineup. We know how talented those hitters are, and [I] felt like he kind of went toe-to-toe with them.”

Cash said consistency is the next step for Bradley after an up-and-down rookie season in which he posted a 5.59 ERA with 129 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings. The former top prospect has done his part to improve on that front, simulating his delivery on the mound daily to keep a consistent release point and help him slow the game down.

Bradley also tweaked his breaking ball to create more depth on the pitch after saying it too often felt like a “cement-mixing” batting practice fastball. Add that to his high-octane fastball, strong changeup and curveball, and he certainly has the stuff to handle hitters like the ones he saw Wednesday.

“Just going into the year just knowing that I can compete at the high level and just take a lot of that stress off of me,” he said. “Just knowing that these guys are good hitters, but I'm also a good pitcher. That'll take me the rest of the way.”

Around the horn
• It had been a quiet spring for reigning American League batting champion Yandy Díaz, to the point that Cash said the Rays were “starting to get on him a little bit, like, ‘Let’s go.’” It took one pitch to change that.

“He listened,” Cash said.

Díaz swung at the first pitch he saw from Yankees starter Carlos Rodón and launched it a Statcast-projected 396 feet out to right-center field for a leadoff homer. He added a 103.8 mph single to center off Luis Gil in the fifth inning.

“All I was doing was looking for a pitch down the middle,” Díaz said of his home run through interpreter Manny Navarro. “I don’t think I have my timing there. I think that’s still something I have to work on.”

• Amed Rosario had an impressive day, going 3-for-3 with a line-drive, opposite-field home run off Gil and a double off Rodón. The veteran infielder/outfielder is 7-for-19 with two homers and a pair of doubles.

“Rosie is swinging the bat really, really well. I know he's been in the back in the cages working hard with [hitting coaches Chad Mottola] and Brady [North],” Cash said. “He worked hard this offseason, and there's more power than maybe what he's shown in previous years.”

• Richie Palacios pulled a homer to right-center off Rodón in the fourth. It was overall a much cleaner game for the Rays, as their pitchers struck out seven without a walk and threw 95 of 130 pitches (73.1 percent) for strikes.

“I thought our pitching really all throughout the day was pretty impressive,” Cash said.

Up next
The Rays will host the Phillies at Charlotte Sports Park on Thursday afternoon, their final game before taking Friday off to travel to the Dominican Republic. Left-hander Jacob Lopez will get the start, with reliever Shawn Armstrong also scheduled to pitch. Left-hander Brendan McKay is slated to make his second appearance of the spring.

First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET. The game will air on Bally Sports Sun, and there will be a Rays Radio webcast on MLB.com.