TAMPA — This is how it was supposed to look for Curtis Mead.

Spraying line drives, seeing his name penciled in the lineup at first, second and third base, even stealing the occasional base.

In other words, completely different from the first month of the season.

After a torrid spring training, Mead had trouble adjusting to a complementary role in the Rays lineup in April. He started only nine of the first 29 games and was hitting .121 with no homers and two RBIs.

“The most challenging part was just not playing,” Mead said after picking up two hits in a 4-3 win against the Marlins on Friday. “I felt like I had put myself in position to get a lot of at-bats early in the season with a good spring, but I just tried to stay focused on what was important and got back to work.”

Mead, 24, h

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