FORT MYERS — Livan Hernandez faced eight hitters from a pretty tough Boston lineup today and retired six. It took him 42 pitches to get through two innings, but you could see a veteran pitcher, using all of his guile and cunning.

If you watch the highlights, you’ll be disturbed to see the velocity on the 3-2 pitch Mike Lowell crushed for his home run: 83-mph. That came in the second inning, one inning after David Ortiz had lined a double into the right-center gap.

A 13-year veteran, Hernandez said he has only had two or three good spring trainings, results wise. He uses the time to work on things, and this spring he’s working on his sinker. As for his velocity, he said, “I think it’s going to be better than last year. Like I told you, maybe three more games. I’ll let you know then.”

Listening to Manager Ron Gardenhire, you can tell the staff liked what it saw today. No one expected a lights-out performance.

“He’s fun to watch,” Gardenhire said. “Moves the ball around, changes speeds. We can all see that. He has a nice feel for the game. He knows what he’s doing; that’s kind of pleasant to see.

“There wasn’t much of a strain out there. Just flipping it out there, not afraid to throw any pitch at any time, and that’s kind of why we signed him. So that was kind of a refreshing day for a starter. Looked like he fit right in. That was good stuff.”

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