Facing the Phillies, Bray pitched a scoreless fifth inning with one strikeout and threw 13 pitches, including 10 for strikes. He allowed a one-out single to center field by Jayson Werth.

Bray had been held back because of a sore shoulder that he suffered at the start of camp and also underwent an appendectomy in January. After two simulated games in the past week, he appeared to have some extra life on his pitches on Wednesday.

"I wasn't paying attention to how hard I was throwing," Bray said. "I just wanted to throw strikes. I felt good."

One of several lefties vying for a spot in the Reds bullpen, Bray has about three weeks worth of exhibition games remaining.

"I just hope he can stay on the field," Reds manager Dusty Baker said before Wednesday's game. "I didn't want to see him throw on the side, because I had nothing to compare it to in the beginning. I didn't want to have up my mind swayed on way or the other until I saw the full Bray. I probably won't see the true, full Bray for a while anyway."