"CF B.J. Upton has looked good much of the spring, but sometimes the sound of his at-bats can be more telling.

And after a 3-for-3 day that included two hits to the right side, a double walloped into the right-center gap and a single through the second-base hole, both he and manager Joe Maddon were excited by what they heard.

"That's me," Upton said. "That's something I've done my whole life, and to be able to do that felt good. … I haven't had that feeling in a while. That's a good sign."

Maddon said Upton, who hit .239 over 2009-10, still has some adjustments to refine, but he likes what the 26-year-old has done so far (while hitting .350 for the spring) after extensive winter work.

"He's still battling with a couple little things, but I loved it," Maddon said. "That's the loud sound we're used to, and I love it when he's in right-center hard like that. … That's the goal right there, that kind of approach. And if he does that, he's going to have a very good year.""