BRADENTON, Fla. — Kelly Johnson had a new vantage point for the Tampa Bay Rays’ 8-2 victory Wednesday over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Johnson started in left field for the Rays, his first game in the outfield since he was a rookie in 2005 with Atlanta. He didn’t get to catch any flyballs, although he had to chase down a double by Pedro Alvarez that flew over his head.

“I felt all right out there,” Johnson said. “I didn’t feel too much like a fish out of water or anything. It’s different, I’ll say that. It definitely breaks up the routine to go out there and see things from a different angle.”

After spending the past six seasons at second base, Johnson has to alter the way he goes after balls in the outfield.

“I’ve got to temper my aggressiveness,” he said. “It’s easy in the infield. The ball gets to you quicker and you’ve got to get ready just a little earlier to react. If you do that in the outfield, a lot of times you’ll run yourself into a bad route. I had to fight that urge and relax a little bit. I had to sit a half-second longer to see the ball and then react.”

Luke Scott had an RBI double and a single and Jose Molina also had two of the Rays’ 12 hits.

The Pirates made three errors in the first two innings, which led to three unearned runs.

Right fielder Brad Hawpe let a bloop hit bounce past him, third baseman Pedro Alvarez flubbed a high popup and second baseman Neil Walker overthrew 6-foot-4 first baseman Garrett Jones. A wild pitch by A.J. Burnett allowed another run to score.

Burnett, set to make the first opening day start of his career, had a bumpy spring debut. He allowed four runs and three hits in two innings.

“We’ve got to work on our composure during spring training, too,” Burnett said. “Things happen and balls don’t always bounce your way. Sometimes, you’ve got to make plays and make pitches.”