GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shane Smith felt his spring was filled with “a lot more growth than I thought I was going to expect.”

“I think the game reminds you of how hard it can be, but also how simple it can be sometimes,” the Chicago White Sox pitcher said Friday following his final start of the spring against the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe, Ariz. “You’re in the zone, you throw strikes and mix speeds, it’s a lot easier game.

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“Just getting back into the flow of things and realizing you’re going to toe the slab every five days no matter what happens, can be daunting. But I think it’s encouraging. You get another opportunity, and the next opportunity will be the start of hopefully a good year.”

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That next opportunity is Thursday when the Sox open the season against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.

Smith had a bumpy final spring outing, allowing four runs on two hits in 3 1/3 innings. He had three strikeouts and three walks and hit three batters. He finished the spring with a 10.13 ERA, allowing 12 earned runs on 11 hits in 10 2/3 innings over four Cactus League starts. He had nine strikeouts, nine walks and hit five batters.

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All four runs allowed Friday came in the first, when Smith hit the first two batters he faced. Smith was pulled after facing five hitters (throwing 24 pitches) in the first and reentered in the second. It was his second straight start when the Sox utilized the reentering option available in spring training.

“Just aiming it, which never really works,” Smith said of the first inning. “Would have liked to get through a first inning, but you know what, now we’re moving on and getting into the regular season. I’m glad I bounced back and finished much stronger than I started, which I guess is a good sign.”

He said the key to bouncing back after the tough first inning was “just realizing that even if you don’t have it, you still have to figure it out.”

“There were plenty of innings last year where I definitely didn’t have it, whether it was the first or the fifth or whatever it is,” Smith said. “You can turn them into decent days. I guess I got as much practice of bouncing back as I could this spring. You’re going to have bad days and you’re going to have good days. Just kind of finishing what you started is really all that matters.”

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Smith said the growth this spring had more to do with the mental side of the game than the physical.

“I think I threw my slider really well (Friday), I think the changeup was pretty good early on,” he said. “Threw the curveball well. Just realizing that it’s never really going to be perfect. After last year, I wanted to come in here and really be refined. And I think I maybe had a misconstrued idea of what that would look like. But now I have a better idea of what to expect of myself and what I’m capable of.”

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Smith takes that mindset into the regular season. He is part of a rotation that fellow starter Davis Martin said is filled with “competitors.”

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The Sox on Tuesday announced the order the rotation, with Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, Martin and Erick Fedde lined up after Smith — who received the opening-day assignment on March 8.

Smith described the group as “a bunch of guys that really want to win baseball games.”

“A bunch of guys that we talk and share good and bad and pitches and what we’re thinking about for outings,” Smith said. “I’m sure that’ll continue as we get going here and get a couple under our belt and we’re going to enjoy the hell out of it.”

It all begins Thursday in Milwaukee, with Smith set to start for the Sox against Jacob Misiorowski for the Brewers.

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“Now I can put my energy towards that,” Smith said of opening day. “It’s going to be awesome. We’re really excited to get this thing going. Spring always feels long, just with the early mornings and long days. But once we get out of here and get on the flight and get to Chicago, I think everybody’s going to be ready.”