The Phillies have won a (Spring Training) game! The Phillies have won a (Spring Training) game!
Dom Brown: so big! Scoring runs: so big! (Miles Kennedy/Phillies Staff Photographer)
Yes, they’re off the schneid thanks to a 9-3 victory at Bright House Field in Clearwater. If you’re looking for notes, continue reading below this line:
- Joe Blanton looked…good? Hard to believe, but the rotund righty tossed two scoreless innings, giving up a pair of singles while getting five groundball outs. His early pitches were up slightly in the zone, then he settled down and looked about as good as I could have predicted. A wonderful sign if he can stick with it.
- Jimmy Rollins had himself a solid game (2-for-2, R, BB, 2 SB), showcasing the wheels and a good approach at the dish. His two steals turned into a run when Placido Polanco singled him home in the third. Small ball, folks! A sign of things to comes? Let’s hope so!
- Scott Elarton saw action for the first time in quite a long time, tossing two perfect innings while looking somewhat rejuvenated. While there’s almost no chance he opens the season in Philly, having more depth at Lehigh Valley will be important. His stuff looked pretty good, too, including a great 12-6 curveball.
- Jim Thome barely missed hitting his first homer, smacking a deep fly ball off the top of the right center field wall for a two-bagger to lead off the fourth. The first one will be something special. Ah, memories.
- Domonic Brown looked a bit better in Monday’s game, hitting balls hard with nothing to show for it. He scored after a walk in the sixth, somewhat making up for a terribly run route on a fly ball in the top half.
- Austin Hyatt made his spring debut. He was a bit wild, possibly due to nerves. He hit one batter and walked another while allowing a pair of runs over two innings of work. He’s clearly got an upside, but I didn’t see much.
- The second go-round for Brian Sanches in a Phillies uniform started off with a rather inconsistent inning. He struck out two in the seventh — that’s good — but he gave up four hits and a run — that’s bad. Probably going to start in Lehigh Valley if he even remains on the team come April.
- Michael Martinez turned on a high pitch from Juan Cedeno, crushing it to left field for a two-run blast that capped the scoring. Maybe he was determined to make up for those two mistakes yesterday.
- David Herndon tossed the final two innings, looking much like…David Herndon. He was allowing hard-hit grounders once again, and if not for a great snag and toss by Freddy Galvis on a hot shot to SS to begin a double play, he may have allowed some runs. I would not be upset to see him open the season in the minors.
- Still no sign of Chase Utley in live game action yet. Is he hurt or not? Todd Zolecki tried to find an answer, but the team wasn’t all that forthcoming. In the back of my mind, (bad) news will break late and he will not be ready for Opening Day…ugh.
Now that the first few games are over, Ill be cutting back on the frequency of Spring Training updates. Unless big news breaks, I’ll be updating every 3-4 days as we lead up to Opening Day in Pittsburgh on April 5.