Like I said in my last post....good thing that this is spring training because I would not like seeing a loss to the Pirates in the regular season. This one is a tie and there were a few bright spots in yesterday's spring training matinee.
Pitching....The game against the Pirates was the first spring start for projected no. 3 starter, Joe Blanton. Blanton, coming off of a solid 12-8 record in '09, did not get off to the start he was hoping as he gave up a two-run homer to Ryan Church. He did settle down after that but ended up with a total of three runs surrendered on five hits. He also struck out two. Joe got himself together in his second inning of work to leave with some confidence. He mentioned in a post game interview that he had changed his sinker grip and thought it was going to work but it was uncomfortable. He adjusted in the second inning and it started to get more bite to it. A good sign for those who are worried about the bullpen...Danys Baez got his first two innings in this spring and looked impressive. He gave up one hit and struck out two. On another note, rehabbing reliever Mike Zagurski pitched two scoreless and struck out two.
Hitting....Top prospect Dom Brown continued his spring success, notching two hits in three at bats and drew a walk. Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz went 1-for-3 at the dish with a run scored. Greg Dobbs picked up an RBI on the day while Raul Ibanez went 1-for-3. Also, offseason pickup Dewayne Wise picked up a hit in three at bats and scored a run. Again, not much to mention with the Phils heart of the lineup so far this spring...Howard finished the day 0-for-2 with 2 K's, Utley was 0-for-1 with two walks and a strikeout. Hopefully they will start picking up the pace soon.
Box
After this game, the Phillies hold a Grapefruit League record of 1-1-1. I am seeing a lot of good things from the Phillies starting pitchers. If a run is given up, they seem to be able to change what went wrong and come back out to rebound the next inning. Danys Baez had a successful debut in red today in two innings and hopefully in the next few games we will see more of him and Jose Contreras.
Up Next: The Phillies will see a familiar face as they will play Pat Burrell and the Tampa Bay Rays today at 1:05. J. Happ will get the start for the Phils. Phillippe Aumont will get a chance to bounce back after a rough first outing against FSU.
No comments:
Post a Comment