Apter Hours: Phillies 5, Pirates 1...Halladay Pitches Five, Moyer gets handled in 'B' game

Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth had great days at the plate to back Roy Halladay and propel the Phillies to a 5-1 victory over the Pirates this afternoon in front of a crowd just under 6,000. On a brief side note, while fielding an infield fly ball, Placido Polanco strained his right knee on the pitchers mound and left the game...he said in a post-game interview he does not think it is serious.

Pitching...Even though it was not a perfect day, Doc Halladay continued to impress the Phillies brass this spring. Roy gave up his first run of the spring in the second inning and finished the day surrendering three hits as well. He did manage to strike out six Pirates in his five innings of work. No one can be perfect and a run is a run so nothing to worry about here with Roy. A solid five inning performance, no doubt. The Phillies bullpen picked up right where he left off, as Chad Durbin, David Herndon and Ehren Wassermann pitched a one-hit shutout the final four innings. Durbin tallied a strikeout in his inning of work. All in all, just another day for Halladay and Durbin and also some good outings for some of the minor league arms. Jamie Moyer pitched in a 'B' game against the Jays today and got roughed up for five runs on eight hits in three innings of work. Moyer is in competition with Kyle Kendrick for the final spot in the Phillies rotation.

Hitting...Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth both got two hits and an RBI in their three at bats in today's game. Also, Polanco's replacement, Cody Ransom, hit his third homer of the spring in the seventh inning. Ransom also scored two runs on the day. Wilson Valdez went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI and starting catcher Carlos Ruiz enjoyed a two-hit game. John Mayberry also picked up his sixth RBI of the spring. So good days for Howard and Werth and a homer in consecutive games for Cody Ransom.

On the paths...Brian Bocock stole his first base of the spring while Dom Brown got picked off and was caught stealing.

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Up next...Cole Hamels will look to keep improving his curveball and cutter as he will take the mound tomorrow against the Tigers at Bright House Field at 1:05. Madson, Bastardo and Baez are also scheduled to pitch.