A Phillies rally falls short as the Rays tack on two in the 10th to finish off the Phils in spring training action. As seen the past few days, it seemed like the young Phillies prospects were pitching well. Today, a combo of lefty Joe Savery and Yohan Flande gave the Rays the advantage. There were, however, a lot of things that did go well for the Fightin' Phils in today's game.
Pitching...J.A. Happ started an exhibition game last week against FSU and pitched two scoreless innings. If fans were wondering if he would have the same effect on major league hitters...they were right. Happ started right where he left off in his last game. While Jay did walk two and give up two hits, he did not surrender a run and struck out two in 2 1/3 innings of work. Happ is one of those pitchers that doesn't need heat to strike guys out and keep em guessing...he hits his spots and has that delivery that is tough to pick up. If Happ's success today wasn't enough of a good sign, then all those people who were whining about how Phillippe Aumont is a dud and was worthless in the Lee can breathe a little softer...for now. Aumont rebounded from his forgettable performance against FSU and held the Rays scoreless over 2 2/3 innings. He faced 10 batters and got four outs on the ground and two on fly balls. Phillippe showed he is capable of getting out of a jam. He filled in for Happ with two on and one out and walked Carlos Pena to load up the bases. Former Phillie, Pat Burrell, stepped to the plate next and grounded out into an inning ending double-play. Sure, he did not strike anyone out but it seems as if his nerves have calmed a bit. Joe Savery picked up the blown save. He gave up three runs on four hits in one inning of work. The Phils bailed him out by tying the game but Yohan Flande gave up the winning two runs in the top of the 10th. So a very nice outing for Happ and a big improvement for Phillippe which was a good thing to see.
Hitting...At the dish, top prospect Dom Brown continued his spring tear. He had a fantastic day at the plate, one hit included the two-run, game-tying double in the 8th inning. Dom went 3-for-5 with two RBI's and raised his spring average to .538. Moving up to the Phillies starters. Jimmy Rollins was the most notable one today as he hit his first homer of the spring to lead off the bottom of the 5th inning. He finished the day 1-for-3 with that homer. Chase Utley went 1-for-2 in his time out there while Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez were a combined 0-for-6. Off-season bench acquisition, Ross Gload, had an impressive day...he went 3-for-5. Some good things to be noted from the hitting side today with Rollins and Domonic Brown...as I keep saying, hopefully more from the middle of the order soon.
Fielding...Just briefly wanted to mention that both Domonic Brown and Raul Ibanez had outfield assists on the day...both of which were plays at the plate. Raul did have a fielding error.
Box
So a loss today puts the Phils at 1-2-1 this spring.
Up next: The Phils give the ball to Kyle Kendrick against a split squad Yankees team tomorrow at 1:05. The Yanks will send Javier Vasquez to face KK and the Phils.
Notes...Brad Lidge admits that he thinks he is ready to face hitters, but is going to take his time. Shane Victorino is also expected to make his spring debut at some point this week.
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