The Phillies took the field for their first official Grapefruit League game of the season against the Yankees at Steinbrenner field this afternoon. After a twenty-minute long tribute to the late George Steinbrenner, Spring Training was finally officially underway in front of a packed house. Cole Hamels and Bartolo Colon took the mounds first for their respective teams.
Both Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriquez ended their halves of the first inning with long shots to the outfield walls, but the Phillies struck first in the top of the second inning as Ben Francisco led off with a triple and later scored as Jeff Larish grounded into a double play. The Phils would end the top of the inning with a 1-0 lead, but it wouldn’t last for long.
Robinson Cano led off the bottom of the second by reaching first on a fielding error by Wilson Valdez and would later score on a ball smoked into the left field corner by Francisco Cervelli, evening up the score 1-1. Hamels responded by walking Brett Gardner on four pitches but was able to get Derek Jeter for force out to end the inning. Cole ended his day with a line of 33 pitches, 18 strikes, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP.
Vance Worley came on in relief of Hamels to start off the third inning allowing only one hit and no runs on four pitches. He led off the fourth by walking Andruw Jones (yes, the very one) on four pitches, but worked quickly got out of the inning by getting a fly ball to center and a routine double play on his next two pitches. He would end his day with 10 pitches, 6 strikes, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.
The Phillies brought both their bats and their hustle to the fifth inning, as Valdez beat out a throw to the plate and scored on a Pete Orr double. Ross Gload immediately responded by smacking a double of his own down the line to drive Orr home and just like that the Phils were up 3-1.
Twenty-five year old lefty Ryan Feierabend, who was signed to a minor league contract by the Phillies in November, made his debut for the Phillies in the bottom half of the inning. Feierabend spent the first few years of his career in Seattle, but was sidelined by Tommy John surgery in 2009, and posted a 5.14 ERA over 122+ innings in triple-A last season. He was taken for a little bit of a ride as he allowed two hits and one earned run in his first inning of work but the Phillies went into the sixth inning still leading 3-2. He looked like he was going to have a better showing in the sixth as he started led off the inning by striking out Kevin Russo with three straight (nice looking) changeups, but he immediately followed that up by walking the next two batters and then balking to put runners on first and second with one out. He managed to get out of the inning without giving up any runs, but it was a bleak outing nonetheless.
Hey, kids. Liz here, to write the rest of the recap. So if you see a marked drop off in things like stats and “knowledge”, that’s your explanation.
Next up for the Phillies pitchers was Brian Schlitter, who was drafted by the Phillies in 2007, but was traded to the Cubs later that year for Scott Eyre. After the 2010 season, Schlitter was claimed off waivers by the Yankees, who then cut him on Valentine’s Day. The Phillies claimed him off waivers the next day. Schlitter got knocked around a little bit, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Jorge Vazquez hit a monster two run home run over the screen in center field, which gave the Yankees back the lead. Brandon Laird hit a two out double down the left field line before the inning finally ended.
The Phillies regained the lead in the 8th inning, off of pitcher Eric Wordekemper. John Mayberry, Jr. and Robb Quinlan both reached on singles. Two outs later (from Delwyn Young and Michael Martinez), Jeff Larish worked a walk to load the bases. Dane Sardina was up next, and he dropped a hit into left, scoring Mayberry and Quinlan. Brian Bocock hit one right back to the pitcher to end the top of the 8th. Mike Zagurski came into the game to pitch the bottom of the 8th. Zags allowed one hit, otherwise making quick work of the Yankees.
Luis Ayala pitched the 9th for the Yankees. Josh Barfield broke his bat on an infield hit, his second of the day. Ross Gload reached on a fielder’s choice, which sent Barfield back to the dugout. Mayberry struck out, and Quinlan hit a comebacker to Ayala to end the top of the 9th.
In to pitch the bottom of the 9th was Jason Grilli, who was chosen by the Giants in the first round of the 1997 draft. Grilli pitched a bit of a nail biter in the 9th, allowing a one out single to Justin Maxwell, followed by a line drive into left from Jorge Vazquez. Maxwell advanced to third, but a smart throw to second by Delwyn Young kept Vazquez – the winning run – at first base. Two batters later, the game was over. The Phillies won, 5-4.
In all, a nice, if lengthy, showcase for the Phillies minor leaguers and bench players. The Phillies take on the Yankees at Bright House Field tomorrow at 1:05, and I (Liz) will be bringing you in-game tweets and the recap. Join me, won't you?
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