Photo: Philliedelphia/Matt Rappa
In Bradenton the Phillies took on Vance Worley and the Pittsburgh Pirates this Friday afternoon, the last time the two teams will face each other in Florida. Most of the Phillies offense stayed home in Clearwater today. The Phillies tagged their former pitcher for three runs in five innings but the Phillies would ultimately fall to the Pirates.
The bright offensive spot from those who will contribute to the Phillies big league club was Cody Asche. Asche homered for the second time in as many days, which drove in two. Cameron Rupp, a candidate for backup catcher, singled to drive in a run. Rupp is batting .357.
Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez had a solid outing today for the Phillies. Gonzalez lasted into the fourth inning, pitching three and one-thirds innings total. Gonzalez allowed just one run, scattering five hits and one walk. By almost default, Gonzalez may open the season in the Phillies starting rotation as injuries pile up.
Worrisome was the pitching performance of left-handed reliever Mario Hollands. As a couple instances this Spring Training thus far, Hollands struggled to find his command. Hollands gave up three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning to bring his Spring ERA up to 11.63. Meanwhile, Jake Diekman gave up two hits and the lead in the eighth inning and was charged with a blown save. That was Diekman's first of the Spring.
Jeanmar Gomez was the last to pitch, the last to give up a run, and took the loss. The first to face Gomez was Pirates infielder Jordy Mercer, who singled. Mercer advanced to second base on a groundout to put Mercer into scoring position. Next up was former Phillies prospect Sebastian Valle, a non-roster invitee for Pittsburgh, who doubled to bring home Mercy to give the Pirates a 6-5 victory over the Phils.
