The Phillies (7-4-1) traveled to Lakeland, FL for a matchup with the Tigers (6-7). This was the third time in the last five days the teams have played each other. Detroit won on Tuesday, 6-0, while the Phillies bested them, 6-5, on Thursday. A late-inning passed ball allowed the Phillies to escape with a victory in this one by a score of 5-4.
Paul Clemens, filling in for the scratched Aaron Harang, struggled in his start, allowing three runs in 2.1 innings of work. Phillippe Aumont followed Clemens, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings, surrendering two hits white striking out two. Aumont allowed an inherited runner to score once Clemens exited the game. Nefi Ogando was next in line and gave up the game-tying run over his two innings on the mound. Mike Nesseth followed with a scoreless inning and Ken Giles set the Tigers down 1-2-3 in the eighth, striking out two in the process. Seth Rosin closed the game out for the Phillies, sealing a 5-4 win.
Offensively, the Phillies were led by Brian Bogusevic, who was a late addition to the lineup after Jeff Franceour was scratched due to an oblique issue he experienced in batting practice. He hit a two-run homer in the first and added a solo blast in the third. Grady Sizemore, Tommy Joseph and Carlos Ruiz each had a hit on the day while Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera were a combined 0-f0r-6 with two strikeouts.
A wild pitch gave the Phillies an early 1-0 lead in the first, but non-roster invitee Brian Bogusevic blasted a two-run homer to give the Phils an early 3-0 cushion. Bogusevic hit his second homer of the day in the third to give the Phillies a 4-1 lead over the Tigers. The Phillies first four runs all came against Tigers starter, Anibal Sanchez. Russ Canzler crossed the plate in the top of the ninth thanks to a passed ball by Tigers catcher, Shane Zeile, to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
On the Tigers side of things, down 3-0 in the first inning, they got one back in the bottom half of the frame courtesy of a Daniel Fields sacrifice fly. They clawed a bit closer in the third as a Paul Clemens wild pitch allowed Hernan Perez to score. Aaron Westlake added on an RBI-single later in the inning to make it a 4-3 game. The Tigers tied things up at four a piece in the fifth thanks to a solo homer from Jefry Marte. They were unable to score against Seth Rosin in the ninth.
Today's win marks the Phillies fourth in a row. They've also won six of their last seven. Tomorrow, the Phils have their first split squad matchup of the spring. Half of the team will host the Red Sox at Brighthouse Field while the other half will travel to Tampa to play the Yankees. The Phillies have yet to officially announce their starters, but Aaron Harang is supposed to be one of them. The Yankees will be going with former Marlin, Nathan Eovaldi. The Red Sox will send Wade Miley to the mound. Both games are set for 1:05pm. Chase Utley will get into his second game of the spring as the DH against Boston.
