Looking to snap a three-game skid, the Phillies (2-3-1) traveled to Port Charlotte to take on the Tampa Bay Rays (1-2), who were sending ace Chris Archer to the mound. Kevin Slowey started the game for the Phillies.
Slowey looked very strong in his second outing of the spring, tossing three shutout innings without allowing a hit and striking out two in the process. Joely Rodriguez, who was aquired by the Pirates for Antonio Bastardo, threw two scoreless of his own. Elvis Araujo followed with a shutout inning as well. Meanwhile, Cesar Jimenez and Hector Neris finished up the game, allowing a combined four runs with only one being earned.
Offensively, the Phillies were led by Freddy Galvis, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI on the day. Brian Bogusevic went 2-for-2 with an RBI as well in the winning effort. Other notable starters included Domonic Brown (1-2, BB, K), Darin Ruf (1-4, BB, K), Cody Asche (1-2, R) and Maikel Franco (1-3, R, K).
A Freddy Galvis RBI-single to score Cody Asche in the second was the only run in the game until the seventh. Maikel Franco singled to lead off the inning and Asche bunted him over during the next at-bat. A throwing error allowed Franco to get to third. Galvis got aboard with a bunt single to load the bases. The Phillies made it 2-0 thanks to Ben Revere getting hit by a pitch. Odubel Herrera grounded into a force-out to score Chris Nelson, who was pinch-running for Cody Asche. Brian Bogusevic followed with an RBI-single to make it 4-0 Phillies. A Rays throwing error allowed the Phillies to score another run in the ninth to make it 5-2.
The Rays scored a pair of runs in both the eighth and ninth innings. Boog Powell and Corey Brown pitched in with RBI-doubles, while a throwing error and an RBI-groundout accounted for the other two runs.
Up Next: Aaron Harang will make his first start in a Phillies uniform this spring tomorrow as the Phillies travel to Sarasota for a matchup with the Orioles. Baltimore will counter with Chris Tillman. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm.
