Photo Courtesy: Frank Klose
Well, the illustrious second win of Spring Training has been a rather difficult feat for the Phillies to come by since their victory over the Detroit Tigers. The team has certainly faced a few challenges at the plate since the onset of the Grapefruit League, but a few players have shown some promise thus far. Names like Abreu, O'Sullivan, and a handful of relief pitchers have given the managers and owners a couple of things to think about before deciding the final 25-man roster. Speaking of O'Sullivan, Sean got an opportunity to take the mound for today's ball game against division rival Atlanta. Opposing him was Braves young hurler Brandon Beachy.
The Game: Scoring plays were scarce throughout this contest. The first of those came in the top of the fourth for Atlanta. Kevin Munson began the inning on the bump for the Phillies, reliever a solid O'Sullivan after three innings of work. Chris Johnson and Dan Uggla got things started in their half, singling and walking, respectively. Munson managed to strike out Andrelton Simmons, but Steven Lerud singled to load the bases with just the one out. Joey Terdoslavich rolled a ball over to Jimmy Rollins at short. A toss to Chase Utley at second secured the second out, but gave us the game's first tick. 1-0 Atlanta.
The Phillies were able to retaliate in the bottom half of the inning. With one away, Bobby Abreu was hit by an Ian Thomas pitch. A Darin Ruf single put two runners on for Domonic Brown, who eventually flew out. However, Kevin Frandsen was there to bail his teammate out with a ground ball single into center field. Abreu scored and the scoreboard read 1-1.
That 1-1 score would not move until the seventh frame. Frandsen and catcher Cameron Rupp recorded back to back singles to begin said inning. A sacrifice bunt by Reid Brignac but runners on both second and third. Despite grounding out, Tony Gwynn managed to help his team by bringing home their second run. Philadelphia led things 2-1 after seven full.
By just a few outs, the Phillies nearly clinched Spring Training victory number two. However, newly acquired reliever Brad Lincoln could not hang on. Jose Constanza doubled to kick off the top of the ninth inning. After a strikeout, Matt Lipka came up for the Braves. He turned the ball over to Cesar Hernandez at second. A throw home was tossed to third, which caught Constanza in a rundown. Brignac threw the ball back to Lincoln covering home, who then dove to tag Constanza out. Lipka, meanwhile, was rounding second and headed for third. Lincoln decided to throw the ball that way instead of hanging on, and the ball ended up in left field. Lipka scored, and the game was once again tied.
The Phillies couldn't muster a run in their half of the ninth, and the game finished at a 2-2 tie. A few other pitchers in the game for Philadelphia included Antonio Bastardo and Jake Diekman.
Notable Phillies offensive categories included:
Kevin Frandsen: 2-3, R, RBI
Bobby Abreu: 1-2, R
Darin Ruf: 1-4
Impact: As I mentioned at the onset of the recap, the Phillies pitchers had some good outings. Sean O'Sullivan kicked things off with three innings and two strikeouts. Bastardo and Diekman combined for 2.1 innings, three hits, and two strikeouts. Brad Lincoln's line, while not devastating, read as 1.2 innings, two hits allowed, and two walks.
Up Next: The Phillies will take their 1-6-1 record into another game against the Yankees. For New York, Masahiro Tanaka will get his chance to start, taking on the Phillies probable number four man, Kyle Kendrick, at 1:05. Tomorrow is also a split-squad day, so David Buchanan will lead the rest of the team against Justin Verlander and the Tigers, also at 1:05.
Andrew Gillen, a writer for philliedelphia.com
