Nearly five full months have passed since we last saw the Phillies play a full team game. In that time, trades, free agent signings, and broadcast shakeups have made this team much different from what we saw in late September. That could be either good or bad, depending on how you like to view the glass. But we can all agree that the idea of baseball returning is a tremendous sight. In today's action, Roberto Hernandez would head to the mound to face off against former Phillie J.A. Happ and the Toronto Blue Jays. We'd also be treated to Bobby Abreu and Marlon Byrd returning to the team, while Ryan Howard would look to make his comeback.
The Game: Spring Training's first game to not exactly begin exactly as everyone would have hoped. Power-hitting Jose Bautista mashed Roberto Hernandez's seventh pitch of the game out of Bright House Field into left field. With just two outs in the top of the first, the Blue Jays had a 1-0 lead.
The bottom of the first saw the home squad retaliate quickly. Center fielder Ben Revere began things by singling up the middle. He'd steal second, and Jimmy Rollins followed up with a walk. With one away, Ryan Howard would also single through the middle, sliding Rollins up to third and scoring Revere. Marlon Byrd did the same, recording a hit and advancing both runners. After one inning, the Phillies held a 2-1 lead.
Hernandez continued to pitch into the second, but did so by allowing two straight doubles. Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus claimed those two hits, accounting for the Jays tying run. Phillippe Aumont came on to pitch in the third, and began by giving up two consecutive walks. One out later, Adam Lind singled to bring home Melky Cabrera. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, and a groundout allowed Bautista to score as well. Make it a 4-2 Blue Jays lead through two and a half innings.
After Cody Asche struck out to begin the bottom of the fifth against another former Phillie, Kyle Drabek, Tony Gwynn worked a walk. Ronny Cedeno followed up with a double into center field that brought Gwynn all the way home for the Phillies third run of the contest.
In the seventh inning, a sudden rain fell upon the field, and the game was called. A 4-3 victory for the Blue Jays.
Some other Phillies pitchers today included Jeff Manship, Antonio Bastardo, and Kevin Munson.
Notable hitting performances:
Chase Utley: 0-2, 1 K
Bobby Abreu: 0-1, 2 BB
Domonic Brown: 1-3, 1 K
Impact: As is the case with most Spring Training games, there isn't much of an impact on the team. It was good to see very few errors and some relatively solid baseball. Guys were getting on base and their teammates were knocking them in. This early in Spring, it's just nice to see some decent play on the field.
Up Next: Tomorrow afternoon, the Phillies will play the Blue Jays once more, this time, away from home. Cliff Lee will take the mound the mound for Philadelphia, hopefully delivering a birthday present for both myself and Matt Stairs.
Andrew Gillen, Writer for philliedelphia.com
