Phillies to face Sale, Red Sox in Fort Myers road trip finale

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

Amidst their final full week of spring training, the Philadelphia Phillies (9-14-1) will play the last of their two-game, two-day Fort Myers overnight road trip against the Boston Red Sox (13-8-1) Monday afternoon at JetBlue Park. Phillies non-roster invitee RHP Drew Hutchison will get his second spring starting nod as he opposes eight-year veteran southpaw Chris Sale, who has finished in the top six of the American League Cy Young Award race in six straight straight seasons.

The Red Sox have won six straight games, scoring at least four runs in four of the contests. The Phillies, meanwhile, fell 4-3 to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at the CenturyLink Sports Complex. Phillies Opening Day starter RHP Aaron Nola tossed a spring-high five innings and allowed a pair of runs (both earned) on four hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Southpaw Hoby Milner (1 ER) and right-handers Edubray Ramos (0 ER) and Jake Thompson (1 ER) each pitched an inning of relief. The Phillies' three runs on offense all came via a three-run home run by Jesmuel Valentin, his third of the spring. Non-roster invitee Scott Kingery collected two of his club's six hits and spent time in the field at both second and third bases.

Starting Pitching Matchup:

Hutchison, 27, is 1-0 with a 4.22 ERA this spring spanning 10 2/3 innings and four appearances. The four-year veteran has recorded a combined 11 strikeouts, while yielding five runs (all earned) on eight hits, four walks and two home runs.

The Phillies signed Hutchison to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Feb. 15. The Lakeland, Florida native spent three-plus seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2012 and 2014-2016. Hutchison was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 1, 2016, and appeared in six more games with his new club before spending the entire 2017 season with its Triple-A affiliate.

Sale, 28, will make his first home start and third outing overall this spring. Through nine innings, Sale has surrendered just four hits, one run and no walks while striking out 12 batters.

The six-time American League All-Star enters his second season with the Red Sox after going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA in 32 starts in 2017. Sale led all of baseball last season in innings pitched (214 1/3), strikeouts (308), fielding independent pitching or FIP (2.45) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.9).

Starting Lineups:

* non-roster invitee

Broadcast Information:

• First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
• TV: N/A
• Radio: MLB.com

Game Notes:

• After Monday, the Phillies have eight spring games remaining: four home (March 20, 22, 25 and 27) and four away (March 21, 23, 24 and 26). The Phillies' road games will be in Dunedin (Blue Jays), Bradenton (twice, Pirates) and Lakeland (Detroit Tigers).
• Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel will throw live batting practice on Monday after spending all of March in Boston tending to his infant daughter (heart surgery), according to BostonSportsJournal.com's Sean McAdam. Kimbrel has yet to appear this spring in Grapefruit League action. The 29-year-old ranks 29th on the all-time saves list (291).
• Monday will be the last of two meetings with the Red Sox this spring. The Phillies defeated the Red Sox (split-squad) home on March 7, 2-1, as Nola tossed four shutout innings with five strikeouts. The Phillies offense did not produced any runs-batted-in in the victory, however, as they scored on a wild pitch and fielding error in the fourth and seventh innings.
• Phillies-Red Sox regular season meetings:
  • July 30-31 at Fenway Park
  • August 14-15 at Citizens Bank Park
• Hutchison hopes to land a starting spot vacated by injured RHP Jerad Eickhoff (strained lat). The club likely will favor arms already on the 40-man roster, however, such as right-handers Zach Eflin, Mark Leiter Jr., Ben Lively or Nick Pivetta. Right-handers in Nola, Jake Arrieta and Vince Velasquez will be featured atop of the rotation.

Spring Training Roster Breakdown, (as of March 18, 2018):

Total Major League Camp Roster: 48 players

40-Man Roster (40 -2):

• Major League Camp (33):
  • Left-handed pitchers (3): Zac Curtis, Hoby Milner, Adam Morgan
  • Right-handed pitchers (16): Victor Arano, Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, Jerad Eickhoff, Luis Garcia, Tommy Hunter, Mark Leiter Jr., Ben Lively, Hector Neris, Pat Neshek, Aaron Nola, Nick Pivetta, Edubray Ramos, Yacksel Rios, Jake Thompson, Vince Velasquez
  • Catchers (3): Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp, Cameron Rupp
  • Infielders (5): J.P. Crawford, Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana, Jesmuel Valentin
  • Outfielders (6): Aaron Altherr, Pedro Florimon, Odubel Herrera, Rhys Hoskins, Roman Quinn, Nick Williams
• Designated for Assignment (-2): Eliezer Alvarez, Tommy Joseph
• Minor League Camp (7):
  • Left-handed pitchers (1): Ranger Suarez
  • Right-handed pitchers (5): Drew Anderson, Seranthony Dominguez, Franklyn Kilome, Ricardo Pinto, Jose Taveras
  • Catchers (0):
  • Infielders (0):
  • Outfielders (1): Dylan Cozens

Non-Roster Invitees (22):

• Major League Camp (15):
  • Left-handed pitchers (1): Fernando Abad
  • Right-handed pitchers (4): Pedro Beato, Tom Eshelman, Drew Hutchison, Francisco Rodriguez
  • Catchers (2): Matt McBride, Logan Moore
  • Infielders (5): Ryan Flaherty, Scott Kingery, Will Middlebrooks, Adam Rosales, Mitch Walding
  • Outfielders (3): Collin Cowgill, Danny Ortiz, Andrew Pullin
• Minor League Camp (7):
  • Left-handed pitchers (2): Cole Irvin, Brandon Leibrandt
  • Right-handed pitchers (2): Enyel De Los Santos, J.D. Hammer
  • Catchers (2): Edgar Cabral, Nick Rickles
  • Infielders (1): Heiker Meneses
  • Outfielders (0):

What's Next:

• Tuesday, March 20, 2018: vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.
  • Spectrum Field, Clearwater, Fla.
  • RHP Marco Estrada (1-0, 1.13 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Lively (0-1, 3.86 ERA)
  • TV: NBCSP+; Radio: MLB.com