Phillies dominate Braves behind Eickhoff, hot bats

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 9, Atlanta Braves 0 ❖ Attendance: 8,736

Clearwater, FLA — The Philadelphia Phillies (9-8-2) were firing on all cylinders against Atlanta Braves (6-11-1) in this afternoon's game. Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff bounced back from a poor start to throw five scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and striking out five. The relievers kept the Braves' bats in check, only allowing two hits in the remaining four innings. It was an excellent showing for both Eickhoff and the relievers fighting to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster.

The bats came out swinging for the Phils. Not only did they score early, but they scored often. Two of the main contributors were Tyler Goeddel and Brock Stassi, with the latter not even in the starting line-up. Stassi entered the game in the third inning and knocked in two runs. He came in to play first base after Tommy Joseph was hit on the hand with a pitch and was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons. The Phillies broadcasters provided an update on Joseph later in the game, saying that he had a blood blister where he was hit, but that x-rays were negative for any broken bones. Overall, it was an excellent game for both Phillies pitchers and hitters and should be built upon as we get closer to Opening Day.

WP: Jerad Eickhoff (1-1, 4.85 ERA) ❖ LP: Aaron Blair (0-1, 6.23 ERA)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ATL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
PHI	0	3	0	0	2	0	4	0	X	9	11	0

The Phillies struck first in the ballgame. Catcher Logan Moore led off the inning with a single to left field. One out later, Freddy Galvis singled to put runners on first and second with one out for Tyler Goeddel. He tripled to right field, scoring both runners and giving the Phils the lead. It would have been a double for most hitters, but Goeddel's speed got him to third base. Cesar Hernandez knocked him in with a single to extend the lead for the Phillies. Hernandez stole second base to get into scoring position, but was ultimately stranded there, as Roman Quinn flied out and Daniel Nava grounded out to end the frame. However, it was good to see the Phils take advantage of a struggling pitcher and get on the board early.

The Phillies extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Quinn got the Phils off to a good start with a lead-off walk. He went to third on a single by Taylor Featherston. One out later, Nick Williams walked. However, a wild pitch on ball four by Braves reliever Mauricio Cabrera allowed Quinn to score and Featherston to advance to third. Moore hit a sacrifice fly to score Featherston and increase the Phillies' lead to five runs.

The Phillies added to their run total in the bottom of the seventh. Quinn reached base on an infield single. After a flyout by Featherston, Brock Stassi, who had entered the game for the injured Tommy Joseph, homered to right field. One out later, Bryan Holaday and Pedro Florimon got back-to-back walks to bring Jesmuel Valentin to the plate. He doubled to right field to score Holaday and move Florimon up to third base. Goeddel reached on an error by Braves shortstop Sean Kazmar, which allowed Florimon to score. The Phillies tried to be aggressive, attempting to score Valentin as well, but he was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the inning. This was more than enough offense to secure a victory.

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Starting Pitchers