The Phillies took the lead early, but a back-and-forth day with the Tigers ended in a 4-4 tie after nine innings of play. Aaron Harang looked to put together a solid tune-up with the season approaching while the Tigers went with Anibal Sanchez.
Chase Utley got the Phillies on the board first with a two-run homer, his first long ball of the spring, to bring in Ben Revere for a 2-0 lead. Down 3-2 in the fourth, Chase Utley connected yet again against Tigers starter, Anibal Sanchez, tying things up at three a piece. Russ Canzler hit a solo shot of his own in the fifth to knot the game back at 4-4.
Rajai Davis drove a ball deep to the wall in left field in the third inning, but Ben Revere made a spectacular jumping catch to rob him of a home run. Tyler Collins broke through for Detroit in the fourth, smacking a solo home run off of Aaron Harang, cutting the lead to 2-1. The Tigers took the lead 3-2 after Yoenis Cespedes launched a two-run homer to left. With the game tied at three, Jefry Matre knocked in Yoenis Cespedes with an RBI-single to take a 4-3 lead.
With Jerome Williams struggling, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez being sent to minor league camp and Cliff Lee hurt, Aaron Harang is going to be counted on to eat some innings for the Phillies this season. Today, he looked strong through three, but surrendered three runs off of two homers in the fourth. The veteran right-hander lasted 5 1/3 innings, giving up four runs, three earned, off of five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Jeanmar Gomez continued his impressive spring today, throwing 1 2/3 shutout innings, striking out two, lowering his ERA to 0.87. Jonathan Papelbon tossed a scoreless innings, allowing one hit because he failed to cover the bag at first base. Justin De Fratus pitched the eighth and allowed two hits and struck out one.
Meanwhile, Chase Utley raised his spring average to .423 after hitting two home runs today in his two at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring two of his own. Ben Revere had a nice day defensively, robbing Rajai Davis of a homer, but also went 1-for-2 with a run scored at the plate. Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz went a combined 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. Freddy Galvis had two fielding errors at short today.
Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up four runs wihle striking out 10 Phillies. Yoenis Cespedes powered their offense, going 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBI's.
Notes: Cody Asche has been dealing with a stiff back, but was back in action in an intrasquad game at the Phillies minor league complex. He reached on an infield single during his first at-bat against David Buchanan.
Up Next: Monday at 1:05pm, the Phillies travel to Bradenton for a matchup with the Pirates. The Phillies will send top prospect Zach Eflin to the mound while Pittsburgh will go with Adrian Sampson.
