By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Blue Jays 9, Phillies 4 ❖ Attendance: 5,155
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Blue Jays (4-0-1) left fielder Michael Saunders stole the show this afternoon, hitting a three-run home run in the first off of Aaron Nola and a two-run shot in the third off of Elvis Araujo. Toronto never let the Phillies get any closer than three, closing out the game by a final score of 9-6. Philadelphia scored two in the ninth, but couldn't continue their two-out rally.
In the two teams' second matchup of the spring, the Blue Jays got an early lead off of potential Phillies (2-3-1) Opening Day starter, Aaron Nola. The alum gave up two home runs in the bottom of the first inning, a frame in which just 13 of his 29 pitches went for strikes, an uncharacteristic site for Nola. Luckily, in his second inning of work, he set the Blue Jays down 1-2-3.
The Phillies offense struggled today, with the 1-2 hitters going a combined 1-for-9 and the team just 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Toronto was 4-for-6 in those situations.
The Phillies will be back in Clearwater tomorrow to take on the Yankees as Charlie Morton gets his first start of Grapefruit League action.
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| TOR |
4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 2 |
After a 1-2-3 first inning from the Phillies offense, the Blue Jays wasted no time jumping in front as Troy Tulowitzki took Aaron Nola's fourth pitch of the game out of the ballpark to give Toronto an early 1-0 edge. With runners on first and second and none out in the opening frame, Nola just barely missed giving up a three-run home run to Michael Saunders, with the ball going just foul. Saunders didn't miss the next one, launching a three-run homer to right-center field, increasing the Blue Jays advantage to 4-0 early in the first. Darwin Barney, who notched five RBI's in the two teams' first matchup, singled to attempt to keep the runs flowing, but Nola induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Josh Thole to stop the bleeding.
The Phillies got on the board in the top of the second. Darin Ruf led things off with a single, followed by consecutive fly outs from Nick Williams and Carlos Ruiz. Emmanuel Burriss worked a walk and then Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchison hit Logan Moore to give the Phillies their first run of the game, cutting the lead to three, 4-1. Rule-5 selection Tyler Goeddel struck out on three pitches to end the inning and the threat.
Darin Ruf and Odubel Herrera reached base on back-to-back one out errors in the third. Nick Williams flied out for the second time in the game, but Carlos Ruiz laced an RBI-single to left with two down, scoring Herrera from second and cutting the lead in half, 4-2. Toronto's lead went back to four in the third though, thanks to Saunders' second home run of the day, a two-run shot off of Elvis Araujo.
Philadelphia continued to cut the lead in the fourth. Logan Moore hit a one-out double and then Tyler Goeddel singled, moving Moore to third. Freddy Galvis loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch and Odubel Herrera snuck a single into right field, plating Moore from third to make it a 6-3 game. In the bottom of the inning, Ezequiel Carrera reached on an error and Jio Mier singled. Troy Tulowitzki grounded into a double play, but Carrera scored from third to make it a 7-3 lead for Toronto.
Taylor Featherston hit a solo home run for the Phillies in the fifth, making it a 7-4 game. In the bottom of the frame, a double by Junior Lake combined with a throwing error from Jorge Alfaro made it a 9-4 ballgame in favor of Toronto.
With two outs in the top of the ninth for the Phillies, Emmanuel Burriss smacked an RBI-double to center, scoring Brock Stassi from second. Ryan Jackson followed with an RBI-double of his own, plating Burriss and cutting the lead to three, 9-6. Catching prospect Jorge Alfaro struck out to end the game.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Nola | 2.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18.00 |
| Drew Hutchison | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 |
Phillies
- Odubel Herrera: 1-3, R, RBI, K, .273 AVG
- Taylor Featherston: 1-2, R, HR, RBI, BB, .125 AVG
- Darin Ruf: 1-3, R, K, .231 AVG
Blue Jays
- Michael Saunders: 3-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, .500 AVG
- Chris Colabello: 2-3, 2B, .333 AVG
- Troy Tulowitzski: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, .250 AVG
Phillies
- Elvis Araujo (3rd): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 9.00 ERA
- Reinier Roibal (4th, 5th): 2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.50 ERA
- Bobby LaFromboise (6th, 7th): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Dalier Hinojosa (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Blue Jays
- Steve Delabar (3rd): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Ryan Tepera (4th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.50 ERA
- David Aardsma (5th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 9.00 ERA
- Arnold Leon (6th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Conner Greene (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Scott Diamond (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Wil Browning (9th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 18.00 ERA
- Sunday, March 5th, 2016: vs. New York Yankees, 1:05 p.m.
- Clearwater – Bright House Field
- RHP Masahiro Tanaka (2015: 12-7, 3.51 ERA) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (2015: 9-9, 4.81 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
