By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Phillies 4, Tigers 3 ❖ Attendance: 8,418
Lakeland, FL — The Phillies have been strong all spring and today, they squared off against a Tigers team that had won seven straight games. Although Philadelphia didn't register a hit until the sixth inning, a strong start from Aaron Nola paired with a two-run sixth and seventh inning by the offense led the Phils to their 14th win of the spring and their seventh win in the last nine games.
Maikel Franco hit the go-ahead RBI-single in the sixth and Cedric Hunter, who is fighting for a spot on the Opening Day roster, hit a two-run homer in the seventh to cushion the Phillies lead to 4-1. Detroit scored one in the seventh and the ninth to climb back to within one, but Joely Rodriguez closed the door for the Phillies, despite allowing three runners to reach in the ninth.
The Phillies are back at it tomorrow in Clearwater as they host the Minnesota Twins split squad. Jerad Eickhoff is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut.
WP: Aaron Nola (1-1, 5.28 ERA ❖ LP: Justin Wilson (1-1, 10.50 ERA) ❖ SV: Joely Rodriguez (1)
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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| DET | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
The Tigers got on the board first in the 3rd, courtesy of an RBI single off the bat of Miguel Cabrera, plating Austin Romine from third.
It took until the sixth for the Phillies to get on the board in the hit and run column, but they took a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way. Emmanuel Burriss and Ryan Jackson led the inning off with back-to-back walks. David Lough bunted them over and then Tyler Goeddel smacked an RBI groundout to short, tying things at 1-1. Maikel Franco followed with an RBI single to score Jackson, giving the Phils a 2-1 lead.
In the seventh, Darin Ruf walked to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Cedric Hunter belted a two-run homer to right, his third of the spring, extending the Phillies lead to 4-1. Detroit tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh. James McCann hit a one-out double off of Phillies closer candidate David Hernandez and Mike Aviles followed with an RBI-triple to right.
The Phillies sent Joely Rodriguez out for the ninth and he walked two straight hitters to start the inning. Detroit attempted a double steal, with Tyler Collins being caught at second, leaving a runner at third with one down. Rodriguez got Raffy Lopez to ground out, byt Wynton Bernard scored from third to make it a 4-3 game. After allowing one more single, Rodriguez got Anthony Gose to ground out and end the game.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Nola | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5.28 |
| Anibal Sanchez | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 |
Phillies
- Cedric Hunter: 1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, .302 AVG
- David Lough: 1-3, 2B, BB, K, .310 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 1-3, RBI, .326 AVG
Tigers
- Mike Aviles: 1-3, 3B, RBI, .313 AVG
- Miguel Cabrera: 1-3, RBI, .344 AVG
- James McCann: 1-3, 2B, R, .345 AVG
Phillies
- David Hernandez: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K, 4.50 ERA
- Edward Mujica: 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K, 1.50 ERA
- Joely Rodriguez: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9.00 ERA
Tigers
- Francisco Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
- Justin Wilson: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 10.50 ERA
- Blaine Hardy: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 11.81 ERA
- Logan Kensing: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3.38 ERA
- Lendy Castillo: 1 IP, 2 BB, 1 K, 3.00 ERA
- Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016: vs. Minnesota Twins (SS), 1:05 p.m.
- Clearwater, FL – Bright House Field
- RHP Phil Hughes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
- TV: The Comcast Network; Radio: MLB.com
