It was a game up hit batsmen between the Phillies and the Pirates this afternoon. Five batters were given first base the hard way which is enough for it to get tense enough where benches have to be warned. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is known for not being one to allow his batters to get plunked without some retaliation so it got a bit testy.
Other than that, it was a boring game. The Phillies got their share of hits but did nothing with them. Ryan Howard singled twice and Tony Gwynn Jr. had himself a single, double and stolen base. I'm beginning to find myself among those who would prefer Gwynn as an extra outfielder to Bobby Abreu who seems like he can still grind out at bats but probably can't do much else at this point. That was about it for offensive highlights. Chase Utley has done well staying on the field this spring which I suppose is priority one, but his bat has been as cold as can be. As I may have mentioned, I never concern myself with Clearwater stats if you already have a spot on the club. I will say though it's gone bad enough with some of them where I wonder if I should.
Sean O' Sullivan got the start and held the Bucs to two runs over four innings. It was an improvement over his last start but pending Jeff Manship and Dave Buchanan throwing absolute clunkers their next time out, he is probably trailing in the temporary 5th starter battle. Jonathan Papelbon had himself a decent outing if he was protecting a three run save but instead put the game at a further distance after getting two quick outs, in which he hit Starling Marte and allowed three hits in a row which drove in two runs. Antonio Bastardo probably looked this best of the bunch this afternoon through 1.2 innings striking out four, despite allowing a solo blast himself. Mike Nesseth and Kyle Simon finished it off for the pitchers with 2.1 innings of shut out ball among them.
On a broadcast note, it was great to hear from Mike Schmidt for the first two innings making the Sunday home games must watch television this season. Schmidt battled skin cancer this off season and appears to be in good health and good spirits.
Phillies are back at Bright House tomorrow at 1:05 where it will be Kyle Kendrick vs. Brian Matusz and the Baltimore Orioles.
