The Phillies played their second-to-last game in Florida this afternoon as they took on the Tigers. Cole Hamels and Justin Verlander got the start, six days before both are set to start on Opening Day.
The Phillies got out to an early lead in the first as Michael Young sac-flied to score Ben Revere, who reached on an error to lead off the ball game.
Kevin Frandsen would leave the game in the top of the third after getting hit by a Justin Verlander pitch. Frandsen is okay, but he has a huge welt and imprints of stitches on his wrist.
Cole Hamels would only pitch three innings today, scaling back to get ready for Opening Day. The Phillies' lefty allowed a hit and a walk along with three K's.
Ender Inciarte improved his chances of staying on the roster with an RBI single that scored Carlos Ruiz in the fourth inning. Although Inciarte is batting .286 this spring, it was his first RBI so far. Inciarte is strong in the outfield, which is why the big league club likes him so much.
The Tigers would get on the board in the bottom half of the sixth with an Austin Jackson sac-fly that scored Alex Avila. That run would be the only one the Tigers scored as the Phillies scored two-runs in the top of the seventh on a Michael Young RBI groundout and a bases loaded walk. 4-1 Phillies.
Cole Hamels, Chad Durbin, Zach Miner (allowed the earned run on two hits), Antonio Bastardo, Brandon Erbe, and Chris Nichols pitched this afternoon. All together, the Phillies' pitching held the Tigers to three hits while striking out seven.
The Phillies will play the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow in Clearwater before headed to Citizens Bank Park for their On-Deck Series with the Blue Jays. The game starts at 1:05 PM tomorrow.
Final: Phillies 4, Tigers 1
WP: Cole Hamels (3-0)
LP: Justin Verlander (1-3)
2B: PHI – J. Mayberry, M. Young ; DET – T. Hunter.
RBI: PHI – M. Young 2 (14), E. Inciarte 1 (1) ; DET – A. Jackson 1, (7)
Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
