Jake Thompson warms up prior to his first start in Clearwater. (Photo: Frank Klose/Philliedelphia)
Astros: 3, Phillies: 2
WP: Doug Fister (1-0, 0.00ERA) LP: Jake Thomspon (0-1, 0.00 ERA) S: Gustave(1, 0.00 ERA)
Clearwater, FL – The Phillies tried to overcome a rather quiet afternoon at the plate but ultimately fell short.
Jake Thompson and Zach Eflin had the first four innings on the mound. It was pretty similar outings for the two, pitching their way in and out of trouble and allowing unearned runs due to two errors from third baseman Taylor Featherston. Closer candidate, Ernesto Frieri allowed a lead off homer off Matt Duffy in the 5th. James Russell struck out three in the 6th. It wasn't until the 8th when submarine pitcher Greg Burke threw the first perfect inning.
At the plate, it was a tale of stranded base runners. Peter Bourjos was 2-2 and found himself at third base twice off singles from Andrew Knapp and never came home. Featherston was equally as frustrating at bat making the third out in all four at bats (three at the plate, one with a double play). The Phillies would finally cross the plate in the 7th on a RBI ground out from Brock Stassi, scoring Odubel Herrera.
More noise was made in the bottom of the 9th. After Herrera reached on an error and Stassi moved him over with a walk, Carlos Ruiz would send him home with a RBI single. Nick Williams unfortunately would strike out to end the ballgame.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Fister | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jake Thompson | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Zach Eflin: 2 IP, H, R, 2 BB, K
- Ernesto Frieri: IP, H, ER, BB, K
- James Russell: IP, H, 3 K
- Elvis Araujo: IP, BB
- Greg Burke: IP, K
- Colton Murray: IP, H, K
Astros
- Kevin Chapman: IP, 2 H
- Michael Feliz: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
- James Hoyt: IP: 2 BB, 2 K
- Brendan McCurry: IP, H, ER, BB, K
- Danny Reynolds: IP, H, BB
- Jandel Gustave: IP, H, R, BB K
Phillies at Yankees
Phillies:13, Yankees: 4
WP: Alec Asher (1-0, 4.50 ERA) LP: Jacob Lindgren (0-1, 108.00 ERA)
Tampa, FL – Things were much brighter in Tampa as the Yankees hosted the Phillies and whatever offense didn't show up at home was definitely launching them there.
The home runs came from Maikel Franco in the 4th and Roman Quinn in the 9th. It was almost an "everybody hits" afternoon many with multi hit games such as Quinn, Ryan Jackson, Darin Ruf, Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel, Jorge Alfaro, and Cedric Hunter. Most of the damage came in the fifth courtesy of some brutal pitching by the Yankees relievers but from the fourth inning through the ninth there was not an inning the Phillies didn't score.
Adam Morgan got the start pitching two innings, allowing two earned runs. Following him was Alec Asher who allowed an earned run over two innings and struck out four, also recording the win. Recently acquired Mark Appel pitched the 5th and 6th innings allowing an earned run and four walks. Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf struck out three in his two innings of work and Edward Mujica sent the team back to Clearwater with some bragging rights.
What's Next
Friday, March 4, 2016 vs. Atlanta Braves
- RHP Lucas Sims (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
- TV: TCN
Greg Vince (@GregVince) is a staff writer for Philliedelphia.com.
