By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
SARASOTA, Fla. — The Philadelphia Phillies (9-9-2) will play their second consecutive night game Thursday evening as they take on LHP Chris Lee and the Baltimore Orioles (10-8-1) at Ed Smith Stadium.
Starting for the Phillies will be RHP Vince Velasquez, who earned his first spring win on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin. In 3 1/3 innings, the 24-year-old allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out four batters.
Lee, 24, missed most of 2016 with a shoulder issue. The left-hander allowed 17 runs in 51 1/3 innings for Double-A Bowie last season, but only had a 19-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is the No.7-ranked Orioles prospect by MLBPipeline.com.
The Phillies offense managed just two baserunners and one hit — a seventh inning leadoff single by shortstop Freddy Galvis — in the 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees Wednesday evening in Tampa. Designated hitter Andrew Knapp was the only other Phillie to reach base via a sixth-inning walk against southpaw Aroldis Chapman. Yankees starter RHP Michael Pineda threw five perfect innings with eight strikeouts. The Phillies struck out a total of 13 times.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (9-9-2) | Baltimore Orioles (10-8-1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Vince Velasquez | LHP | Chris Lee | ||
| (2016: 8-6, 4.12 ERA) | (2016, Double-A: 5-0, 2.98 ERA) | ||||
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (9-9-2) | Baltimore Orioles (10-8-1) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Joey Rickard | R |
| 2 | CF | Roman Quinn | S | 2 | SS | J.J. Hardy | R |
| 3 | LF | Howie Kendrick | R | 3 | 1B | Chris Davis | L |
| 4 | RF | Michael Saunders | L | 4 | DH | Mark Trumbo | R |
| 5 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 5 | LF | Hyun Soo Kim | L |
| 6 | 1B | Brock Stassi^ | L | 6 | 3B | Chris Johnson | R |
| 7 | DH | Daniel Nava^ | S | 7 | RF | Craig Gentry | R |
| 8 | SS | Andres Blanco | S | 8 | C | Caleb Joseph | R |
| 9 | C | Ryan Hanigan^ | R | 9 | 2B | Robert Andino | R |
^ non-roster invitee
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 6:05 p.m.
- TV: N/A
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies RHP Pat Neshek earned the win for Team USA in the 4-2 victory over Team Venezuela Wednesday evening at Petco Park. Neshek threw a perfect eighth inning and struck out Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve swinging on four pitches.
- Non-roster invitee Brock Stassi earns his second straight start, filling in for the injured Tommy Joseph (left hand contusion). Stassi is tied for the Major League lead in home runs this spring (5) and leads the league in RBIs (15). In 14 games and 34 at-bats, he is batting .382/.447/.912.
- Phillies southpaw Adam Morgan allowed just one hit through four innings in minor-league action on Wednesday. According to CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury, Morgan is being kept stretched out as a starter as he looks to become the long-man out of the Phillies' rotation.
What's Next:
- Friday, March 17, 2017: vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.
- Spectrum Field (Clearwater)
- RHP Marco Estrada (2016: 9-9, 3.48 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (2016: 6-9, 4.78 ERA)
- TV: TCN; Radio: MLB.com
