Today, the Phillies squared off against one of their NL East rivals for the first time this spring. The Phils are in a transition stage with their roster as are the Braves. Though their rebuild and retool concept may be different, both teams are aiming to change the future of their respective organizations. Each team sent one of their young pitching talents to the hill today, with the Phillies going with #15 prospect Severino Gonzalez and the Braves countering with Mike Foltynewicz, acquired in the Evan Gattis trade. Back-to-back home runs courtesy of Ryan Howard and Darin Ruf powered the Phillies offense en route to a 5-3 win.
While Severino Gonzalez isn't extremely known for his fastball speed, his breaking balls were what stole the show for him this afternoon. He hits anywhere from 88-92mph on his fastball but has great sink on his breaking pitches. The 22-year-old farmhand tossed three shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out two in the process. Colton Murray followed with a scoreless frame of his own before Paul Clemens came in and allowed two runs in 2.1 innings. Phillippe Aumont got some work in, allowing an unearned run on three hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out two and walked one. The lone remaining player from the Cliff Lee deal has a 3.52 ERA this spring. Hector Neris closed the game out in the ninth.
Offensively, Darin Ruf lef the charge, going 3-for-5 at the dish with a homer, two runs scored and an RBI. Ryan Howard went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI, but he hit three balls very deep on the warning track and put together some nice at-bats. Non-roster invitee Brian Bogusevic drove in two runs on the day and is hitting .393 this spring. Jordan Danks started in center and contributed with an RBI and a walk. Meanwhile, Andres Blanco continued to make a case for a spot on the big league roster, going 2-for-5. While Cesar Hernandez has been the favorite to be the utility infielder, he's struggled at the plate all spring long, hitting just .086 after going 0-for-1 today.
Brian Bogusevic got the Phillies on the board first with an RBI-single to score Chris Nelson in the second. In the bottom of the third, Ryan Howard blasted his third home run of the year, a solo shot off the center field scoreboard. On the very next pitch, Darin Ruf hit a solo bomb to left center, making it a 3-0 lead. With things tied at three heading into the eighth, a Brian Bogusevic sacrifice fly coupled with an RBI-single from Jordan Danks gave the Phils the lead they'd need heading into the ninth as Hector Neris shut the door for his second save.
The Braves got all three of their runs in the seventh. Starting shortstop Andrelton Simmons smacked a two-run homer to left off of Paul Clemens to make it a 3-2 game. Phil Gosselin reached on a forceout, allowing Kelly Johnson to score, tying the game at three. Eric Young Jr. went 3-for-5 for the Braves while Freddie Freeman went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. Pedro Ciriaco pitched in with two hits and a run scored. Starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz lasted 2.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out four.
Notes: Aaron Harang pitched a minor league game today. He pitched five innings and gave up seven hits and three runs against a group of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects. He walked none and struck out five.
Up Next: Tomorrow at 1:05pm, Aaron Nola makes his spring debut for the Phillies as they host the Astros at Bright House Field. Houston will send right-hander Asher Wojciechowski to the mound.
