A late-inning rally by the Phillies fell short after the Red Sox tagged Jerome Williams for five runs this afternoon. Boston went into the fifth inning with a 7-0 lead, but the Phillies chipped away in the seventh and the ninth, but it was too little too late. The Red Sox held off the Phillies rally, preserving a 7-6 victory.
Jerome Williams took the mound for the Phillies for the first time in 10 days and he didn't do too well. In three innings, he gave up five runs, four earned, on ten hits. He struck out two. Meanwhile, Andy Oliver had his first shaky outing of the spring, allowing two runs on three hits in 1.2 innings of work. Those runs were the first that Oliver had given up in 8.1 innings. Jeanmar Gomez, Luis Garcia and Kevin Slowey finished the game, combining for 3.1 shutout innings, four strikeouts and no walks.
Offensively, the Phillies got contributions from many places. Most notably, Cameron Rupp kept up his hot streak. He went 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, an RBI and a walk. Rupp is the likely choice for backup catcher, hitting .412 (7-for-17) with four doubles, two runs, three RBI's, two walks and two strikeouts this spring. Andres Blanco contributed with an RBI-double of his own while Cord Phelps had another strong day, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk. Phelps, a non-roster invitee, is hitting .345 (10-for-29) with a double, homer, five RBI's, five runs scored and seven walks with this spring. Ben Revere, Freddy Galvis and Odubel Herrera combined to go 0-for-7 with a run scored.
The Red Sox were led by Hanley Ramirez. He went 2-for-3 with a homer, run scored and five RBI's on the day. Mookie Betts went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.
A Dustin Pedroia RBI-single got the Red Sox on the board in the first. In the third, they scored four runs. Mookie Betts hit an inside-the-park home run, assisted by some fielding blunders in center field from Odubel Herrera. Hanley Ramirez blasted a three-run homer over the center field wall to give the Red Sox a 5-0 lead. Ramirez struck again in the fourth with a two-RBI single, extending the lead to 7-0.
The Phillies broke through in the seventh thanks to an RBI-double from Cameron Rupp. A few batters later, Andres Blanco drove in two runs with a double of his own, cutting the lead to 7-3. A botched pickoff attempt allowed Blanco to score with Grady Sizemore at the plate, making it 7-4. The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the ninth, thanks to a two-RBI single from Jordan Danks. Cord Phelps flew out to end the game.
Up Next: The Phillies host the Twins tomorrow in Clearwater at 1:05pm. David Buchanan will oppose Mike Pelfrey.
