Posted by Erik Seybold
After an off-day yesterday, the Phillies are getting back to business. This afternoon, they will head over to Dunedin for the second time this week. The Phils are only 9-9 this Spring and haven't brought a lot of offense to the plate. They have been plagued with bad news and injuries this Spring. Chase Utley will not be playing any time soon, Ryan Howard has had setbacks, and most recently, Michael Martinez broke a bone in his foot. Not good news with just two weeks until Opening Day.
But, there is positive news in the injury department.
This morning, Ryan Howard walked into the clubhouse at Bright House Field wearing sneakers, two of them. Yes, he is out of his boot right now. There is no telling if he will begin work outs today or even this week. It's a good sign that Howard is emerging from his boot, being just three weeks removed from his procedure to re-stitch his infected statures.
This afternoon, Cliff Lee (1-1, 4.66 ERA) will make his fourth start of the Spring. In his last outing, just six days ago, Lee allowed three earned runs on five hits in just 4 2/3 innings. He also allowed a pair of home runs, but did strike out five Pirates. He received the losing decision in the 3-2 loss.
The Blue Jays will send out Brandon Morrow (1-0, 1.08 ERA), who is making his fourth start of the Spring. He will take on Charlie Manuel's lineup, a lineup that could very likely mimic the Opening Day lineup.
Today's lineup @ Toronto:
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Shane Victorino CF
- Hunter Pence RF
- Ty Wigginton 3B
- Laynce Nix LF
- John Mayberry Jr. 1B
- Chooch C
- Juan Pierre DH
- Freddy Galvis 2B
- Cliff Lee P.
You can listen to the game on MLB.com.
Erik Seybold is a Contributor for Philliedelphia. You can follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
