The Phillies fell to the Twins at Fort Myers this afternoon as Minnesota blasted their way to a 7-1 victory. It was a pretty quiet afternoon offensively for Philadelphia. They took an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd after Cesar Hernandez hit a double and they were able to small ball a run in with Galvis bunting him over and Odubel Herrera driving him home. Ervin Santana would otherwise cruise through six innings allowing just the run and Glen Perkins and the Twins' bullpen would keep the Phillies hitless for the rest of the ballgame.
It was a tough afternoon for Jerome Williams who got hit pretty hard over four innings. He would surrender nine hits, six runs, four of which were earned. Williams did not get much help from his defense but he ran a lot of deep counts and wasn't really at his best. Perhaps the biggest blow would be Joe Mauer hitting a two run home run to make it a 5-1 ballgame in the 4th. Williams walked two and struck out two.
Ken Giles would inherit two base runners in the 5th and while one would come home on a sacrifice fly from Shane Robinson, he would retire the three hitters he faced. Andy Oliver would have a perfect 6th, striking out two and Luis Garcia pitched a perfect 7th of his own. Phillipe Aumont would surrender a run and two hits in his inning of the work
It's becoming crunch time on if Aumont makes the roster or is exposed to waivers. A similar decision looms for Cesar Hernandez who is also out of options and is having a brutal spring hitting .098 and despite scoring the lone run today, also cost them a run with an error. It's tough choices on both Aumont and Hernandez. Both show signs of being capable but have produced pretty poor results overall this Spring.
The Phillies return to Bright House Field tomorrow at 1:05 to take on the Tigers. Anibal Sanchez will be pitching for Detroit while Aaron Harang goes for the Phillies.
