EXHIBITION GAME
RECAP: Phillies Tame Tigers 5-4
Brian Bogusevic, a
last-minute replacement in the Phillies' lineup, hit two home runs off Tigers
starter Anibal Sanchez.
However, it was a Russ Canzler single
that set up the go-ahead run in the ninth for Philadelphia's second win over
the Tigers in three days -- a 5-4 decision on Saturday afternoon at Joker
Marchant Stadium. Bogusevic wasn't in the lineup until Jeff Francoeur was
scratched with a sore left oblique. He took over Francoeur's original cleanup
spot and jumped a 91-mph fastball for a two-run homer, part of a 33-pitch
opening inning for Sanchez in his third spring start. The ball landed near the
bottom of the left-field berm, just out of Xavier Avery's reach at the fence. "He's
here in Spring Training having a look like everybody else. He's shown a good
bat," manager Ryne Sandberg said of Bogusevic. "The ball really comes
off his bat well. He's shown a good arm in the outfield. He's an interesting
guy. We have some interesting players in camp, so we'll continue to look and
watch." Sanchez allowed hits to three of Philadelphia's first four
hitters. He allowed one other hit over the rest of his four-inning performance.
That, too, came from Bogusevic, who sent a slider out on a line over the
right-field fence in the corner for a third-inning solo shot. "We want to
be a team that doesn't sit back and count on the home run, but with more
contact and possibly cutting down on strikeouts and having a good approach,
some of that can happen," said Sandberg, whose Phils have hit three homers
in the last two spring games after belting two in the first 10 contests.
"So that's a plus sign of what we're working on. When you hit the ball
correctly and you hit down at it through the ball, you can backspin some balls
out of the park." The Tigers chipped away at the 4-1 deficit with help
from Phillies starter Paul Clemens, who walked four batters and threw just 18
of 48 pitches for strikes over 2 1/3 innings. Jefry Marte's fifth-inning solo
homer completed the comeback minutes after Marte's off-balance threw robbed Odubel Herrera of a bunt single leading off the top
of the innings. The two bullpens traded scoreless frames from there until
Canzler hit a one-out single in the ninth off Alex Wilson and went to third base on Chris
McGuiness' single. Catcher Shane Zeile's passed ball allowed Canzler to score.
TODAY’S EXHIBITION
GAME:
Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez,
competing for a spot in the rotation, will start for the Phillies split-squad
that plays the Red Sox at Bright House Field on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET on MLB.TV.
The right-hander will be looking to rebound after going 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA
to open Grapefruit League play. The other split squad will travel to George M.
Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., where right-hander Sean O'Sullivan will
start against the Yankees.
PHILS PHACTS:
Surprising Strides In Spring Training – After
hitting just two home runs in their first 10 Grapefruit League games, the
Phillies have now hit three in their last two contests. That includes two by
non-roster invitee Brian Bogusevic in
Saturday's 5-4 win over the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. He was a late
addition to the lineup after Jeff Francoeur felt a twinge in his left oblique
during batting practice and was scratched for precautionary reasons. One of the
themes of camp for the Phillies has been that there are jobs to be won. The
31-year-old Bogusevic took full advantage of his first start to show what he
can do by homering to left in the first, a two-run shot, and then to right in
the third, both off Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez. "He's here in Spring Training
having a look like everybody else. He's shown a good bat," manager Ryne
Sandberg said. The ball really comes off his bat well. He's shown a good arm in
the outfield. He's an interesting guy. We have some interesting players in
camp, so we'll continue to look and watch. "For anybody in camp it's
important to show what they can do, put themselves in a position to leave with
the ballclub or to be one of the guys [you turn to] in a need situation. We
have a lot of new faces in camp. So for us to get to know some of these guys
and for them to show what they can do is very important." Bogusevic has
been held back by injuries with the Cubs in 2013 and the Marlins' Triple-A New
Orleans affiliate last year. "There have been ups and downs, but that's
how baseball goes," he said. "That's how life goes. It's not a big
deal. You just keep going. "Every spring you have goals of making teams
and this and that. But really what you have to do is get ready for a season. If
you're not trying to get ready for the season, you're really not doing yourself
any favors. Just see as many pitches as possible, get as many good swings as
possible for the first game of the season, no matter where it is." Two
other players getting a close look, for different reasons, also played on
Saturday. Phillippe Aumont, the
towering right-hander who is out of options, struck out two of the six batters
he faced after allowing an inherited runner to score in the third. "He
threw a lot of strikes," Sandberg said. "He was much better. Got
ahead of the hitters. It was good outing for him. He needs to be able to repeat
it, hit his spots, not make mistakes, keep the ball down, quality pitches. He
showed more of those in this outing." Touted No. 3
prospect Maikel Franco went 0-for-3, dropping his Grapefruit
League average to .182. "He needs to make some adjustments," Sandberg
said. "We saw some of the same approaches and same swings last year in
September [when the 22-year-old batted .179 in 16 games]. For him to break into
the league and be an established hitter, he needs to hit for an average and use
the whole field. That's what's talked about with him. He looks like he's
overswinging."
Disappointing Fill In – The
Phillies needed a starter to fill in for veteran Aaron Harang, who was scratched for the second time
this spring with lower back discomfort, against the Tigers on Saturday at Joker
Marchant Stadium. Enter right-hander Paul Clemens, a non-roster invitee who
pitched for the Astros last season. The hope, of course, is that Philadelphia
won't need long-term replacements for Harang or Cliff Lee, who has been sidelined with renewed left
elbow inflammation after missing the last two months of the 2014 season. But
the club also has to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. And that's why
the 27-year-old Clemens was so disappointed that he gave up three earned runs
on three hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings of what turned out to be a 5-4
Phillies win. "We need those guys
healthy. But it opens a door to show what I can do," Clemens said.
"This was a great opportunity to really show that I can work deep into a
ballgame. We jumped on them early. So today was a great opportunity that I let
slip away. That's tough to swallow. I'm confident in what I can do. I know what
I bring to the table." Clemens was unable to locate his fastball, which
meant he was pitching behind during much of his outing. "It was pretty
brutal actually. When you're not getting ahead of the guys, you're in for a
long day," he said. "I was consistently behind guys, putting guys on
base without them earning it. Makes it rough, makes it tough. I felt good with
my stuff, but I couldn't command my fastball the way that I should have." Said
manager Ryne Sandberg: "He's shown some good things in his outings as far
as hanging in there and making a pitch and not getting rattled. But for him to
be able to throw strike one would go a long way with what he has on the mound,
so that's something he needs to improve on." The Phillies didn't provide
updates on Lee or Harang on Saturday. Cole Hamels and Jerome Williams are
the only other starters penciled into the rotation at the moment, although David Buchanan appears to have an inside track on a
spot. Other options include Kevin Slowey and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.
Game Clock Has A Fan In De Fratus – A few
days ago, Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus had a thought about Major League
Baseball's attempts to tighten up inning breaks and shared it with his Twitter
followers. "Game clock between innings is awesome!" he tweeted. Given
the opportunity to expand his opinion beyond 140 characters before the team bus
left Bright House Field for Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the
Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium, the right-handed De Fratus, who has pitched
three scoreless innings and earned two saves this spring, offered an
interesting take. "This is just my own personal opinion. I have no numbers
to back this up. I don't think the average time between innings is so much
less," De Fratus said. "But what I think is happening is, it doesn't
allow for that one inning that causes the entire pace of the game to hit the
brakes. There always seems to be that one moment. The game seems to be moving
along great, and then it hits this moment, and it can never pick that original
pace back up." Game clock for in
between innings is awesome! - Justin De Fratus (@JustinDeFratus) March
9, 2015 Part of MLB's pace
of play initiative this year adds a timer
which counts down from 2:25 beginning as soon as the third out of an inning is
made (2:45 for nationally-televised games). Ideally, the pitcher and hitter
should both be ready to go when the clock hits 20 seconds. "It's just
allowing the game to move more naturally. And it doesn't allow for that
stop," De Fratus said. "You know like if you're going on a road trip
or something like that? And all of a sudden, somebody has to use the restroom?
It's like, 'Dang it, man, you just killed the whole momentum of our trip.' "Before
you had the jams going. And afterwards you get back in the car and you're just
kind of dead now. This isn't allowing for that moment where so-and-so took five
minutes between innings and now everybody's just kind of dragging. That's what
I love about it. I don't think it's really shaving off a whole lot of time, per
se, as opposed to not allowing that moment of the game hitting the brakes.
Because once that happens, it's hard to get it back."
ON THE RECORD:
The
Phillies will look to rebound this season from a 73-89 record last year. While
uncertainty abounds, there is little question that the franchise is in rebuild
mode based on the moves and statements that have been made during the
offseason. The only question that remains is whether or not the young and
veteran talent on the team can work together to disprove Gillick’s predictions
either this year or next.
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