Phillies Split Weekend Games; Lose to Pirates, Beat Astros
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Righthander Joe Blanton continues on course to begin the regular season, youngster Carlos Carrasco rebounded from 2 previous poor outings and 1st basemen Ryan Howard and Greg Dobbs as well as outfielders Jayson Werth and John Mayberry continued hitting as the Phillies split their Friday and Saturday games. The Pittsburgh Pirates edged them out on Friday by a 6-5 score on 3 runs in the 9th inning and the returned the favor beating the Houston Astros by a 5-2 score on Saturday.
On Friday, Pirate lefthander Zach Duke pitched superb 1 hit ball for 3 2/3 innings as the Bucs held a 2-0 lead after 4 innings. Blanton gave up 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 2 and walking none in 4 2/3 innings.
After the Pirates scored their 2 runs in the 2nd, Blanton retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced.
The AP recap for Yahoo sports notes:
Trailing 3-0, the Phillies scored five times in the bottom of the sixth to take control of the game. Ryan Howard hit his fifth home run of the spring—a three-run line drive off Daniel McCutchen—to fuel the rally.
McCutchen was pounded for all 5 Phillies runs as they took a 5-3 lead in the 6th inning. But non-rostered invitee Blaine Neal let Pittsburgh back into the game and coughed up the 3 winning runs in the 9th inning as the Bucs came out on top. Reliever Brian Slocum, who pitched a hitless, scoreless 8th for Pittsburgh got the win while Neal was charged with the loss.
On Saturday, the Phils jumped off fast getting 2 runs to the Astro’s 1 in the 1st inning as Carrasco put himself back into the chase for the #5 rotation spot with a 3 inning, 1 run, 4 hit performance. He struck out 4 and walked 2 while facing some potent Astro hitters.
AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken notes in her recap for Yahoo sports:
Carrasco faced a lineup that included Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee and was supposed to be bolstered by the return of Miguel Tejada from the World Baseball Classic.
Instead, Tejada and Lee went a combined 0-for-6 while Berkman fared a bit better with two hits and an RBI.
Greg Dobbs went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Philadelphia, which finished with 11 hits. Jayson Werth homered and drove in two runs.
While Carrasco helped his case, Astros starter Russ Ortiz struggled.
Ortiz, competing for a spot in Houston’s rotation, allowed three runs and seven hits with three walks in 3 2-3 innings. Ortiz, who was an All-Star in 2003 when he led the National League with 21 wins, is trying to make a comeback after sitting out last season following surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right arm.
In the final win/loss decision, Carrasco was credited with the win, his 2nd in the exhibition season against a loss, and Ortiz was charged with the loss.
For all of the results of spring training play for Thursday, as well as World Baseball classic results as well as World Baseball classic results, click here and here.
MLB.com’s Alyson Footer reports:
The Phillies will host the Cardinals on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET. Right-hander Chan Ho Park will take the mound for Philadelphia, while the Phils will face Cards righty Kyle Lohse.
Park is contesting for the 5th rotation spot and has shown well in his previous spring appearances. Lohse, the former Reds and Phillies hurler in 2007, had his finest season in 2008 going 15-6 with an ERA of 3.78 in 200 innings with the Cardinals.
AP’s Rieken also reports:
Phillies All-Star 2B Chase Utley, who is recovering from offseason hip surgery, played in a minor league intrasquad game at Philadelphia’s training complex. He went 2-for-4 and struck out twice. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said he couldn’t predict when Utley would play in a major league game until he sees how he feels after playing on Saturday. “It’s great to have him back on the field,” Amaro said. He knows Utley wants to get back quickly, but also doesn’t want to rush back and cause more problems. “Chase is smart enough to understand that this is something he has to be careful with,” Amaro said.
For all of Sunday’s scheduled exhibition games and World Baseball Classic games as well, click here.
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