The Philadelphia Phillies dropped their home opener in Clearwater to the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 4-3 on Sunday afternoon.
Trevor Richards, a thirty-two year old journeyman non-roster invitee, got the start and sandwiched a nice throw on a well-fielded infield dribbler with a pair of strikeouts for a scoreless appearance. As with yesterday’s opener, Bryse Wilson, Richards boasts big league experience and flexibility starting and in the bullpen.
Kyle Schwarber scored the Phillies’ first run of the spring all by his lonesome with a monstrous blast to right field. Schwarber finished 1-2 with a hit-by-pitch.
Trea Turner got the first crack at the leadoff spot hitting in front of Schwarber and went 0-2 with a walk and a run scored on an Alec Bohm sacrifice fly in the third inning.
Speaking of the precarious third sacker, after a down season attributed partially to nagging injuries, Bohm is healthy and showing it, doubling with a deep fly ball off the right field wall in his first at bat. Bohm’s 44 doubles in 2024 were second in the National League. A return to that form will be a welcome development as he will be counted on this year to drive in runs in the middle of the order.
Zach Pop pitched a scoreless second inning with a walk allowed and one strikeout. The 29 year old is one of a slew of candidates for the last right-handed spot in the bullpen, along with Richards, Wilson, Jonathan Bowlan, and Zach McCambley.
JT Realmuto singled in his first at bat to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Bryson Stott was the recipient of an infield single after hitting a heat-seeking missile to short that exploded the nose of Pirates’ third baseman, Jack Brannigan.
The Phillies would love for offseason bullpen acquisition, Kyle Backhus, to have a great spring and he made a solid first step in that direction with a 1-2-3 inning in his debut. The left-hander would slot in at the back of the bullpen as a lefty specialist behind Tanner Banks and setup man, Jose Alvarado.
Other contenders for that possible last lefty spot in the bullpen, Tim Mayza and Genesis Cabrera, each pitched a scoreless frame in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Pirates got on the board with a grand slam in the sixth inning as Jonathan Hernandez loaded the bases and Jack Dallas allowed the home run to Esmerlyn Valdez. Both are candidates for the bullpen in Lehigh Valley.
Rob Thomson pulled his starters in the middle of the sixth and third base prospect, Carson DeMartini, led off the frame with a full count solo shot to bring the score within one. Dante Nori got his first hit of the spring with a hard hit single on the next pitch.
Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh rounded out the starters who got their first reps in, going hitless in five combined trips to the plate.
Johan Rojas played a typically solid centerfield and went 0-1 with a walk. It will be interesting to see how the organization views Rojas and how much of that could be influenced by his play this spring, but presumably he will begin the year as the starting center fielder in Lehigh Valley as an insurance policy for Justin Crawford.
Lehigh Valley starter, Charles King, got the seventh inning mound duty and went 1-2-3 with a pair of punchouts. He also sported a 70’s mustache and a flowing mane, which was an organizational need following the Matt Strahm trade.
Kehden Hettiger took over at DH for Schwarber and laced a well-hit double down the right field line in the bottom of the seventh. FanGraphs has Hettiger as the Phillies #23-rated prospect and the 21 year old switch hitter is expected to continue splitting time between first base and catcher in Reading to begin the season.
22 year old right-hander, Giussepe Velasquez, pitched the eighth, allowing one single and collecting all three outs via the punchout. FanGraphs has him starting the season in the rotation in Clearwater.
Bench candidate, Bryan De La Cruz, started in right field and was the only repeat starter from yesterday’s spring opener. He went 0-2 at the dish with one strikeout after notching one of the Phillies’ four hits yesterday in three at bats.
Low-A ball starter, Aaron Combs, pitched a scoreless ninth with a hit-by-pitch.
Top second base prospect, Aroon Escobar, got his first hit of the spring with an infield single to lead off the bottom of the ninth but that’s all the reserves could muster as the Phils fall to 0-2.
The Phillies will travel across the peninsula to Palm Beach for a rare spring training night game against the Washington Nationals tomorrow at 6:05pm.