Phillies Fall in First Spring Game

                The Phillies kicked off their Grapefruit League action Saturday with an 8-3 loss to the newest member of the American League, the Houston Astros.  While the final score was not very good for the Phillies, there was promising moments in the game.
Cole Hamels got the starting nod against Lucas Harrell of the Astros.  Hamels looked sharp in his spring debut, throwing two innings while allowing 1 hit and striking out 1.  Hamels was extremely efficient in his two innings of work, needing only 10 pitches to get six outs.  While Hamels was effective in his brief outing, the rest of the Phillies who pitched were not.  B.J. Rosenberg blew a two run lead, allowing 3 runs in two innings of work.  The pitching struggles continued after Rosenberg's day was done, with Zach Miner allowing 2 runs in one inning, Jeremy Horst surrendering 1 run in two innings, and Justin De Fratus finishing off the game by allowing 2 runs in two innings.  While the pitching staff, with the exception of Hamels was ineffective, there were some encouraging signs on the offensive side of the ball.
                 Chase Utley made his first spring appearance since 2010 and went 1 for 2 with a single and an RBI.  This is an encouraging sign for the former perennial All-Star second baseman who has been plagued with knee troubles the past two seasons.  Off-season acquisition Ben Revere hit lead off in the game and showed why Charlie Manuel should highly consider moving him to the top of the order instead of Jimmy Rollins.  Revere went 1 for 3 with a single, a stolen base, and a run scored.  Dominic Brown continued to make his case to make the starting lineup on Opening Day, going 1 for 3, while new addition Yuniesky Betancourt went 2 for 3 on the day.  After entering the game for Utley, Pete Orr showed some pop, hitting a home run in the 8th inning.  While the hitting showed some promising signs, the fielding was very shaky throughout.  Erik Kratz, Darin Ruf, Ben Revere, and Michael Martinez each made one error respectively.  So while the Phillies did fall to the Astros to open Spring Training, there were some positives, but the team still has a lot of work to do before Opening Day if they wish to reclaim the NL East from the Washington Nationals in 2013.  The Phillies will be back in action on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, with Chase Utley receiving the day off.  Roy Halladay will get the starting nod in the 1:05 game that can be heard on 1210 WPHT.  Go Phils!