Phillies Fall to Yankees

               The Phillies fell to the Yankees 6-2 in a game at Steinbrenner Field tonight.  While the pitching and hitting were not exactly spectacular tonight, sloppy defense is what proved to be the downfall of the Phillies.
The Phillies committed four errors in the contest, one a piece from Josh Fields, Humberto Quintero, Cliff Lee, and Mike Stutes.  Lee got the start on the mound for the Phillies and faced a similar fate to that of Roy Halladay yesterday, as he lasted only 2 2/3 innings before being replaced.  This was not completely Lee's fault as the sloppy defense caused him to hit his pitch count earlier than anticipated.  On the evening, Lee surrendered 5 runs on 6 hits, but only 2 of the runs were earned.  Lee was replaced on the mound by Zach Miner who allowed 1 run in 1 1/3 innings pitched, while striking out 3.  The remaining Phillies pitchers finished off the game unscathed, as Stutes threw 2 scoreless innings, followed by a scoreless frame from Justin De Fratus.  Chad Durbin pitched one perfect inning with 2 strikeouts, but the Phillies offense couldn't muster enough runs to make a comeback.
                The Phillies hitting was lackluster on the game to say the least.  While they did squeeze out 7 hits, they could only put 2 runs on the board.  Cesar Hernandez hit a double after replacing Chase Utley in the game, who went hit less with a walk in two at-bats.  John Mayberry Jr. had a solid game as he fights for a starting role in the outfield.  Mayberry Jr. went 2 for 3 on the game to increase his spring average to .261.  Dom Brown continued to rack up hits so far through Grapefruit League play, as he went 1 for 3 with an RBI.  The most positive sign in the game for the Phillies came from Darin Ruf as he battles to make the 25 man roster.  The outfielder went 1 for 3 but hit his first home run of the spring after a monstrous 2012 that saw him rake in Double A, Triple A, and in his brief appearance in Philadelphia.  Ruf has slowly been coming around and has increased his batting average to .200 after a very sluggish start.  He will need to pick up the pace and impress over the final few weeks of camp or he will find himself in Triple A to start the season.  While starting in Triple A may not be the worst thing for him, I'm sure he would prefer to be in Philadelphia.  So after a disappointing loss tonight the Phillies will be back in action tomorrow against Pittsburgh.  Can Ruf continue to break out of his slump? Only time will tell.  Go Phils!