Phillies Win One, Lose One

         The Phillies were in split-squad action on Sunday, defeating the Blue Jays while dropping the other game to the Orioles.  Both contests were complete blowouts, with the more powerful Phillies taking part in the winning contest. 

Phillies 13 - Blue Jays 5
          In a game started by Aaron Cook, the Phillies power bats were on full display.  Cook was shaky in the start, allowing 4 runs, 3 earned in four innings of work, but the Phillies offense picked him up.  After Cook left the game trailing, the offense kicked into full-gear, showing some power.  The Phillies put up 13 runs on the game, with Ryan Howard and Dom Brown continuing to impress early in Spring Training.  Brown hit a solo home run in the 4th inning, and Howard followed that up in the 5th with a towering 3-run shot.  Brown and Howard have started off Grapefruit League play extremely strong, hitting .350 and .417 respectively.  The power hitting didn't stop with those two however, as the Phillies collected 4 doubles and 2 tiples in the blowout win.  After Cook left the game, the remainder of the pitching staff finished the game off solidly.  Justin De Fratus pitched a scoreless inning, which was followed by Antonio Bastardo going one inning while allowing a single run.  J.C. Ramirez pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, before handing the game over to Joe Savery who finished the game with 1 2/3 of scoreless pitching.  While the Phillies were a little shaky in the field, committing 3 errors, Darin Ruf showed a flash of promise in the field, collecting an outfield assist after he gunned down Adam Lind at home.  While Ruf looked better in the field than he has, he continues to struggle at the plate and is hitting only .143 on the spring.  So while the Phillies offense looked powerful and their pitching was decent in the victory against the Blue Jays, it was the complete opposite against the Orioles.

Phillies 3 - Orioles 12
          Kyle Kendrick got the starting nod in the contest against the Orioles, and was completely shelled, giving up 4 runs in two innings of work.  The remainder of the pitching staff did not fair any better on the day.  Zach Miner gave up 1 run in 2 1/3 innings of work, while Jeremy Horst surrendered 6 runs in 2/3 innings of work.  Horst was followed by a single scoreless inning from Kyle Simon, before Jake Diekman finished off the game, allowing 1 run in two innings of work.  While the pitching staff struggled in the outing, the hitters did not perform to well either, collecting only 6 hits in the game.  The Phillies saw bright spots in John Mayberry Jr., who went 2 for 4 on the day with a double, while Michael Young and Freddy Galvis collected home runs.  The game against the Orioles proved to be completely different from the one against the Blue Jays, as the Phillies were completely dominated in this contest.  So overall, the Phillies had a 1-1 day in split-squad action, collecting one blowout win and suffering one blowout loss.

           The Phillies will be back in action today against the Pirates, with John Lannan getting the start.  Go Phils!