Phillies win spring slugfest

Plan the parade. The Phillies beat the Blue Jays in their spring training opener today, 14-13 in the Jays’ Dunedin ballpark.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from this afternoon’s game:

The Good

• Weston Wilson went two for three with a double, a home run and four RBI. In his 52-game MLB spring training career, Wilson has a .311/.393/.608 slash line (1.001 OPS). Wilson also played well in eight regular season games for the Phillies last season, slashing .313/.500/.500 (1.000 OPS) with a home run. The Phils don’t have many roster spots available to start the season, but Wilson is showing that he can be a major league ballplayer.
• Scott Kingery went two for three with an RBI. In 260 career spring training plate appearances, Kingery’s OPS is .867. His career regular season OPS, unfortunately, is .667.
• Andrew Bellatti pitched a clean inning in the middle of a brutal day for the pitchers, inducing three ground balls on nine pitches (seven strikes).
• Whit Merrifield picked up his first spring training hit as a Phillie, a second-inning double. Merrifield, who played for the Blue Jays in 2022 and 2023, received a nice round of applause from both Phillies and Jays fans in the crowd.
• Johan Rojas, who figures to be one of the most closely watched players in camp, went two for four with a triple off the wall and three RBI.
• Matt Kroon smacked a three-run home run in the fifth inning. Kroon, 27, has a .795 OPS in 300 career minor league games. He’s also a versatile defender, with minor league experience at every position except pitcher and catcher.
• Kody Clemens reached base three times (two hits and a walk).

The Bad

• The Phillies banged out 16 hits, but many of their late-game replacements didn’t get involved. Erick Brito, Cal Stevenson, Trevor Schweke, Cody Roberts, Simon Muzziotti, and Carlos De La Cruz went hitless in 12 combined at-bats.
• The defense didn’t look sharp. The Phils committed two official errors and had a few additional questionable plays. Not surprising for Grapefruit League game one.

The Ugly

• Kolby Allard: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• Nick Nelson: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Dylan Covey: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Michael Mercado: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

The Phillies will play the Yankees tomorrow in Clearwater. Aaron Nola gets the start, and you can probably expect to see more familiar names in the lineup in front of the home crowd.