Phillies blow ninth inning lead for second straight day, tie Twins

The Phillies played eight innings of great baseball on Tuesday.

Then they played another inning.

One day after turning a 6-3 lead over the Red Sox into a 7-6 loss, the Phillies blew a 3-0 lead to the Twins in Fort Myers, FL. This one ended in a 3-3 tie.

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

The Good

• The Phillies’ first seven pitchers of the day excelled. Cristopher Sanchez threw two innings to start the game, allowing just one hit and walking none. Dylan Covey, Jose Ruiz, Orion Kerkering, Michael Mercado, and Tyler McKay threw a scoreless inning each. Combined, those six pitchers allowed four hits, walked none, and struck out eight.
• Trea Turner hit an RBI double in the third inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
• Bryson Stott also hit a double, lining the ball off the right field wall.
• Outfielder David Dahl hit a two-run home run in the seventh to make it a 3-0 game. If you’re unfamiliar with Dahl, he’s a 29-year-old outfielder who bats left and throws right. He was an all-star for Colorado in 2019 with an .877 OPS, but has played only 91 major league games since. The Phils signed him to a minor-league deal on February 19.

The Bad

• Weston Wilson cooled off for a day, going hitless in three at-bats and striking out twice. (Wilson is still hitting .333 with 1.111 OPS overall this spring.)
• Darick Hall and Cristian Pache also went 0/3.
• The lesser-known players that subbed in late didn’t do much at all, and the Phillies had six hits and three walks on the day.

The Ugly

• Righthander Brett Schulze started the ninth inning for the Phils and got off to a good start, inducing a ground ball out from Alex Isola and striking out Chris Williams. But then he allowed two singles and walked a batter to load the bases. Schulze hit the next batter, Anthony Prato, to force in a run. Willie Joe Garry, Jr. then singled home two more runs to tie the game at three. Carlos Francisco took over on the mound and got the final out to salvage the tie.

The Phillies will be back in Clearwater for tomorrow’s game, and as far as spring training games go it should be a good one. Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and Alec Bohm are expected to play. 26-year-old righthander Tyler Phillips gets the start.

The game will be televised in the Philly area on NBC Sports Philadelphia. 1:05 p.m. start.