Phillies lose a close one to Red Sox

The Phillies lost to the Red Sox on Tuesday, 7-6 at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL.

The Phils’ biggest names stayed in Clearwater, but the players who made the two-plus hour trip across Florida put up a good fight. Whit Merrifield, Darick Hall, and Aramis Garcia hit home runs to help build a 6-3 lead for the Fightins.

But Boston turned the game around late, scoring two runs in the eighth and two runs in the ninth. The day ended on a walk-off wild pitch from Andrew Schultz.

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

The Good

• It was great to see Merrifield hit a two-run home run in the third. The new Phillie is expected to play a significant role on the team this season as a utility man.
• Phillies fans at the game got to see Darick “Long Ball” Hall live up to his nickname. Hall struggled in 56 big-league plate appearances in 2023, but there’s no doubt about his power. Thus far in his major league career, the 28-year-old has hit home runs at a 27 HR per 162-game pace.
• Garcia’s home run was an absolute blast to dead center.
• Each of Yunior Marte, Ryan Burr, Luis Ortiz, and Michael Rucker threw a scoreless inning.

The Bad

• The 2024 version of David Buchanan looked eerily similar to the guy who posted a 6.99 ERA for the Phillies in 2015. Buchanan’s line: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
• Connor Brogdon didn’t look much better: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K.
• Johan Rojas went hitless in three at-bats. To start the spring, Rojas is two for five against right-handed pitching but has struck out twice in two at-bats against left-handed pitching. That’s not a big enough sample size to tell us anything, but those numbers will be watched closely as spring progresses.

The Ugly

• Sure, the game didn’t count, but the ninth inning of this one was a painful mess. The Red Sox loaded the bases before making an out, then a Chase Meidroth single tied the game at six. The Phils turned a 5-2-3 double play and looked like they might escape the inning, but Schultz spiked his first pitch to the next batter. Nick Yorke scampered home from third to end the game.
• The game was not televised or available on any streaming services. Not sure how that happens in this day and age.

The Phillies will play another game in Fort Myers on Tuesday, facing the Twins at 1:05 p.m. On Wednesday, they’ll square off against the Braves back in Clearwater. Bryce Harper is expected to make his 2024 Grapefruit League debut in that one. Atta boy, Harper.