Phillies play eight innings of competitive baseball against Blue Jays

Your Philadelphia Phillies played the Toronto Blue Jays today in Clearwater. After the Phils fell behind 5-1, an Edmundo Sosa grand slam tied the game up in the sixth inning. But the Blue Jays scored eight runs in the ninth to turn this one into a 13-5 rout.

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

The Good

• Edmuuuundooooo! The Sosa slam was fun. He turned around a fastball from Jays pitcher Brandon Eisert and deposited it on the berm grass behind the wall in left-center. Sosa had just three hits in 19 spring ABs entering the game.
• Nick Castellanos hit an opposite-field home run in the second. It was the second home run this spring for Casty.
• Johan Rojas showed off his speed in the outfield once again, running from center field to catch this ball in left.
• Jeff Hoffman looked sharp in the scoreless inning that he pitched.
• Rodolfo Castro and Weston Wilson each had two hits. Whit Merrifield’s arrival probably obviated the need to put either of those two players on the Opening Day active roster. But Wilson’s day was part of a nice spring overall thus far: he’s slashing .300/.348/.500 with a home run in 20 ABs.

The Bad

• Taijuan Walker started his first game of the spring. Unsurprisingly, his velocity was down and he looked a little rusty. Said Walker to reporters after he exited the game, “I really only got one live BP in. A couple of bullpens. It’s expected.” Walker allowed one run on two hits and a walk in two innings of work. He struck out three.
• David Buchanan followed Walker on the mound and struggled through 2.2 innings. Buchanan allowed six hits and two runs, walking one and striking out four.
• Matt Strahm gave up a two-run home run to George Springer in the sixth.

The Ugly

• The Jays knocked Phillies right-hander Noah Skirrow around in the ninth after he pitched a scoreless eighth. Skirrow’s line: 1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
• 24-year-old RHP Alex Rao took over for Skirrow and didn’t fare much better. Rao allowed a grand slam and was charged with three runs in the inning (all earned).
• Players on both teams lost balls in the sun during the game. As Kyle Schwarber would likely attest, they don’t call Florida the Sunshine State for nothing.

The Phillies will take on the Pirates tomorrow afternoon in Bradenton, FL, about 40 miles from Clearwater.