Major League Camp :
Side Bullpens :
Two pitchers threw morning bullpens by the Bowa half field - Bailey Falter & Griff McGarry
Grapefruit League Action :
Phillies 10 ( 7-6-1 ) Pirates 4 ( 3-9 ) @ Clearwater
Summary :
Oneil Cruz led off the game for Pittsburgh with a fly ball home run to left field. Travis Swagerty hit a two run home run for the Pirates to right field in the second inning.
The Phillies scored six runs in the fourth inning - Nick Castellanos walked and scored on a home run to left field by Darick Hall. Scott Kingery singled, Josh Harrison walked, they both scored on a double by John Hicks. Rhys Hoskins homered to center field to score Hicks.
Darick Hall led off the 5th inning with a home run to right field, a line drive bullet against a left-handed pitcher - he’s now hit four taters this spring, two against right handers and two against lefties 🧐. Scott Kingery homered to left center field in the same frame.
The Pirates scored a run in the eighth inning on an RBI double by Rodolfo Castro. Will Toffey homered to left field for the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth inning, Jhailyn Ortiz hit an absolute bomb to left center field that hit the back wall of the bullpen, he can hit ‘em a long way, seen that show before as well 💪.
At the Plate : 13 H, 2 BB, 11 K’s - 6 HR’s
Darick Hall went 3 for 3 with a single and two home runs, he posted three RBIs - is now hitting .409 in 22 AB’s with an OPS of 1.480 - 4 HR’s and 7 RBIs. Rhys Hoskins went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs. Scott Kingery was 2 for 3 with a home run, he scored twice. John Hicks & Aramis Garcia each hit doubles. Will Toffey & Jhailyn Ortiz each homered.
Defensive Gems :
Right fielder Johan Rojas climbed the wall to take away extra bases from Ryan Vilade in the 8th inning - if it’s in the air and in the yard Johan will almost always catch it - we’ve become used to that 👏. In the same frame left-fielder Jhailyn Ortiz showed off the hose by taking a carom off the left field wall on a double hit by former Phillies minor leaguer Drew Maggi and letting his throw eat all the way in the air to the plate from relatively deep left field, catcher Cody Roberts caught it and applied the tag on runner Nick Gonzales who was attempting to score all the way from first base - we’ve also learned by watchingJhailyn’s progression over the years that he’s got a canon and is very accurate on long throws 💪. Second baseman Jim Haley made a diving stop on a hard grounder hit to his glove side to rob Matt Fraizer of a base hit in the ninth inning - who needs a shift when you have athleticism 🤓.
Pitching lines :
Zack Wheeler - 3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s - 52 pitches - 35 strikes
Erich Uelmen - 1 perfect IP - 1 K - 15 pitches - 9 strikes
Yunior Marte - 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 13 pitches - 9 strikes - 97 to 99 mph with his FB & Sinker 🔥
Christopher Sanchez - 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K’s - 14 pitches - 10 strikes
Luis Ortiz - 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K’s - 17 pitches - 14 strikes
Louis Head - 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 9 pitches - 7 strikes
Mark Appel - 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K’s - 13 pitches - 10 strikes
Minor League Spring Training :
Fielding Drills :
Repetition builds both confidence and knowledge in baseball, each day the fielders go thru drills guided by coaches to make fielding techniques, decisions, throws and catches ingrained in both mindset and body motion. When camp breaks decisions will be made as to whom goes where to begin the 2023 season. There’s a sign post within BayCare Ballpark that reflects the direction and mileage to potential home field playing destinations.
Defensive versatility also can help determine playing status, today we noticed that Felix Reyes ( 6’4” twenty one year old power hitter signed 2/22/20 from the Dominican Republic ) was taking ground balls at third base as part of the infield drills, while he’s played there very briefly ( two innings in a pinch during the 2022 Florida Complex League season ) it’s not a position we’ve seen him extensively at. Today he made some very athletic plays, Felix has played primarily corner outfield and first base to date in his brief two year career, if he can hander the hot corner as well that certainly bodes well for him.
Practice does not always make perfect but it certainly does make impressions - it’s all part of it.
Side Bullpens :
Seventeen pitchers threw morning side bullpen sessions on the seven mounds in front of the David Montgomery Training Center, some performed their work on the new state of the art pitching lab mound inside the training center, pitchers who threw today - Hans Crouse, Jakob Hernandez, Keylan Killgore, Adam Leverett, Tyler McKay, Chase Antle, Orion Kerkering, Tristan Garnett, Tommy McCollum, Alex Rao, Brett Schulze, Matt Russell, Victor Vargas, Josh Bortka, Estibenzon Jimenez, Eduar Segovia & Victor Lopez
Live Bullpens :
Five pitchers threw afternoon live bullpen sessions on Ashburn Field - Kyle Hart, Gunner Mayer, Jack Perkins, Alex McFarlane & JP Woodward - Mayer & McFarlane threw up/down two inning stints.
Photos from today in Spring Training
Back at em tomorrow - Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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