5/31/2021 : Extended Spring Training Game

Spent the middle of the day at the complex watching a 10 AM XST game between the Phillies and the Blue Jays. Found a shady spot in the parking lot and with beautiful weather ( low humidity ) I was able to view the entire seven inning contest played on Ashburn Field.

Here are the highlights :

Phillies 8 Blue Jays 5

Micah Yonamine doubled to left field to score Leandro Pineda ( singled ) and Jamari Baylor ( walked ) in the second inning.

Jefferson Encarnacion singled to score Oscar Gonzalez ( reached on a two base error ) in the fourth. CF Yhoswar Garcia doubled to lead off the 5th inning, he scored on an RBI double by Adam Haseley who then scored on an RBI triple by Jadiel Sanchez.

Jose Cedeno hit a two run home run in the seventh inning which bounced off the top of the right field fence and over into the parking lot ... retrieved by on duty security man Frank Berlingis 👍.

The Jays scored three in the second inning and two in the fifth.

At Bat :

Yhoswar Garcia continues to impress ... he hits the ball hard - today had a double in three AB’s ... Adam Haseley doubled as did Micah Yonamine. Alexeis Azauje had two singles. Jadiel Sanchez tripled and Jose Cedeno homered.

On the Hill :

LH Gabriel Cotto - 3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K’s - produced a lot of swing and misses and had really good control ... the 21 year old from Puerto Rico was the clubs 7th round draft selection in the 2018 draft.

RH Chi Ling Hsu - 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K’s - he’s 21 years old and is from Taiwan ... was signed on 7/12/18 - second time I’ve seen him throw - today had very good command and forced contact.

RH Victor Lopez - 2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K’s - 1st inning was rolled with two outs - struck out the side in his second inning - battled control first frame. He was signed in March of 2019 and pitched in 14 DSL games that summer posting a 2.29 ERA in 51 IP with 46 K’s and 25 BB. Also 21 years old.

Defensive Positions :

1B : Micah Yonamine & Arturo De Freitas

2B : Alexeis Azuaje

SS : Jamari Baylor & Uziel Viloria

3B : Kendall Simmons

C : Chris Burke & Edward Barboza

LF : Adam Haseley & Jefferson Encarnacion

CF : Yhoswar Garcia & Corbin Williams

RF : Leandro Pineda & Jose Cedeno

Notes :

Was great to see Adam Haseley back on the field. He made four plate appearances going 1 for 3 with a double, walk, stolen base and run scored.

There’s no XST roster available so I add names piecemeal as I see them play. Today a few newcomers ( at least it’s the first time I’ve seen them ) ... OF Leandro Pineda ( 18 years old ), 2B Alexeis Azuaje ( 19 years old ) and RHP Victor Lopez ( 21 years old ) were in action. OF Felix Reyes ( 19 years old ) also batted in the game although I’ve seen him here in action before.

On this day of remembrance would like to say thank you to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that on a day like today or any day for that matter an old baseball fan like myself can go out and watch a game on my own free will. Ours is a great country and our freedoms granted can never be taken as just given ... sincere appreciation.

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️