The Phillies beat the Yankees today 9-7 in spring training action but needed a comeback to do it. Cole Hamels, who looked decent in his first 3 innings, got rocked in the 4th, giving up 7 runs (6 earned) while allowing 9 hits and a walk. The Phils staked Cole to a 5-0 lead and, much like game 3 of the World Series, Hamels could not hold it. In what has become a recurring theme, the Phillies bullpen came in and shut the door on the Yankees. David Herndon, Antonio Bastardo, and Michael Stutes (who would be credited with his first win of the spring) combined for 5 shutout innings. 2 of those innings were pitched by David Herndon, the Phils Rule 5 selection. Herndon has yet to give up a run this spring in 8 innings of work and is making a strong case to make the Phillies opening day roster, especially given the increasing likelihood of Brad Lidge and JC Romero starting the season on the disabled list.
The Phils bats, known for their comebacks during the regular season, staged another one today. Placido Polanco started things off with a 2 run home run off of Yankee's starter AJ Burnett, his first of the spring. Polanco would also collect another hit in his 4 at bats. After the yankees took a 7-5 lead, the Phils would slowly chip away at the lead with a solo shot by Ben Francisco off of Phil Huges in the 5th and a solo shot by Dan Sardinha off Hughes in the 8th. Sardinha, starting for a sick Carlos Ruiz, would finish with 4 RBI in the game, giving him 5 for the spring. A 2 run, game winning shot off of Hughes in the 9th by Wilson Valdez gave the Phils the victory in walkoff fashion.
In other Phils news, as Brad Lidge had another shaky minor league outing, he revealed today that he started throwing a 2 seam fastball to get a little more movement on the ball until his velocity returns. If Lidge can throw a 2 seamer for strikes, this would help his aresenal. The thinking goes, if a relief pitcher has 2 good pitches, that's all he needs. However, if Lidge were to add a different look fastball, it could only help.
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