The New York Yankees were unable to make it two in a row to begin spring training as they fall 6-5 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Spectrum Field.
- New York Yankees: 5 (1-1)
- Philadelphia Phillies: 6 (1-1)
- Grapefruit League, FINAL
- Spectrum Field, Clearwater, FL
Adam Warren got the start for New York and just like Bryan Mitchell and Luis Cessa did the previous day, he registered two perfect innings in his debut.
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Fans also got a glimpse of Dietrich Enns, who posted a 14-4 record with a 1.73 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 135 innings last season between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 25-year-old lefty went two innings and surrendered two runs (one unearned) on a home run by Maikel Franco.
Franco did most of the damage off Yankees’ pitching, finishing his afternoon by going 2-for-3 with two home runs.
Offensively, starting shortstop Gleyber Torres stole the show by going 2-for-2 with two doubles and two runs scored. Clint Frazier also started for the Yankees and went 1-for-2 with a bloop single in the second off Aaron Alther.
The Yankees scored their first three runs on two wild pitches, their fourth on a Kellin Deglan single in the eighth and Donovan Solano knotted the game up in the ninth with two outs on a RBI double that scored Ji-Man Choi.
New York sent out left-hander Joe Mantiply, to try and get the game into extras but after allowing a leadoff double to Roman Quinn, Stassi took a pitch back up the middle to cap off a winning effort for the Phillies.
Wild Wild West.
The first three Yankees runs were scored on two wild pitches by Phillies’ pitchers.
In the top of the third, it was Torres who scored on a wild pitch from the left-hander Cesar Ramos, who missed very low with a fastball. Two innings later, after Torres doubled, 25-year-old righty Mark Appel threw a wild pitch and allowed both Torres and Miguel Andujar to score.
Give ‘Em Hell.
In Ben Heller’s first outing of the spring, faced just three batters and sent them all down via strikeout. He’ll likely be a key component to the middle relief unit come April.
Coming over as a piece in the Andrew Miller trade that included Frazier, Heller appeared in 10 games for the Yankees last season and surrendered five runs in seven innings of work (6.43 ERA).
Get On That Hype Train.
After going 0-for-1 with a RBI sac fly in Thursday’s spring opener, shortstop Gleyber Torres registered a pair of extra-base hits in his first start at shortstop.
Leading off the top of the third, the 20-year-old hooked a laser down the left field line off Ramos and cruised into second with a double. Two innings later, he ripped another double but this time, it was down the right field line off Appel.
Torres, who won the Arizona Fall League MVP, will get a great look in camp this year while Didi Gregorius is representing the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.
Although he’s expected to start the year at Double-A Trenton, he could end up being a game-changing talent in the Yankees’ organization very soon.
Mental Error.
Franco, who hit a home run to left earlier in the game, ripped what appeared to be a stand-up double to centerfield off Daniel Camarena in the bottom of the sixth.
As Tyler Wade went to field the ball, he booted it underneath the wall. Wade, who is actually a middle infielder, threw his arms up to allude to the umpires that it was stuck under the wall.
Interestingly enough, the 22-year old then reached down, picked the ball up as Franco continued to round the bases and then hurled it in. By the time the relay was complete, however, Franco crossed the plate for an inside the park home run and the Phillies took a 4-3 lead.
After Franco’s interesting homer, Rhys Hoskins took Camarena deep and gone to put Philly on top 5-4, but Wade’s miscue would not be the only costly one of the day. In the third, third baseman Miguel Andujar‘s low throw skipped passed Greg Bird which scored Cameron Rupp.
What’s Next?
The Yankees will play back home at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Sunday as they host the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. ET.
Luis Severino will get his first start of the spring, looking to return the 2015 version of himself (5-3, 2.89) and not the 2016 version of himself (0-8, 8.50 ERA). The Yankees plan to make him a starter whether or not he makes the big league club, so it’ll be interesting to see how his offseason work with Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez plays out.
In 23.1 innings of relief last season, Severino posted a 0.39 ERA and struck out 25 batters while not allowing a single home run.
The contest will be broadcasted on the YES network, WFAN and on MLB.tv.