Another windy day in Florida led to another interesting day of fielding in day two of Grapefruit League play, but the Yankees once again topped the Phillies, thanks to an excellent offensive day from Alex Rodriguez.
Game Notes:
- A-Rod homered on the first pitch he saw from Roy Halladay and added a single and a double to complete his impressive day. The Yankees need Rodriguez to be healthy and productive this season, and today was certainly a good first step in that direction. A-Rod started last Spring Training similarly well before injuries completely wrecked his season.
- Starting pitcher Freddy Garcia was bitten by the 1st inning Hunter Pence two-run home run just like Ivan Nova was yesterday, but he struck out two batters and allowed four hits in two innings of work. The wind made it a good day to be a hitter and a bad day to be a pitcher, carrying pitches around the field and causing fielders to look silly.
- Francisco Cervelli, Jose Gil, JR Murphy, and Jayson Nix all contributed to the scoring by driving in runs this afternoon. Zoilo Almonte, who Girardi has been impressed by, continued his hot hitting today with a single.
- D.J. Mitchell pitched two scoreless innings, and was awarded the win. He walked one and allowed two hits. Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Clay Rapada, Kevin Whelan, and Chase Whitley pitched one inning a piece, striking out a combined seven batters. Wade and Whelan allowed the only two runs aside from the Pence home run in the first.
Tomorrow, the Yankees will go for the sweep of the series at 1:05 p.m. at Bright House Field in Clearwater. Michael Pineda will start for the Yankees, while Joe Blanton gets the start for Philadelphia. Despite playing at the home field of a National League team, the Yankees and Phillies have agreed to use a DH tomorrow, so we will not get an early chance to see Pineda hit any home runs. The starting outfielders and David Robertson are expected to play.