Giancarlo Stanton’s two home runs lift Yankees over Phillies

After getting roughed up by the Cardinals yesterday, the Yankees righted the ship tonight. Their pitchers kept them in the game, and the offense tacked on enough runs to keep the Phillies out of reach.

Here are three takeaways from tonight’s 6-3 victory:

1. This was Jonathan Loaisiga’s last start of the spring, and it was an inconsistent outing. On the plus side, he notched seven strikeouts through four innings of work. He also surrendered two solo home runs. In addition, there was a deep fly ball at the wall that Brett Gardner was able to track down. Based on spring training results, it looks like Luis Cessa and Domingo German will make the rotation over Loaisiga.
2. Giancarlo Stanton put on a show tonight. Through the first five innings of the game, he was responsible for all of the Yankees’ offense. He put them on the board with a solo shot in the third inning, then crushed a two-run bomb to left in the fifth. We all know that results in spring training don’t necessarily translate to the regular season, but it’s nice to see him hitting the ball well.
3. Zack Britton, Stephen Tarpley, and Adam Ottavino combined for three scoreless innings. Between them, they allowed two hits and one walk. David Hale, on the other hand, had different results. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs. He wasn’t able to work out of the jam, and walked in a run. Hale came back out for the ninth and tossed a scoreless inning, though, and finished the night with four strikeouts. It doesn’t look like he’ll make the Opening Day roster, but he should spend plenty of time on the Scranton Shuttle.

Highlight of the Game

The YES booth said that Gio Gonzalez will make his spring debut tomorrow, but it looks like Masahiro Tanaka will start the game. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 ET and you can catch it on YES.