Phils Plate Ten, Lose by Seven to Braves

In a barnburner of an exhibition game, the Phillies stuck nine runs to Kris Medlen in five innings but could never overcome the lead surrendered by Rodrigo Lopez and the Phils lost 17-10 in Orlando.

The Good

The Phillies offense has been running on all cylinders and today was no exception. Dom Brown drove a 1-2 Medlen pitch to deep right center in the fifth for a two run home run, a cherry on the top of a 3-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI day. Yuniesky Betancourt no doubt increased his once-slim odds of making the Phillies with a 4-5 day at the plate, with three singles and a double. Darin Ruf brought his Spring average up to .224 with a 2-5 day with two doubles, while Ryan Howard, Humberto Quintero, and Ben Revere all had two hits as well. It was very nice to see a lot of this success come off of Medlen, who posted a 0.97 ERA with a 9-0 record for Atlanta after joining their rotation last season.

An interesting note about the Phillies hitters – their success may be due to increased playing time. The Phillies have the top four players in Spring PA appearances (Revere, Brown, Howard, and Galvis) and the number seven player (Michael Young). All are hitting well.

The Areas of Opportunity

Rodrigo Lopez was pretty well exposed today and may have cost himself his shot at the MLB roster. Lopez gave up eight runs, seven earned in two innings pitched and no reliever was able to pitch a scoreless inning. Colton Murray made his Spring debut for the Phils, giving up three earned in one inning pitched.