Buchanan returns to the mound in Clearwater

In his first action facing hitters since he was sidelined with a severe right ankle sprain in an outing for the Triple-A IronPigs in mid-May, right-hander David Buchanan looked good on the mound in an exhibition with the Phillies’ extended spring training team on Thursday.

According to Jim Peyton of PhuturePhillies.com, who was present for the outing, the 26-year-old hurler faced 14 batters, retiring 13 of them and looked good moving around on defense.

Buchanan, who tallied a 0-5 record with an 8.76 ERA in five starts with the big league team and went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three starts for Lehigh Valley this year, posted images (featured to the left) of his ankle in various stages of the injury this week on Instagram.

Seeing action in that same game was righty hurler Shane Watson, who is nearing a return to full-season club action following his second shoulder surgery last year.

Watson, who stands six-foot-four and is up to 240 pounds, threw five scoreless innings, notched one strike out, walked one and gave up three hits.  He ranged 88-94 MPH with his fastball.

The Phils’ top pick in 2012 (40th overall) expects to make one more start with the rookie level Gulf Coast League team next week prior to being activated for either Class A Lakewood or Class A Advanced Clearwater.

The California native sports a 4-7 record with a 4.44 ERA and a .227 batting average against in 21 career professional appearances.  Watson last pitched in a regular season game in July of 2013.

Also of note, RHP Ethan Martin, out since spring training with shoulder inflammation, saw his first action of the regular season on Wednesday, when he took the mound for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers.

Martin, 26, tossed one inning in relief, surrendering one earned run on a walk and a hit without striking anyone out in the Threshers’ contest against St. Lucie.

Last season in 32 relief appearances with the IronPigs, Martin posted a 2-1 record along with a 3.93 ERA and a .256 batting average against.  He also appeared in two games with the big league team.