Rays 7, Phillies 3: Griff McGarry ‘really good’ in his second outing of the spring

The Phillies prospect rebounded from a shaky debut, and Bailey Falter was effective in his second start.

Phillies pitcher Griff McGarry struck out two in a 23-pitch inning against the Rays on Tuesday in Clearwater, Fla.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Published March 7, 2023, 5:11 p.m. ET

CLEARWATER, Fla. — When Phillies right-handed pitcher Griff McGarry took the mound in the fifth inning on Tuesday afternoon, his housemates, Mick Abel and Andrew Painter, stepped up to the dugout railing to get a closer look.

The pitching prospect’s first outing of the spring, against the Red Sox on Thursday, had not gone well. He allowed five earned runs and three walks in one-third of an inning. But he fared much better on Tuesday in the Phillies’ 7-3 loss against the Rays.

McGarry was sitting 95-96 mph. He allowed one walk and one double, but struck out two batters and was able to get out of the inning. He threw 23 pitches, 15 of them strikes.

“He was really good,” manager Rob Thomson said of McGarry. “He threw strikes — early in his inning, he was having trouble with his slider, finding the strike zone, but he got it in the end. But his fastball was explosive. He was really good.”

Who stood out: Left-handed pitcher Cris Sanchez, in his first outing of the spring, allowed one hit through one inning with one strikeout. Sanchez, who is in the running for the fifth starter spot, was dealing with a back issue earlier in camp but is healthy now.

On the mound: Left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter made his second start of the spring. He allowed one earned run (and two runs) on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 2⅓ innings.

Quotable: “I thought he was really good,” Thomson said of Falter. “Fastball was good; he was locating. He gave up a couple of hard hits in the first inning, but then he settled down. I thought his curveball was good; he was working on a changeup. I thought he threw a couple of good ones to right-handed hitters. I thought he looked really good.”

On deck: The Phillies have an off day on Wednesday. They will play the Baltimore Orioles 1:05 p.m. Thursday at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia.