Phillies regulars rally twice to top Tigers, 12-7, in Grapefruit League game
With players like Rhys Hoskins, Maikel Franco, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto and Andrew McCutchen in the lineup, it was easy to see how Bryce Harper could fit in.
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CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Phillies rallied behind a pair of big innings on Monday afternoon and took another look at a pitching prospect as they topped the Tigers, 12-7, in a Grapefruit League game at Spectrum Field.
The Phils scored four times in the fourth inning and seven times in the fifth. Jean Segura, Rhys Hoskins and Maikel Franco each had two hits. Segura scored twice, Hoskins had a pair of RBI singles and Franco drove in four runs. Gabe Kapler fielded a lineup of regulars as those three were joined by Andrew McCutchen, J.T. Realmuto, and Cesar Hernandez. It easy to imagine what that crew would look like with Bryce Harper slotted somewhere in between.
JoJo Romero, a lefthanded pitching prospect, pitched the first two innings. He allowed two hits and one run, which came on a homer to the second batter he faced.
The Phillies are using the first games of camp to get a look at their minor-league arms. Romero had a 3.80 ERA last season in 18 starts at double-A Reading. He had a 1.62 ERA in his final six starts before injuring his oblique in July.
“Facing adversity and having to work my way out of it,” Romero said when asked what he learned last season at double A. “I faced it in the beginning of the season. It took a lot of work but I was able to overcome it and it made me grow as a person and as a pitcher. I set my mind to just getting myself better and betting myself so I can help the team out. It ended up playing out well.”
The Phillies drafted Romero in 2016′s fourth round and he has moved quickly through the system. But he could be back at double A to start the season. The team seems to be facing a rotation crunch at triple A and Romero’s injury last season limited him to a little more than a half season in double A. It would not hurt to start him in Reading before moving him to Lehigh Valley.
“We talked to him often about coming out and stepping on the gas right away, not kind of easing into the game,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It takes a little practice. He’s done that in his bullpens and he’s done that in his live BPs and he did that today. Despite the home run he gave up, he came out and attacked the zone with all his pitches and utilized that fastball both up and down in the zone.”