Phillies 9, Tigers 3: Bryce Harper, Didi Gregorius homer in rout
Andrew McCutchen hit two doubles as the Phillies’ lineup had their most productive day this spring. Zach Eflin pitched four strong innings.
Bryce Harper homered, Didi Gregorius hit a grand slam, and Andrew McCutchen hit two doubles Saturday as the Phillies’ lineup had its most productive day this spring in a 9-3 rout of the Tigers in Clearwater, Fla.
Harper crushed a fastball from Casey Mize in the first inning as the 2010 first-overall draft pick hit a 436-foot homer off the 2018 first-overall pick. Harper nearly homered again in the fifth but had to settle for a ground-rule double after the ball just missed clearing the fence and got stuck near the top of the wall.
» READ MORE: Joe Girardi would ‘love’ to see MLB eliminate defensive shifts
Gregorius hit a grand slam in the third to cap a rally started by McCutchen’s leadoff double. Gregorius hit two grand slams last season and has a career 1.016 OPS with the bases loaded.
“Just put the ball in play,” Gregorius said about his approach with the bases loaded. “That’s all I do. I don’t go up there thinking I have to hit a home run. I have to get at least one run in, any way I can. That’s how I look at it.”
Seven of the lineup’s nine starters had hits against the Tigers as Rhys Hoskins reached base twice and Jean Segura singled.
“You want everyone to get on base and then to drive guys in,” Gregorius said. “It’s not just hitting a grand slam or getting a walk or whatever. The lineup is deep. That’s the thing.”
One up
Zach Eflin was so efficient that he had to go to the bullpen for extra work after breezing through four innings. He threw just 39 pitches, 28 of which were strikes, and allowed two hits. Eflin struck out four and walked none. Eflin has been excellent this spring.
“I’ve been telling you guys, the goal coming into the game was to be efficient and to be able to throw strikes, and have good fastball command, and everything is going to play off of that,” Eflin said. “I’m continuing to build that confidence in my heater, whether it be four-seam or sinker, and every other pitch is coming behind it like I need it to.”
Two up
Tony Watson logged another scoreless inning and remains a favorite to lock down one of the team’s eight bullpen spots. The left-hander, who throws from a three-quarter arm slot, struck out one and induced weak contact to pick up his other two outs. Watson presents a different look for a bullpen this spring that is emphasizing velocity, as his 21 pitches came in Saturday with an average velocity of 86.3 mph.
Three up
Hector Rondon followed Watson and retired the three batters he faced in the sixth. Rondon, a veteran like Watson on a minor-league deal, worked quickly by mixing his low-90s fastball and slider. He struck out Willi Castro swinging and caught Nomar Mazara looking. Both hitters were big-leaguers last season. It was Rondon’s best outing of the spring and keeps him in the bullpen competition. The Phillies, a year after having baseball’s worst bullpen in 90 years, could have some difficult decisions to make later this month.
“He looked very, very sharp with both of his pitches,” manager Joe Girardi said. “That’s good to see. Some guys are going to have some hiccups during spring training. We try and get them on a more consistent schedule where they’re throwing every other day now as opposed to every third day. I think it has a chance to make guys look even better.”
» READ MORE: Breaking down Phillies roster spots for center field, bullpen, and bench | Scott Lauber
Next up
Matt Moore starts Sunday at 1:05 p.m. in Bradenton, Fla., against the Pirates.