Notes From The Phillies’ 4-3 Loss To New York

The Philadelphia Phillies lost their Grapefruit League game to the New York Yankees on Thursday.

• Kyle Kendrick allowed one run on three hits and a walk in three innings. It was a much better outing for the veteran than his first start of the Spring. Kendrick’s only blemish was a solo home run.
• Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in a scoreless inning of work.
• Jeremy Horst allowed a run on two hits and two walks in one inning.
• Philippe Aumont had a meltdown on the mound today, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk. Aumont took the loss in today’s boxscore.
• Justin De Fratus pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
• Freddy Galvis started at shortstop, and went 1-3 with a solo home run.
• Kevin Frandsen went 0-4.
• Chase Utley went 0-2 with two strikeouts, dropping his batting average to .143.
• Ryan Howard went 1-3 with a single.
• Marlon Byrd went 1-3 with a double.
• Carlos Ruiz went 1-2 with a solo shot.
• John Mayberry went 2-3 with a double and a solo home run.

Final Thoughts

The Phillies offense finally showed a little bit of life today, with the hitters combining for three solo home runs and two doubles. The doubles from Marlon Byrd and John Mayberry were the first extra-base hits that any member of the team had recorded to this point in the Spring.

The young arms in the bullpen continue to struggle. I can’t see Jeremy Horst making the cut out of Spring this year. Horst has been a disaster so far, he’s been hittable and he give ups walks. He seems destined to start the year at Lehigh Valley.

Philippe Aumont failed to protect a lead today, and even though his defense didn’t help him out, he’s got to be able to work through those issues and come through anyway. Its another example of how fragile Aumont’s mental makeup is. The guy has such frail confidence, and if he could just learn to trust his physical skills, he’d be a much better pitcher.