Joe Blanton got shelled in his first spring training start but the rest of the bull pen pitchers stood pat as the Phillies and Pirates finished in a 3-3 tie in 10 innings. Blanton gave up three runs on five hits, no walks, and two strike outs in his two innings of work. Of the relief guys, Mike Zagurski gathered the most attention as he is hoping to overcome Tommy John surgery to get his way back to the Phillies. He went two scoreless innings, striking out two and walking one.
Ryan Howard was back in hitting shape, striking out twice and walking in the other. Raul Ibanez had a hit, Carlos Ruiz hit a double, and Dewayne Wise had a triple. Wise is one of the players who is trying to sneak onto the Opening Day roster or audition for a midseason call-up. He’s a good fielder (we know this by watching him preserve Mark Buehrle’s perfect game) and is very fast on the base paths.
Domonic Brown was also in the line up, going 2-3 and reaching base once via a walk.
