The Dominican Republic lays 15 runs, 28 hits on Phillies’ pitchers in World Baseball Classic exhibition game at Bright House Field.
Luckily for the Phils, the stats from this one don’t count.
No doubt Cole Hamels will be glad to see his line of 12 hits and eight runs surrendered in 2.2 innings pitched against the Dominicans not go toward his Grapefruit League numbers. Equally as happy should be Ethan Martin (2.1 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 1 BB) and Jonathan Pettibone (2.2 IP, 4 R, 9 H, 1 BB). Justin Friend, who finished the game, was the lone Phils’ pitcher to not surrender a run (1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB).
They were facing a lineup — one preparing to kick off WBC action against Venezuela on Thursday — that included five former All-Stars in Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Tejada. Not to mention Edwin Encarnacion in the three hole. Those six combined to go 16 for 27 with three doubles and three homers.
One needn’t worry about Hamels, who was working specifically on his curveball and locating his fastball Tuesday. He’s an experienced vet and healthy and should be no doubt ready to go when he’s handed the ball, likely, on opening day.
In his first two spring appearances, he combined to pitch five innings and allowed five hits and one unearned run while striking out six and walking none.
Both Martin and Pettibone are extreme long shots to make the roster out of camp. Martin tossed two scoreless spring innings before Tuesday; Pettibone gave up four runs in two frames vs. Atlanta on Feb. 28.
The bats were also silenced after having put up double-digit runs in six of the last seven games. Kevin Frandsen, Cody Asche and Laynce Nix each picked up two hits. Nix, who entered the game 1 for 15, also went deep in the second inning.
Seeing action for the 11th straight day, Ryan Howard went 0 for 3. He’s expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow against Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals.
Check out CSNPhilly’s full recap here.
Whatever his shortcomings in the field, it's time to admit that Frandsen can hit a baseball. The guy just puts in good at bat after good at bat.
If he can hit during the season, I think we may have to label him an official late bloomer.
And although he didn't play today, it looks like Ben Revere can actually drive the ball a little better than we were led to believe. He still won't be likely to hit homers, but I see more doubles in his future than expected.
Posted by: aksmith | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 07:37 PM
He can drive the ball a little better than expected....against guys who will be bagging groceries next month.
Posted by: NEPP | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 07:44 PM
Can Michael Young play LF?
Posted by: Cyclic | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 07:54 PM
Damn, that's an impressive lineup!
As Matt Gelb quipped, the Phillies were eliminated from the WBC.
Posted by: GBrettFan | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 08:19 PM
The probability a ball in play turns into a hit is about 0.3. Assuming each ball in play is an independent event, the probability of 25 or more hits out of 48 balls in play is 0.041%.
So we just witnessed a 4 in 10,000 event. Either that or the DR team hits the ball better than the MLB average. Or maybe our pitchers were just serving up meatballs.
Posted by: ramsey | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 08:35 PM
Cylic: I know that you're kidding, but how much worse could he be in LF than he is at 3B?
Posted by: Will Schweitzer | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 08:38 PM
Um Frandsen plays the field just fine. Gold Glove? No but he isn't a butcher & made alot of great plays last season.
Posted by: | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 09:10 PM
In case anyone has ever wondered what a great catch looks like, I think this qualifies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xiqjbrX9DE
Mark that down as something Darin Ruf, dom Brown, Laynce Nix and RFD will never do...
Posted by: rolo | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 09:18 PM
rolo: I saw that catch earlier today. It was no doubt a very good catch but I'm subtracting points because I think the guy hammed it up something fierce with that unnecessary scissor-kick.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 09:56 PM
Ramsey: or phils st defense is atrocious
Posted by: lorecore | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 09:57 PM
Fransden is awful at 3b. Worse than young? Not sure.
Posted by: lorecore | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 09:59 PM
I like Frandsen as much as anyone and think he's very solid bench piece, especially at a position (UT infielder) that the team has been weak for years. That being said, his BABIP last was .366 overall, and .433 against LHP. For his career, it's .284. His walk rate is usually around ~5%, and that hasn't changed. Nothing has 'bloomed.'
Frandsen has been on a really nice run of good fortune that is almost certainly not sustainable. But like I said, he's a nice bench piece. Just not someone that should be relied on for anything more than that.
Posted by: Iceman | Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 10:02 PM
I missed the game today, but thought it was cool looking at the box score to see that the last 4 pitchers for the DR team were borrowed from the Phillies. Pretty cool story to tell for loaned pitchers Robles, Sosa, Garcia, and Cisco about the day they were teammmates with Robinson Cano, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, et al. for the Dominican national team. I imagine it was really a thrill for Sosa and Garcia, being Dominican.
Posted by: DH Phils | Wednesday, March 06, 2013 at 12:00 AM
Does Hamels survive the first round of cuts?
Posted by: Scotch Man | Wednesday, March 06, 2013 at 09:12 AM
Does Hamels survive the first round of cuts?
Posted by: Scotch Man | Wednesday, March 06, 2013 at 09:12 AM
Really depends on the rest of his spring, and if he can bounce back, and wow the coaches the rest of the way.
Wait, we're not talking about Darin Ruf?
Posted by: Fatalotti | Wednesday, March 06, 2013 at 09:51 AM