Alec Bohm goes 3-for-3 but shorthanded Phillies fall to the Braves

NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Phillies rolled out a lineup on Sunday afternoon that would best be described as spring training-esque. Only two players on it — Johan Rojas and Alec Bohm — figure to be everyday Phillies in 2024. Because of the illness going through the team’s clubhouse, some players — like scheduled starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez and infielder Scott Kingery — were scratched. A few players from minor league camp made the trip on short notice.

It was a tough assignment against an Atlanta Braves team that was starting most of its regulars as well as left-hander Chris Sale. The Phillies combined for eight hits and two runs with 15 strikeouts. Their pitching staff kept it close, holding the Braves to three runs on five hits with five walks in a 3-2 loss to Atlanta.

“I’m just really proud of these guys that we brought over here,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Because they played very, very well. Pitchers threw strikes against a really good club; they had most of their guys out there. Those kids did a great job.”

On the mound: Connor Brogdon made the start instead of Sanchez, pitching one inning, allowing one hit and one walk. Fellow reliever Yunior Marte came in after him, allowing one walk over an inning of work with one strikeout, followed by six minor leaguers who each threw one inning. Orlando Arcia’s two-run homer off Paxton Thompson in the sixth inning was the game-winner.

There is no Statcast at CoolToday Park, but Thomson said that Brogdon hit 94 mph a few times.

“Brogdon was better today,” Thomson said. “The velocity jumped a little bit. The cutter was good. Didn’t use his changeup, maybe that was on purpose, I’m not sure, but I thought he threw better.”

Who stood out: Third baseman Alec Bohm went 3-for-3 with an RBI (all of his hits were singles). Bohm is 5-for-7 so far this spring. Outfielder Jake Cave, who is competing for the Phillies’ final bench spot, went 2-for-3. His hits — a single and a double — came off Sale and Aaron Bummer, who are both left-handers. Cave, a left-handed hitter, has not had much success against lefties in his career, hitting .202/.238/.331 against southpaws over 154 games.

Quotable: “He’s had great at-bats,” Thomson said of Bohm. “He really has. He’s not chasing at all. He’s using the entire field. He hit a long home run the other day. He’s just had a really, really good camp. We want to keep him right there.”

On deck: The Phillies will play the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., on Monday at 1:05 p.m. Radio coverage of the game will be on MLB.com.