Cristian Pache hits second homer of the spring in Phillies’ 5-0 win over Blue Jays
"He can defend at any position in the outfield, and the at-bats just keep on getting better," Rob Thomson says of Pache.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/6PC3KIUDK5GO3MDC67BYGEAQJQ.jpg)
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Unlike their past few games, including the last two which ended in ties, the Phillies won Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays, 5-0, without any fanfare. They had a good day on the mound with seven pitchers combining to allow just four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. And they had a good plate discipline day with the lineup racking up more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven).
» READ MORE: Inside the Phillies’ plan to cut down on chasing pitches in 2024: ‘We have to get better at this’
Who stood out: Outfielder Cristian Pache hit a home run in the sixth inning, a solo shot to center field. It was his second home run of the spring.
“He’s right there,” manager Rob Thomson said of Pache. “He can defend at any position in the outfield, and the at-bats just keep on getting better. As soon as we got him last year, [hitting coach Kevin Long] got to work with him, and he started hitting left-handers, but now it looks like he has a chance to maybe hang with the right-handers.”
Trea Turner also had a good day, going 2 for 3 with an RBI.
On the mound: Recently-acquired right-hander Max Castillo made his first start for the spring. He allowed one hit and one walk over two innings with one strikeout.
Reliever Kolby Allard came in after Castillo. It was a much better outing than his last in Dunedin, on Saturday. Allard allowed just one hit and one walk over two innings with one strikeout.
Quotable: “I would say I feel a little better [than I have in previous spring trainings],” Turner said. “I just think the work I did in the offseason has helped me already in my work now. I just feel like I’m ahead of where I was at. I made some adjustments. Feel like the swing is kind of where it was at the end of last year. I feel like I can repeat things. I feel like I learned a lot last year and I’ve carried that over to my work now. It feels good.”
On deck: The Phillies will have two split-squad games on Friday. Game 1 will be played in Lakeland, Fla., against the Tigers at 1:05 p.m. Game 2 is at home in Clearwater, Fla., against the Marlins at 1:05 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on MLB.com.