Whit Merrifield hits first homer of the spring in Phillies’ 7-6 loss to the Red Sox
Merrifield also stood out defensively. David Buchanan got the start and allowed four hits and two earned runs in two innings.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — With a 7-6 road loss to the Red Sox on Monday, the Phillies dropped their first Grapefruit League game of the spring. If you need a reminder of just how not-predictive these games are, just ask utility man Whit Merrifield, who hit a home run in the top of the third.
When asked whether his swing is in a good place this time of year, Merrifield responded:
“Depends on the day. Some days are good, some days are not so good, that’s why it’s spring. What I’ve found is before you get to spring training, it’s different. When you get to spring training, it’s different, and on opening day it’s different. I don’t put any weight on spring training. It’s all about how my body feels. My work good? Do I feel good? Season comes, and we go. But spring training is just, at this point, it is what it is.”
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With that being said, here are few takeaways.
Who stood out: Merrifield had a good day on defense at second base, too. With two outs in the third inning, he fielded a ball that was redirected off Nick Podkul’s glove and threw it to third base to nab Trevor Story. It was a heads-up play.
Podkul, who was facing live pitching for the first time since he was hit in the face last July, was the Phillies’ first base runner of the day, working a walk in the top of the third inning.
Catcher Aramis Garcia and designated hitter Darick Hall also hit home runs.
On the mound: Right-hander David Buchanan made the start on Monday. It was not his best outing. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in two innings. Right-handed reliever Connor Brogdon followed Buchanan and allowed one earned run and three walks in two-thirds of an inning. This is an important spring for Brogdon, who is out of options.
Quotable: “Definitely not how you want the first one to go — or how you want any of them to go,” Buchanan said of his outing. “Cutter command wasn’t there. Couldn’t get the curveball there. Tried to the throw the sweeper, we were able to at least attempt it to see how we got reactions today, so it was fun to throw that in a game. But two-out walks always hurt you. That’s not my game. I think I was only 50% first-pitch strikes, so that’s not how my bullpens and live BPs have been going. Maybe first time back, little jitters. But it felt good to be back out there. It was a lot of fun being in that environment. But not how I wanted it to go.”
On deck: The Phillies will play the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. Tuesday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. Radio coverage of the game will be on MLB.com.