Phillies Notes: Domonic Brown could be out a week with sore Achilles

BRADENTON, Fla. - Domonic Brown underwent an MRI exam Friday, a day after he was removed from a game because of a sore left Achilles tendon.

The results showed no tear but revealed moderate tendinitis, a team spokesman said after the team's 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is listed as day-to-day, but it could be a week until he returns to the field.

The rightfielder said his Achilles has been bothering him for two weeks. He left Thursday's win against the New York Yankees in the third inning. Brown is hitting .241 with one extra-base hit this spring.

"It's been going on for two weeks now," Brown said. "Get it out of the way so I can back on the field as quickly as possible."

Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez allowed five hits and one run in 31/3 innings as the Phillies lost on a walk-off double by former Phillies catching prospect Sebastian Valle. It was Gonzalez's third start of the spring and his longest outing. He had one strikeout and one walk.

"He continues to show improvement," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "His last couple of innings, he pitched behind in the count a little bit. But he made some pitches when he had to."

David Buchanan missed Georgia State's upset of Baylor on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The Phillies pitcher said he was working out during the game but was able to catch highlights of the 14th-seeded Panthers' win.

"It's really good for the school and the program," Buchanan said. "They're trying to do a lot of big things over there, so I'm really happy for them."

The righthander spent one year at Georgia State, which is in his hometown of Atlanta, and was a psychology major. Buchanan does not follow college basketball much and did not fill out a bracket.

Ken Giles entered in the middle of an inning for the first time this spring. The righthander worked two quick outs to end the fourth inning and strand the pair of runners he inherited from Gonzalez.

It was Giles' fourth straight scoreless outing. He struck out two batters, allowed one hit, and walked none in 12/3 innings. His slider was sharp and he showed better control than in his last outing, in which he walked two batters. - Matt Breen