An eight-run outburst in the bottom of the third leads to the Phils first Grapefruit League victory as they defeat the Tigers, 10-6.

The Tigers took the lead in the top of the first as, with the bases loaded, via a single by Andy Dirks, and walks to Jordan Lennerton and Austin Jackson, and with two men out, Nick Castellanos hits a bases clearing double to right center field, scoring Dirks, Lennerton and Jackson, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The Phils would get a run back in the bottom of the second as, with two men on, and with two men out, Darin Ruf hits an RBI single, knocking in Marlon Bryd, who has started the inning off with a single, then moved up to second base on Carlos Ruiz’s walk, making it a 3-1 Tigers’ lead, while sending Ruiz, who has earlier walked, up to second base. The Phils made it a 3-2 Tigers’ lead in the bottom of the third as, with the bases loaded, via a lead-off walk by Jimmy Rollins, a single by Chase Utley, moving Rollins up to second base, and a single by Byrd, moving both runners up a base, and with one man out, Rollins would score on a force attempt missed catch error by shortstop Hernan Perez on first baseman Lennerton’s throw to second base on Dom Brown’s grounder, while Utley would move up to third base, and Byrd would be safe at second base, as Brown stops at first base, leaving the bases loaded. The Phils then tied the game up at three-all as Ruiz is hit by the pitch, forcing in Utley, as Byrd and Brown both moved up a base as the bases remained loaded. The Phils then took the lead as Maikel Franco received a bases loaded walk, forcing in Byrd, giving the Phils a 4-3 lead, while moving Brown up to third base and Ruiz over to second base, with the bases staying loaded. The Phils then made it a 5-3 lead as, with Ruf battling, pitcher Jhan Marinez threw a wild pitch, allowing Brown to score from third, and Ruiz and Franco to both move up a base. Ruf then gave the Phils a 6-3 lead as he hits an RBI ground out, 5-3, knocking in Ruiz, as Franco stayed at second base. The Tigers then made a pitching change, replacing Marinez with Jose Valdez. Two batters later, after third baseman Castellanos had committed a foul pop error on a foul ball hit by Tony Gwynn, who then got on base with a walk, Rollins gives the Phils a 9-3 lead as he hits a third-run home run to right field for his first home run of the spring, scoring Franco and Gwynn. The Tigers would start a comeback in the top of the sixth as, with two men on, and with nobody out, Castellanos hits an RBI double, his second double of the game, and his fourth RBI, knocking in Jackson, who had started the inning off with a single, then moved up to second base on shortstop Reid Brignac’s fielding error of Tyler Collins’ grounder, making it a 9-4 Phils’ lead, while sending Collins, who had reached base on Brignac’s error, over to third base. The Tigers then cut the Phils’ lead to 9-5 as, with runners on second and third, and with still nobody out, Trevor Crowe hits an RBI ground out, 5-3, knocking in Collins, while sending Castellanos up to third base. The Tigers then made it a 9-6 Phils’ lead as, with a man on third, and now with one man out, Luis Exposito hits a sacrifice fly to center field, knocking in Castellanos. The Phils would get a run back in the bottom of the eighth as, with a man on third, and with one man out, pinch-hitter Leandro Castro hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, knocking in Lou Marson, who had started the inning off with a double, then moved up to third base on Freddy Galvis’ fly out to right, giving the Phils a 10-6 lead. That would end up being the final score as Justin de Fratus would pitch a scoreless ninth.

Kyle Kendrick pitched two innings, giving up three runs on two hits, three walks and a wild pitch, while striking out three. Sean O’Sullivan (1-0, 0.00) got the win as he pitched two scoreless innings, hitting a batter, while striking out three. Phillippe Aumont pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Luis Garcia pitched an inning, giving up three runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits.  Cesar Jimenez received his first hold of the spring as he threw two 1-2-3 innings, striking out two. Justin De Fratus pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits, while striking out three. Jose Alvarez pitched two innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks, while striking out two. Jhan Martinez collected his first blown save of the spring, before taking the lost (0-1, 40.50) as he lasted only two-thirds of an inning, giving up six runs, three of which were earned, on two hits, two walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch, as he struck out two. Jose Valdez pitched a third of an inning, giving up two runs on a hit and a walk. Evan Reed, Melvin Mercedes and Kyle Ryan combined for four 1-2-3 innings, striking out four (Reed (1), Mercedes (2), Ryan (1)) between them. Endrys Briceno pitched an inning, giving up a run on a hit, while striking out a batter.

The Phils had six hits in the game, with Marlon Byrd leading the team with two hits, both singles. Jimmy Rollins (Home Run, 3 RBIs), Chase Utley (Single), Lou Marson (Double) and Darin Ruf (Single, 2 RBIs), had the Phils’ other four hits, while Dom Brown (Error), Ruiz (HBP), Maikel Franco (Walk) and pinch-hitter Leandro Castro (Ground Out) had the other four Phils’ RBIs, while the final run came in on a wild pitch. The Phils also had five walks (Tony Gwynn, Junior, Rollins (2), Ruiz, Franco) in the game, while the defense committed an error (Reid Brignac).

The Phils (1-2) play their next Greapefruit League game tomorrow afternoon against the New York Yankees (1-2) at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. The game is to start at 1:05 pm EDT. The Phils plan to send to the mound Miguel Gonzalez who’ll be making his first spring training start. The Yankees plan to counter with C.C. Sabathia (14-13, 4.78 (2013)), who is trying to bounce back from a bad 2013 season. The Phils hope to even up their record.