March 25, 2016 – Phillies 4, Blue Jays 4 – Clearwater FL

This tie was better than kissing your sister (story, box)

 

Weather: 72 degrees, cloudy

Time: 3:08

Attendance: 8,537

Section 105, Row 23, Seats 10-14 – back row of lower level, directly behind first base. We were under cover in case any more rain materialized. (Fortunately the deluge we had earlier in the afternoon was not repeated, and it was a perfect evening weather-wise.) Easy to get in and out, only drawback was that it was difficult to hear the PA announcements.

 

Unfortunately two members of our crew weren’t able to make it, but we managed to have a good time anyway. I had forgotten how good the fan experience is at Bright House Field, especially the staggering variety of concessions options. (And a plethora of small stands leads to mostly short lines.) I certainly would recommend the grouper nuggets (new this season), and the cheesesteaks got a thumbs-up as well. Since I wasn’t driving (just a 10-15 minute walk to/from the motel), I took advantage of the opportunity to get a 24-ounce glass of craft beer on tap (New Belgium Brewing’s “Fat Tire” amber ale).

 

Despite the lack of closure, the game was interesting, if not exactly perfectly played. Odubel Herrera returned to the lineup after his bruised finger and made a great leaping grab at the CF wall on the second pitch of the game. Neither starting pitcher got through even 5 innings, as Toronto’s Marco Estrada is running behind due to an earlier injury, and Jeremy Hellickson struggled some, hitting the 90-pitch mark before getting the final out of the fifth (although the only damage was a 2-run homer by Casey Kotchman). Maikel Franco had gotten the Phils on the board an inning earlier with his eighth round-tripper of the spring.

 

Toronto expanded their lead to 4-1 with single tallies in the sixth and seventh, but Peter Bourjos hit one out with one on off Brett Cecil in the bottom of the seventh to trim the lead to one. With two outs in the frame, the Phils played classic small-ball to tie the score. Galvis singled, stole second, and with no one paying attention to him there took off for third with Hernandez up. Cesar then proceeded to tap a soft grounder to second for an infield single, with Galvis scoring all the way from second.

 

We also got to see former Nat Drew Storen throw a clean 6^th inning for the Jays. The highlight of the evening for me, however, was an appearance by switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. (I had previously seen him pitch a few years ago in a AA game in Harrisburg.) He replaced Estrada with 2 outs in the 4^th and retired Ruiz (pitching righthanded). He stayed in for the bottom of the fifth, retiring David Lough, Ryan Howard, and switch-hitter Cesar Hernandez while throwing from the left side.