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 6th 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 4th
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.
