Newcomb pitches well against Phillies

Sean Newcomb did well in his second start of the spring.

 Sean Newcomb is vying for a rotation spot, and his second start showed he is serious about being a starting pitcher once again.

Newcomb pitched three scoreless innings Monday in North Port against the Phillies. He allowed two hits, walked no one and struck out three. He's not allowed a walk in his five innings this spring, with seven strikeouts. Newcomb's ERA is now 3.60.

With Cole Hamels out for possibly the first two months of the season, Newcomb has an excellent chance of filling one of the two spots in the rotation.

Former Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt hit two solo home runs in the game to give the Phillies a 6-4 win. The Braves are now 3-7 in the Grapefruit League.

In the battle for the third base job, Johan Camargo served as the DH and was 2-3 with a double and two RBI (5). He’s now hitting .400 on the spring. And Austin Riley was 1-3 with a double and an RBI (1). He’s now hitting .313 for the exhibition season.

Cristian Pache went 3-3 with two stolen bases. He’s also hitting .313 for spring training.

The game included the successful return for Freddie Freeman, who has been slowed by elbow discomfort. Freeman was 0-1 with a walk. The Braves will give Freeman an off-day Tuesday before getting him back in the lineup Wednesday.

Reliever Shane Greene had another bad outing, as he allowed four runs in 0.2 innings. Greene’s ERA is 16.87 in his three outings thus far.

The Braves play the Rays Tuesday at North Port at 1:05 with Felix Hernandez on the mound.