Phillies Pick Up First Win of 2022 Spring Training

The Philadelphia Phillies made their spring home opener at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fl., versus the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

Lauren Amour | Mar 19, 2022

"It's a great day to be a Phillie," said Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper with a smile.

It was a great day to be a Phillie, and Phillies fan, indeed. Late Friday evening, it was reported that the Phillies had signed free agent outfielder Nick Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million deal, with the 2021 NL MVP Harper supposedly making a strong push for the slugger.

While the club still awaits the arrival of Castellanos and other reported free agent signing Kyle Schwarber, the team participated in their second match-up of the spring on Saturday.

The Phillies made their spring home opener at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fl., with most of the Phils' starters, including Harper, Rhys Hoskins, JT Realmuto, Jean Segura, and Didi Gregorius making their 2022 debuts.

Aaron Nola got the start on the bump versus Toronto Blue Jays' starter Nick Allgeyer, a 2018 12th round MLB Draft pick.

Sporting a shorter hairdo, Nola looked sharp in the first, picking up three strikeouts in the inning. Almost inevitably, however, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected with a baseball and blasted it into the seats in left field.

Three strikeouts in the inning for Nola, but the damage was done on this monster homer by Vladdy Jr. https://t.co/ZEqpG9aRbl
— Inside the Phillies (@InsidePhilsFN) March 19, 2022

After the Blue Jays quickly jumped out on top, the Phillies answered right back with an RBI double by Realmuto to score Segura, who had reached on an error, from first.

Hopefully some foreshadowing of a more productive 2022 for JT! https://t.co/Xo1C69Caj7
— Inside the Phillies (@InsidePhilsFN) March 19, 2022

Toronto came out on top again in the their half of the second, thanks to a solo home run off the bat of Orelvis Martinez. Nola's day was done after 33 pitches, 26 of which were strikes. Despite the two home runs allowed, Nola fanned five batters and had solid command of his fastball.

Philadelphia tied it right back up at two in the bottom half of the inning. Offseason pick-up Johan Camargo picked up his first hit as a Phillie, a double down the left field line, and was able to score on a RBI bloop single by Luke Williams.

After 62 pitches and back-to-back walks to Harper and Realmuto in the third, Jays' starter Allgeyer was taken out and Fitz Stadler took over pitching duties. Despite allowing a two-out walk to load the bases, Stadler got out of the jam on a first-pitch line out to right field by Camargo.

Following the fifth inning, both Phillies' and Blue Jays' starters were lifted for substitutions.

The game remained tied until the seventh inning. Nick Nelson, acquired via trade from the New York Yankees in November, Kyle Dohy, Damon Jones, Francisco Morales (2021 no.5 ranked Phillies prospect), Erik Miller, Jeff Singer, and Brian Marconi combined for 6.2 scoreless innings in relief of Nola.

Similarly, Stadler, Jordan Romano, Tim Mayza, and Trevor Richards combined for 3.2 scoreless frames for the Blue Jays.

Finally, Blue Jays' Ryan Borucki surrendered a leadoff triple to Jhailyn Ortiz in the seventh, followed by a RBI bloop single by Yairo Munoz. The Phillies grabbed a one-run lead and held on to it, securing their first win of the spring.

Final: Phillies 3, Blue Jays 2

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Published Mar 19, 2022

LAUREN AMOUR

Lauren Amour is Deputy Editor for FanNation's 'Inside the Phillies,' part of Sports Illustrated. Lauren formerly covered the Phillies for SB Nation's The Good Phight. Lauren is a graduate of Rider University in New Jersey.