Inside The Phillies

Phillies Open Up 2022 Spring Training With a Draw

It's a few weeks late but baseball is back, as the Phillies opened up their spring slate against the Tigers.
Ben Silver|
© Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

For the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday was a day to test the water in Lakeland against the Detroit Tigers. 

Lacking their big bats or vital pitching pieces, it was a game for the Phillies to showcase their prospects like Bryson Stott, Johan Rojas, Jhailyn Ortiz, Luis Garcia, Símon Muzziotti, Logan O'Hoppe and more.

Phillies starter Michael Kelly started the game strong, pitching two innings, walking one and allowed no runs on one hit.

Meanwhile, Tigers starter and free agent signee Eduardo Rodriguez kept Phillies bats relatively quiet over three innings. The only run he allowed was an RBI groundout from Alec Bohm that scored Ortiz from third.

However, the game began to unravel once Kelly was lifted for reliever Cam Bedrosian.

Both the second and third batters he faced hit home runs, the first of which was a monster shot off the bat of Akil Baddoo.

Then Riley Greene got his turn.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers added to their lead with an RBI groundout of their own from Tucker Barnhart scoring top prospect Spencer Torkelson.

Then Phillies minor league first baseman Darick Hall came to the plate in the fourth, finally Tigers star pitcher Rodriguez had been lifted and replaced by reliever Joe Jiménez.

Hall got a hittable pitch from Jiménez and did not miss.

As is true of most spring training games, both the Phillies and Tigers began to pull their starters for players lower in their minor league systems after two times through the order.

Phillies center fielder Muzziotti took advantage off of Tiger Bryan Garcia in the 6th for an RBI ground-rule double, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers jumped back on the seesaw, getting solo home runs from Kody Clemens and Dillon Dingler off Tyler Cyr, making it a 5-4 game. Zack Short then extended that lead to 6-4 on a fielders choice groundout. Third baseman Yairo Munoz hit the runner, Dingler, on a throw home enabling the run to score.

The Phillies again answered quickly, this time on a home run from right fielder Matt Kroon. His 7th inning two-run home run again knotted the game up.

As eventful as the middle innings were, both Phillies and Tigers relievers shut the opposition down through nine innings.

Phillies 7th, 8th and 9th innings relievers, Joe Gatto, Braeden Ogle and Nick Duron didn't allow Tiger hit.

Thus the game ended after nine innings in a 6-6 tie, as minor league pitchers overpowered the minor league hitters they faced.

Final: Phillies 6, Tigers 6

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Ben Silver
BEN SILVER

Ben Silver is deputy editor for Inside the Phillies. A graduate of Boston University, Ben formerly covered the Phillies for PhilliesNation.com. Follow him on Twittter @BenHSilver.

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