Promising Offensive Signs in One of Phillies' Final Spring Games

Mid-to-late March is the point in spring training when results actually do matter, not because players want to finish with gaudy Grapefruit League stat lines but because the regular season begins in less than a week. Hitters want to find a rhythm before leaving Florida and Arizona, and pitchers want their arms to be sufficiently built up to withstand the rigors of 32 starts or 70 bullpen appearances.

Friday's matchup in Clearwater between the Phillies and Tigers produced a premium pitching matchup of lefties Cristopher Sanchez and Tarik Skubal, the 2025 National League Cy Young runner-up and American League winner.

And while Sanchez cruised through five innings on just 50 pitches, Skubal took some blows from the Phillies' bats.

Loud contact

The Tigers' ace retired the first five hitters he faced before allowing back-to-back singles to J.T. Realmuto and Edmundo Sosa in long at-bats that ended with a curveball and slider.

The contact was much louder in the bottom of the third inning, when Justin Crawford tripled, Bryce Harper singled him in, Alec Bohm doubled home Harper and Kyle Schwarber, and Adolis Garcia brought in Bohm with a single. Harper and Bohm took Skubal to the opposite field.

The Phillies didn't just score four runs in four innings against Skubal, they hit him hard. Crawford's triple was 106.1 mph. Sosa's single was 104.4. Garcia's was 102.5. Trea Turner also crushed a 379-foot flyout 104.4 mph to the warning track in left field on the third pitch of the game.

It's an encouraging sign that so many members of the Phillies' projected Opening Day lineup saw the ball well against Skubal. They accomplished a lot against one of baseball's best, making him work, handling his offspeed offerings and going the other way.

Garcia and Bohm

Garcia, in particular, seems to have found his timing this week. He was 5-for-26 (.192) in camp until Tuesday but has gone 6-for-11 in three games since with two home runs and five RBI.

The first-year Phillie is a huge X-factor this season. He and Bohm will be the primary right-handed bats in the middle of the order. If Bohm can get back to 35-40 doubles and Garcia can return to his form from 2021-23 when he averaged 32 home runs and 99 RBI, the Phillies' offense should exceed expectations. Those are two big ifs, obviously.

Bohm brings another home! 🦒 pic.twitter.com/ZOszCU6qht
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 20, 2026

Bohm has raked most of the spring, going 12-for-38 (.316) with three doubles and three homers. He is as incentivized as any Phillie to play well because he's a free agent after the season. Bohm did well to rebound last season from a 9-for-50 start, but while he finished at .287, it was more singles-fueled than ever before. The Phillies don't need him to be a 30-homer guy but they do need him to be a doubles machine again.

Harper heating up

Harper's three ABs Friday were his first since returning to Phillies camp from the World Baseball Classic. He had a huge final at-bat in the WBC, hitting a game-tying two-run homer against Team Venezuela in the bottom of the eighth inning of the tournament final.

The extended WBC absence has resulted in Harper playing just five Grapefruit League games through Saturday. He's 4-for-11 with two doubles, a homer and five RBI.

MV3 starts the scoring! pic.twitter.com/HYt7zY8bmX
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 20, 2026

"I felt great the whole time," Harper told reporters, including MLB.com, after returning to Clearwater. "I just felt like timing was a little off. I thought my swing felt great. I thought I was getting 3-2 (counts) a lot of the time. Definitely missing some pitches over the plate, things like that. But I think everything was about timing, more than anything, for me. If we had a week left in that tournament, I feel like I would have turned the corner and been pretty good.

"So I felt good the last two days against Dominican [Republic] and Venezuela. My swing feels very good right now. I feel like my pitch recognition is pretty good right now, as well. Felt like I controlled the zone pretty well, also. Just timing."