Blue Jays Grapefruit League Recap: Game 13 vs. Phillies

The Blue Jays improved their spring record to 3-8-1 as they downed the Philles by a score of 6-4 on Thursday. Francisco Liriano got the start and looked sharp again, continuing his impressive Spring showing.

The Blue Jays sent out a “major league” lineup today against the Philles, absent a few significant pieces of course, and it resulted in their 3rd win of the Grapefruit schedule. Gone to the WBC are Jose Bautista, Dalton Pompey, Roberto Osuna, and Marcus Stroman, and the Jays are still waiting on a few regulars to get healthy as well.

Francisco Liriano looked very sharp again, throwing 3 innings and striking out 5 batters against just one walk on the afternoon. The Blue Jays totalled scored 6 runs on 14 hits, as their offence clicked against the Phillies arsenal of arms.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was among the offensive stars for the Jays, hitting his 2nd home run of the Spring in the 3rd inning, and going 3-3 overall. Ryan Goins had a triple which scored “Salty” and Darwin Barney in the 2nd inning, against Philles’ starter, Jerad Eickhoff. Barney and Kevin Pillar had 2 hits a piece, and 10 other Jays collected hits, including Kendrys Morales, Steve Pearce, Lourdes Gurriel and many more.

On the pitching side of things, things weren’t quite as dominant after Liriano left the game, but the Jays’ arms got the job done. Jason Grilli looked strong in his inning of work, striking out 2 batters, and Dominic Leone also struck out a pair in a single frame.

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Joe Smith struggled in his appearance, walking 2 batters, giving up a pair of singles, and allowing 3 earned runs. The veteran was signed this offseason and has mostly struggled this Spring, so the Jays will hope he’ll get on track before Opening Day.

Other pitchers to appear included Tim Mayza, Chad Girodo, Jarrett Grube, and Chris Smith, who allowed the other Phillie’s run.

Justin Smoak‘s struggles continued as he went 0-2 with a strikeout, lowering his batting average to .118 in Grapefruit League play. Easily the most frequent target of ire from Jays’ fans on social media, the 30 year old veteran will look to find his groove and try to hang on to the first baseman’s job.

The Blue Jays move on to play the Detroit Tigers tomorrow in a game that gets going at 1:05 pm, before playing the Phillies again on Saturday. Mike Bolsinger will get the start for the Jays in Marcus Stroman’s absence, who will start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

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