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The Phillies have played two games since Friday, beating the Astros 7-1 behind dominating pitching yesterday after a 15-7 loss to the Rays on Saturday.

The Phils one-hit Houston yesterday. Hamels allowed a run on one hit and one walk over five innings and was followed by four shutout innings from the pen in which the relievers didn’t allow a hit, walked one and struck out six.

Nix homered for the Phils in the game. He second home run of the spring and first in an official spring game. He continued his recent surge with a 2-for-3 day that upped his line to 231/286/346.

Michael Young is also hot and also had two hits. 2-for-3 with a double puts him at 371/405/514.

Freddy Galvis 3-for-4 with a double. 308/325/564. Seven extra-base hits and 11 strikeouts in 39 at-bats. Tied with Fields for second on the team in strikeouts behind Howard. Tied with Frandsen and Howard for the team lead in extra-base hits.

Kratz 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. He’s hitting .222.

Frandsen 1-for-5 and hitting 355/375/742. Revere 0-for-3. Mayberry 0-for-2 to drop his line to 225/279/350. Utley is at 167/333/208 after going 0-for-3. Howard was 0-for-3 and struck out twice, dropping his line to 333/357/718.

Ruf left the game after being hit by a pitch, but is, apparently, okay. He’s hitting .188 this spring with a .281 slugging percentage in 32 at-bats despite recent signs of life.

The pitching was fantastic. Hamels allowed a double to the first batter he faced in the bottom of the first, Tyler Greene, and Greene came around to score on a pair of ground outs. That’s the only run or hit Hamels would allow in five innings. He walked just one, dropping his ERA on the day to 0.90 after three starts and ten innings. The start against the Dominican Republic in which he got hammered wasn’t an unofficial outing, so his official numbers are great — 0.90 ERA with an 0.70 ratio and seven strikeouts and one walk in ten frames.

Cloyd, Miner, Horst and De Fratus all threw a scoreless inning after Hamels left. They combined to allow one walk, which Miner issued in the seventh.

Cloyd has been awful this spring, but drops his ERA to 10.80 with the scoreless inning.

Miner has also struggled and also has a 10.80 ERA.

Horst’s ERA drops to 12.00. Ten hits, including four home runs, and three walks over six innings gives him a 2.17 ratio. After striking out two in his frame yesterday he’s struck out four in six innings.

De Fratus drops his ERA to 7.50 after six innings. Seven hits and three walks over six innings gives him a 1.67 ratio. Unlike some of the other relievers who gave up a ton of home runs early (Horst and Valdes especially), De Fratus has yet to allow a home run.

Saturday was a different story as the Rays pounded out 15 runs against Phillie pitching. Lannan, Rosenberg and Bastardo combined to allow 13 runs in five innings. Rosenberg and Bastardo were charged with nine runs and got just three outs between them.

Howard homered, his fourth of the spring.

Brown went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. He’s hitting 432/523/730. If he strikes out in every one of his next 20 plate appearances, he’ll be hitting .281 and slugging .474.

Revere was 3-for-4 with a double in the game. After going 0-for-3 yesterday, he’s at 325/357/375.

Humberto Quintero had three hits. 3-for-4 with three singles and three RBI has him at 300/333/300 (3-for-10 with three singles and a walk).

Lannan started the game. He threw a 1-2-3 first and a 1-2-3 second. Brown made his first error of the spring in the fourth as the Rays scored four times — all four runs were earned despite the error as the Rays got three singles and a two-run homer in the frame. Lannan allowed a leadoff double in the fourth, but got the next three hitters to keep Tampa Bay off the board.

Overall, Lannan went four innings in the game, allowing four runs on five hits without walking anyone. After three starts and five innings he’s thrown to a 9.00 ERA with a 1.44 ratio. The two-run homer that Sean Rodriguez hit off of him in the four-run third is the only home run he’s allowed, but opponents are hitting .286 against him.

Papelbon and Diekman both threw scoreless innings in the game, which is especially welcomed in Papelbon’s case. Papelbon drops his ERA to 27.00 in his first spring appearance that’s been non-terrible. Diekman has struck out ten in six innings while throwing to a 3.00 ERA.

Durbin pitched the sixth and allowed a run on two hits and a walk. He has a 9.00 ERA and a 2.00 ratio after four innings. Opponents are hitting .438 against him.

Bastardo started the seventh. He faced eight hitters and was charged with four runs, only one of which was earned, on three singles and a walk. He hit a batter and another reached on a Mayberry error at first while getting two outs. JC Ramirez took over with two outs and men on first and second and got the final out on a fly ball to left.

Bastardo’s ERA rises to 3.86 after five appearances.

Rosenberg started the eighth. He faced six batters, getting one out, which came on a bunt, and allowed five runs, only four of which were earned due to an error by Martinez at second to start the inning. After the error to start the frame, Rosenberg allowed two singles, a double and a two-run homer. He ends the ugly outing with a 24.30 ERA and a 4.50 ratio. Opponents have hit .571 in his 3 1/3 official spring innings.

Kyle Simon took over for Rosenberg and got the last two outs in the eighth. He faced five batters and was charged with one run, allowing two walks and a single, which upped his spring ERA to 6.00.

The Phillies do not play today.

This article suggests that Aumont, De Fratus, Stutes, Diekman, Horst and Valdes are at the front of a competition for three spots in the pen.

Many transactions. The Phillies released Joe Mather. Mather was 1-for-11 with a walk for the Phils this spring.

Adam Morgan reassigned to Minor League camp, as were JC Ramirez, Kyle Simon, Tommy Joseph, Cody Asche and Michael Martinez.

I appreciate the effort from the Phils, but for me it’s still too little, too late on Martinez.

This article says: “Four players who are on the 40-man roster were optioned to the minors: Pitcher Joe Savery, pitcher Ethan Martin, pitcher Jonathan Pettibone, outfielder Zach Collier. Savery’s option was immediate. The options of Martin, Pettibone and Collier won’t take effect until Monday.”

Aaron Hicks homered off of three different Phillie pitchers yesterday as the Twins topped the Phils 10-6. The Phils led 6-1 after three innings but couldn’t hold on. Valdes and Minor were charged with seven runs between them in the seventh and eighth innings combined.

Ruf hit a two-run double for the Phillies in the bottom of the second. A much needed 2-for-4 on the day with three RBI ups his line to 185/313/259 with just two walks and two extra-base hits, both doubles, in 32 plate appearances.

Galvis started at short and had the only other extra-base hit for the Phils, a triple. He was 1-for-5 in the game. Slugging .519 this spring.

Young and Mayberry both 2-for-3. Mayberry also drew a walk to raise his line to 281/343/438 after a slow start. Young’s continued hot hitting has his average up to .310.

Brown and Kratz 2-for-4. Kratz is hitting .200 without a walk in 15 at-bats. Brown is at 400/514/767. Leads the team in walks and runs scored and is tied for Howard with the home run lead at three. Brown has scored 13 runs this spring while no other Phillie has scored more than seven.

This article talks about nice defensive plays made by Young, Brown and Utley in the game.

Lee started the game for the Phillies. He gave up a leadoff homer to the first batter he faced before retiring the next three to end the first. He allowed two hits and a walk in a scoreless second and threw a 1-2-3 third. He started the fourth, allowing another solo home run, this time with one out. He got the second out and was replaced by Horst.

Overall, Lee went 3 2/3 innings in the game, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five. Both of the runs scored on solo homers. 5.19 ERA with a 1.27 ratio over three starts. Ten strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

Horst allowed a walk before getting the final out of the fourth. He came back to pitch the fifth and allowed a run on a solo homer.

Again Horst doesn’t pitch well. The spring started out well for him and has fallen apart a little over his last couple outings. His numbers at this point are ugly — 14.40 ERA with a 2.60 ratio. In five innings he’s allowed four home runs.

Valdes allowed a single single before striking out the side in the sixth. He returned for the seventh and gave up a leadoff walk, which was followed by yet another homer by Aaron Hicks (his third of the day — Lee, Horst and Valdes). Valdes struck the next hitter out for the first out of the frame and was replaced by Kyle Simon.

Valdes’s numbers are better than Horst, but they’re still really bad. 7.36 ERA with a 1.23 ratio. Like Horst, he’s allowed four home runs. He’s struck out a team-high 11 in 7 1/3 innings.

Simon got the last two outs in the seventh. He has now allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings over four appearances.

Miner started the eighth and faced six batters, getting one out, walking two and allowing four singles before getting pulled. He wound up charged with five runs on three hits and two walks over a third of an inning. Fields made an error at first after Miner left that meant that one of his five runs was unearned.

Miner has a 12.71 ERA for the spring and opponents have hit .370 against him.

Savery got the last two outs in the eighth, allowing one runner to reach on Fields’s error. He came back and allowed two singles in a scoreless ninth.

Savery hasn’t been charged with a run in his three appearances, allowing four hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings while striking out four (0.00 ERA and a 1.15 ratio).

Kendrick is expected to start against the Rays this afternoon. Papelbon will not pitch as scheduled and may pitch Saturday.

USA plays Mexico today in the World Baseball Classic.

Yesterday’s game between the Phils and Nationals will be most remembered for the one pitch that Roy Halladay threw behind Tyler Moore in the third inning. The other 55 were pretty impressive, though, as Doc delivered his best outing of spring training, throwing four shutout innings in which he held Washington to two hits and a walk.

Stephen Strasburg hit Utley in the shin with the first pitch of Utley’s at-bat in the bottom of the third. With two outs and nobody on in the fourth, Halladay delivered a fastball behind Washington’s Tyler Moore.

After the game, Halladay said it wouldn’t have been the worst thing if the ball had hit Moore.

The Phils finished third in the NL East last year, 17 games behind Washington.

Tommy Joseph started at catcher for the Phillies and went 3-for-4 with a double, including 2-for-2 with a pair of singles off of Strasburg. 6-for-13 with two doubles and a home run in official spring action.

Also notable is that Halladay pitched extremely well throwing to Joseph.

Josh Fields hit his first home run, a solo shot in the seventh off of Cole Kimball. He was 1-for-2 in the game. Hitting .188 without a walk in 16 at-bats.

Domonic Brown had two more hits. 2-for-3 with a double. He was also impressive on the bases. With two outs, he dumped a ball into center and hustled it into a double, which allowed him to score when Nix followed with a single. 385/515/808 in 26 at-bats.

Nix hit a two-run single in the fifth. 1-for-3 with two RBI a day after homering against the Dominican Republic. Just 2-for-18 in official action, but looking a lot better than that in the past two days.

Howard and Betancourt 1-for-3. Betancourt 400/455/450 in 20 at-bats. Revere and Mayberry both 0-for-3. Mayberry’s official line drops to 241/290/414.

Michael Young 1-for-3 with an RBI. Second on the team in RBI with eight. Howard leads with 11.

Galvis played four defensive innings at third base and was 0-for-1 with a walk at the plate. 273/304/500. Tied for the team lead in strikeouts with eight.

Jermaine Mitchell walked in his only chance. 3-for-6 with two triples and a 1.738 OPS. There’s a lot of talk these days about the possibility Ender Inciarte will start the year with the Phils. I think I’d rather see the team carry Mitchell, even if it means losing Inciarte, although I’d guess the chances of that happening are close to zero. Mitchell seems like the better fit — not based on the 19 combined plate appearances the two have been given this spring but the more than 5,000 combined plate appearances the two have been given in the minors.

Halladay started the game for the Phillies and went four shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk. He struck out two.

That’s the best of three starts for Halladay. 2.16 ERA with an 0.96 ratio in 8 1/3 innings.

Stutes was next and he threw a scoreless fifth, allowing a double and a walk. He seems like a real long shot to make the pen at this point. 9.00 ERA with a 2.33 ratio over three appearances. Opponents have hit .308 against him and he’s walked three in three innings.

Durbin started the sixth with a 4-0 lead and allowed three runs in the frame. Anthony Rendon hit a solo homer with one out. Durbin got the second out and then allowed single, RBI-double and RBI-single before setting the Nats down.

Durbin had been really good in his first two outings before getting hit hard yesterday. His ERA jumps to 9.00 thanks to a rough outing. He had thrown two scoreless frames on the spring coming into the game.

Bastardo struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh. He’s allowed one run in four innings over four appearances. 2.25 ERA with an 0.50 ratio and opponents are hitting .133 against him.

De Fratus pitched the eighth. He allowed a leadoff single before getting the next three hitters in order.

Step in the right direction for De Fratus, who still has ugly spring numbers. 9.00 ERA with a 2.00 ratio in five innings over four appearances. Always nice to see him not walking people.

Diekman got two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth, allowing a single.

Nice outing for Diekman, whose numbers are getting better. 3.60 ERA with a 1.20 ratio. He’s struck out nine in five innings over four appearances. Nine strikeouts leads the team. Ten pitchers have thrown as many or more innings as he has and 12 have faced as many or more batters.

Amaro seems to suggest that Aumont has a step up on other bullpen candidates in this article. He also says he has confidence in Horst and that Valdes took a step up his last time out. Cause of not letting everyone homer, you see.

I don’t really even know what to say about this article on Delmon Young. Just read it, but brace yourself. I guess I should try to point out some of the highlights. Here goes: 1) Young is not anxious to play in games 2) Amaro is of the opinion that Young is a bad left fielder, which is hard to argue 3) Amaro seems to be of the opinion that Young could be a good right fielder, which would surprise me a great deal 4) Young will only play right field when he plays for the Phillies (that would surprise me) 5) Brown may move from left to right once Young returns and 6) Amaro hopes that Young will be playing for the Phils sometime between mid-April and May.

It’s a little tough to find an article that someone has written about Young that makes him seem likeable. I’m not saying it can’t be done. Just saying it’s a little tough.

Todd Zolecki writes about Yuniesky Betancourt’s unusual contract here, saying the Phillies must tell Betancourt by March 24 if he has made the 25-man roster. If he has not, Betancourt can asked to be released.

I don’t really understand why the Phillies thought acquiring Betancourt was the way to go in the first place. Given that they did, it’s a little tough for me to see them being unimpressed by his hitting .400 so far. Consider me worried.

Cliff Lee is expected to start this afternoon against the Twins.

The Phillies played three games over the weekend. On Saturday they lost to Toronto 11-6. Yesterday they played split squad games against Toronto and Baltimore, beating the Blue Jays 13-5 and losing 12-3 to Baltimore.

Domonic Brown and Ryan Howard continued their hot starts and both ended the day yesterday with an OPS over 1.300 for the spring. Brown has hit 350/519/850, out OPSing Howard’s 417/444/917 line thanks to his six walks.

The other thing that happened yesterday was that Jeremy Horst, who I would have said is just about a lock to start the year in the pen, got hammered, allowing six runs in 2/3 of an inning. Lefties Horst and Valdes have both pitched very badly in relief in the early going, which presumably opens the door for another left-handed reliever to sneak onto the roster.

In the game against the Blue Jays, Brown hit a solo homer and Howard a three-run shot. Brown 1-for-4 on the day and Howard 1-for-3.

Betancourt started at short and went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI, upping his average to .357. Frandsen is hitting 364/391/727 after going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and his first spring walk. Martinez, Joseph and Inciarte all had two hits. Inciarte slid niftily into home plate, avoiding a tag on a throw that beat him home. He’s 3-for-6 with three singles and three walks.

Cook allowed four runs, only three of which were earned, on seven hits over three innings.

De Fratus got three ground balls in a 1-2-3 fifth, dropping his spring ERA to 11.25 and his spring ratio to 2.25 after three innings in three appearances. Bastardo allowed a run on a solo homer in his inning. His spring ERA is 3.00, but he’s allowed two hits and no walks in three innings to give him an 0.67 ratio. JC Ramirez threw 1 1/3 scoreless and Joe Savery walked one and struck out three in 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Galvis and Michael Young hit their first spring homers in the game against Baltimore. Galvis hit a solo shot and Young’s was a two-run homer. Those home runs drove in all three runs the Phillies scored in the game.

Mayberry was the only Phillie with more than one hit. He was 2-for-3 with a double and has his line up to 273/333/500 after a slow start. Josh Fields started at first and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, which dropped his average to .167. Revere led off and went 1-for-4, which puts his line at 304/333/348 after 23 at-bats.

The Phillies allowed 12 runs in the game. Kendrick and Horst combined to be charged with ten of the 12.

Kendrick started and allowed four runs in the bottom of the first on two home runs, a three-run shot by Matt Wieters that was followed by a solo home run from Conor Jackson. Kendrick threw a scoreless second inning, but ended the day with an 11.25 ERA and a 2.00 ratio for the spring over two starts and four innings.

Horst was the other pitcher in the game whose outing was notably bad. He entered in the bottom of the fifth with one out and a man on second. He faced eight hitters in the frame, allowing a single, a double, two walks and two home runs before getting out of the frame. Baltimore scored seven runs in the inning, six of which were charged to Horst.

Horst’s spring numbers won’t recover from that outing as he allowed six runs in two-thirds of an inning. 17.18 ERA with a 3.00 ratio in three innings.

Kyle Simon threw a scoreless inning in the game and Zach Miner allowed a run on one hit over 2 1/3 innings. Miner actually pitched better than that — he threw a 1-2-3 third and a 1-2-3 fourth, then allowed a single in the fifth before being replace by Horst. Horst allowed his runner to score. Miner hadn’t pitched particularly well in his two previous spring appearances.

Jake Diekman was the other Phillie who pitched in the game. He allowed a run on two singles over two innings. He struck out five and notably did not walk a batter.

Diekman now has seven strikeouts in four innings over three appearances. His 4.50 ERA and 1.25 ratio isn’t fabulous, but he’s pitched a lot better than his fellow left-handed relief candidates Valdes and Horst.

On Saturday, Ruiz, Kratz and Howard all homered, but Lee wasn’t very good and Cloyd was terrible as the Phils fell to Toronto 11-6.

Howard are Kratz had two-run homers in the game and Ruiz’s was a slot blast. Michael Young doubled in the other run in the top of the first. Frandsen also doubled in the game, which was the only other extra-base hit the Phillies had.

No Phillie had more than one hit in the game.

After a very sharp first outing, Lee was charged with three runs in three innings. Three of the first four batters he faced in the bottom of the first got hits, two doubles a single. He allowed a solo homer to Emilio Bonifacio in the second and threw a 1-2-3 third. 5.40 ERA and a 1.20 ratio for Lee after two starts. He’s struck out five in five innings.

Cloyd was next and got hammered, allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk over two innings. Jose Reyes hit a three-run homer off of him in the fourth and the Blue Jays had four extra-base hits off of Cloyd in two frames.

Durbin struck out two in a scoreless frame in the game. He’s allowed a hit in two innings over two appearances so far.

Stutes and Justin Friend both pitched an inning with both being charged with a run. Stutes has been pretty miserable in his first two appearances, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks over two innings (13.50 ERA with a 2.50 ratio with no strikeouts).

The Phillies play the Pirates this afternoon.

The Phillies won again this afternoon, scoring ten runs to beat the Yankees 10-5.

The Phils have won three of their last four and scored 20 runs in the last two games, winning 10-5 on back-to-back days. They got a bunch of help from the Yankees in today’s game as New York made four errors that led to six unearned runs.

Ten hits in the game for the Phillies. Nine singles and a double by Rollins. Rollins was 1-for-2 with two walks, a double and a pair of RBI. Galvis also saw some time at short, going 1-for-2 with an RBI and raising his spring average to .357.

Galvis is also the unlikely team leader in strikeouts with five.

Cody Asche was the only Phil with more than one hit, going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles to up his spring average to .333 (3-for-9 with a double and a walk).

Mayberry was 1-for-3 with a walk and drove in three runs, which ties him with Howard for the team lead in RBI at five. Howard 0-for-3. Brown 0-for-1 and walked three times, which raises his on-base percentage to .600 after 20 plate appearances.

Ruf was the DH and went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk, upping his average to .188.

Halladay started the game and went 2 1/3 innings, allowing a run on three hits and a walk. He kept the Yankees off the board in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, New York loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, but Halladay struck out Melky Mesa to leave them loaded. Halladay threw a 1-2-3 second and faced two men in the third, allowing a one-out double to Francisco Cervelli. Cesar Jimenez took over for Halladay and struck two guys out, but also allowed a pair of hits, including a single that scored Cervelli with the run charged to Halladay.

4.15 ERA and a 1.15 ratio for Halladay after two starts and 4 1/3 innings. He’s struck out five.

Jimenez has allowed three hits over 1 2/3 innings, but hasn’t yet been charged with a run.

Aumont pitched the fourth, allowing a two-out single, but keeping the Yankees off the board. Aumont has now allowed one hit in two scoreless innings while striking out two over two appearances.

Then came Papelbon and Valdes. Neither of them pitched well and each of them were coming off a rough outing to start the spring.

Papelbon allowed a walk and a single to the first two hitters he faced before yielding a two-run double off the top of the wall in left. He allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the frame, which dropped his ERA to 43.20. His ratio is 6.00 — seven hits, including two home runs, and three walks over 1 2/3 innings.

Valdes allowed a run on a solo homer to start the sixth before striking out the next three hitters to end the frame. He was back for the seventh and gave up another solo shot, this one coming with two outs. He’s now allowed three solo home runs in four innings over two appearances.

Rodrigo Lopez pitched the final two innings and was good again, allowing two singles and a walk while keeping New York off the board. That’s five scoreless innings for Lopez now with a 0.00 ERA, an 0.80 ratio and four strikeouts.

Cliff Lee is expected to pitch tomorrow when the Phils face the Blue Jays. Lee was very good in his first start, allowing a walk in two scoreless innings.

The Phillies continued what’s been a pretty ugly start to spring training yesterday, making three more errors and allowing 12 runs as the Twins beat them 12-5. Justin De Fratus and BJ Rosenberg, each hoping to start the year in the bullpen for the Phils, combined to throw two innings in which they allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks.

Ben Revere had a nice day for the Phillies, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, stealing a base and scoring two runs. Domonic Brown is now 4-for-9 on the spring with a double, two home runs and two walks after going 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and three runs scored. Ruiz went 2-for-2 and drove in three runs. Mayberry had his first spring hit, a double, as he went 1-for-3 on the day. He’s 1-for-10 so far.

Frandsen was 2-for-4. He’s 5-for-13 with a double, a home run and a 1.077 OPS in the early going. Howard 1-for-2 with a walk. He’s still looking for his first home run, but is now 6-for-12 with two doubles and two walks.

Not as good a day for Galvis, who was 0-for-5, made an error and struck out twice. He also made a misplay late that was originally called an error and then called a hit. Ruf went 0-for-1 in a pinch-hitting opportunity and is still looking for his first official spring hit. He’s 0-for-9.

Ruf has been dealing with a sore throwing arm that has kept him out of the lineup.

Lannan started the game for the Phils, allowing a run on four singles and a walk over two innings. Adam Morgan followed Lannan and allowed a run on three singles in the third. He came back for the fourth and faced five hitters, getting two outs and allowing a double and a single while the other reached on a Galvis error. Morgan left with two down and men on the corners. Kyle Simon came in to pitch to Ryan Doumit and Doumit hit a three-run homer to right.

Bastardo and Mauricio Robles threw scoreless innings later in the game.

The sixth and seventh didn’t go well for the Phils. De Fratus started the sixth and had his second bad outing in two tries, allowing three runs on four hits, including a double, and a walk. He’s now allowed five runs on six hits over three innings in his two appearances.

Rosenberg also got hit hard, allowing three runs in the seventh. The first four men he faced reached base on a pair of walks, a double and an infield single. He allowed a two-run single with one out before getting a double-play to end the inning.

Like De Fratus, Rosenberg has two spring outings, both of which have been bad. He’s allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks over three innings. That’s a 3.67 ratio, which is not what you’re looking for.

You also want to avoid walking two of the first four men you face if it’s at all possible. In 2012 with the Phillies, Rosenberg walked 14 men in 25 innings while pitching to a 6.12 ERA.

The Phillies face the Braves this afternoon with Cole Hamels expected to pitch. Jake Diekman is also expected to throw in relief as he makes his case for a spot in the pen. He’s made one official appearance so far and allowed a run on a hit and a walk over one inning.