Philadelphia Phillies defeat Toronto Blue Jays, 13-5, at Bright House Field
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Domonic Brown's home run Sunday nearly cleared the back fence beyond the berm in right field.
Ryan Howard's go-ahead three-run shot went even farther, much farther -- so far that some joked about the safety of cars traveling south on US 19, which runs behind Bright House Field.
Howard's third home run -- and second in two days -- was the Phillies' longest this spring and provided more evidence that the former MVP is healthy and ready for the regular season.
More impressive, his latest blast came off Toronto left-hander Brett Cecil. Howard is now 5 for 9 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs against lefties this spring.
Brown's third home run was also impressive for reasons other than its distance: It came on an 0-2 pitch from lefty Aaron Loop.
Brown just missed homering in his first at-bat, too, getting under a Ricky Romero fastball and lofting it to the warning track in right center.
Their blasts were the loudest, but many others contributed to the Phillies' 13-5 split-squad victory over visiting Toronto.
Yuniesky Betancourt drove in three runs, Kevin Frandsen scored four runs, Chase Utley singled and reached base three times, Tommy Joseph and Michael Martinez had two hits, and Ender Inciarte, a Rule 5 pick trying to win a roster spot, added two hits and scored twice.
All the offense helped overcome a shaky start from Aaron Cook. He pitched four innings, allowing seven hits and four runs (three earned).
Blue Jays All-Star Jose Bautista homered off Cook in the third inning, but the Phillies escaped further damage when left fielder Darin Ruf caught a medium-depth fly ball and threw out Adam Lind at home plate to complete an inning-ending double play.
Ruf struggled again at the plate, however. He was 0-5 with two strikeouts and now is 3-for-21 this spring.
In Sarasota, Michael Young and Freddy Galvis each hit their first home run of the spring, but the Baltimore Orioles pounded starter Kyle Kendrick and reliever Jeremy Horst.
Orioles catcher Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer off Kendrick in the first inning, and Horst allowed six earned runs as the Orioles took control in the fifth.
The Orioles went on to win, 13-2.
