Philadelphia Phillies fall to Atlanta Braves, 17-10, in Grapefruit League game
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Rodrigo Lopez took the brunt of an Atlanta power display against the Phillies’ ineffective collection of bullpen applicants, victimized for eight runs in a 17-10 blowout Monday that couldn’t have helped anyone’s chances.
Justin Upton took Lopez deep for a two-run homer just three batters into the game, igniting a six-run first inning for the Braves. Freddie Freeman added a two-run blast in the second, as Lopez (0-1) watched eight of the 16 batters he faced come around to score.
Not that it was much better after Lopez left. Colt Murray gave up a three-run shot to Upton in the third, Michael Stutes allowed a solo shot to Juan Francisco in the fourth and Antonio Bastardo gave up two runs in his inning of work.
Aaron Cook went the final three innings, giving up three runs and four hits. The Braves hammered 19 hits in all, with Upton collecting six RBIs.
Meanwhile back in Clearwater, Cliff Lee was striking out nine in an 80-pitch outing against Pittsburgh’s minor leaguers. Phillies brass held Lee back from Monday’s start because the lefty figures to draw the Braves in his first regular-season start.
On the bright side, Philadelphia’s bats did a fair amount of damage against Atlanta’s Kris Medlen (1-1). A five-inning stint for Medlen yielded nine runs and 14 hits, including Domonic Brown’s two-run homer in the fifth.
Yuniesky Betancourt banged out four hits on the day, raising his average to .450. Brown rose to .400 with his 3-for-4 performance, and Darin Ruf had two doubles and an RBI.
Ruf, still learning the ropes in left field, also turned in a blooper-reel play when he appeared to pull back Freeman’s deep fly in the second – only to see the ball bounce out of his glove and over the fence.
The Phillies return to Clearwater for a Tuesday game against the Yankees, where Kyle Kendrick is the scheduled starter. Wednesday will be a day off.
