Borucki strong, Pillar homers, but Jays lose to Phillies in ninth

Kevin Pillar hit a solo home run for the Toronto Blue Jays in Grapefruit League action on Friday. Photo: Jay Blue

By Jay Blue

Blue Jays from Away

The Phillies had a major scare with Bryce Harper getting hit on the ankle by Trent Thornton and then they made the Blue Jays pay by coming back to beat them 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth.

Ryan Borucki was the starter and continued to put himself in the driver's seat for a spot in the starting rotation with a 4 2/3-inning outing, giving up just one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Trent Thornton came on, throwing 1 1/3 innings with a walk and a hit batter (Harper), striking out two. Thornton enraged the Phillies' fan base with the beaning, saying afterwards that it was accidental and initial imaging has been negative (no broken bones for Harper) but the Phillies' prize free agent came out of the game.

Bud Norris made his Blue Jays' spring debut with a scoreless inning, striking out two while Ryan Tepera walked one in his scoreless frame. John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.), who has been strong this spring, allowed a pair of hits and a pair of walks, giving up the two runs to take the loss and blow the save.

The Blue Jays had two hits, getting all of their runs on solo home runs as Kevin Pillar (2/3) hit a solo blast and Freddy Galvis (1/2) hit another one. Brandon Drury, Kendrys Morales and Lourdes Gurriel each had a hit in the loss.

The Blue Jays split their squad on Saturday, sending one group to Tampa to face the Yankees with Thomas Pannone on the mound while Sam Gaviglio stays in Dunedin to face the Orioles.

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