The Phillies four aces may be rubbing off on the rest of the staff. In the opening game of the spring training schedule, seven Phillies pitchers combined for a four hit shut out of Florida State as Philly cruised to a 8-0 win. The pitching staff was made up of mostly AAA level hurlers, all of whom looked sharp in their first action of the season.
Mike Stutes was particularly impressive striking out the side in the sixth. However, Justin De Fratus, Michael Schwimmer & Scott Matheison all threw scoreless innings.
The Phillies offense struck quick putting up 4 runs in the first inning, two of which were knocked in by Ryan Howard, who was one of several regulars to start today. Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Raul Ibanez & Placido Polanco also started the game and only played around two innings.
The Phillies would add four more runs over the 6th and 7th innings as Freddy Galvis, Brian Schneider & Michael Martinez all drove in runs.
The Phillies will face the Yankees tomorrow in a game that will likely feature the first action of the year for Cole Hamels.