The Yankees lost their fifth-to-last Grapefruit League game on Tuesday night, getting shut out 6-0 by the Phillies. Joe Girardi cycled through nine pitchers in nine innings, including Adam Warren (two walks, one strikeout), David Phelps (one unearned run), Vidal Nuno (two solo homers), David Robertson (one walk), Matt Thornton (perfect inning, one strikeout), and Shawn Kelley (one strikeout). Apparently if you showed up to the park, you got a chance to pitch.
Brett Gardner had a big day, going 3-for-3 and throwing a runner out at the plate. Well, kinda. Domonic Brown made a boneheaded base-running play and got hung up between third and home. Derek Jeter, Carlos Beltran, and Kelly Johnson all went 1-for-3, though Johnson misplayed two balls for errors. He has five this spring. Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, and Alfonso Soriano went a combined 0-for-10 with five strikeouts. Here is the box score, here are the video highlights, and here is the rest from Tampa.
- Jacoby Ellsbury (calf) got six plate appearances in a minor league intrasquad game, going 1-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout. He has been running the last few days but did not run hard in the game. He’ll play in another minor league game tomorrow. Ellsbury is confident he will ready for Opening Day while Girardi feels “pretty good about it.” [AP, Chad Jennings, Erik Boland]
- Girardi said he will be “really surprised” if Brendan Ryan (back) doesn’t start the season on the DL. Still nothing on the bench and bullpen announcements. Tyler Austin (wrist) played right field in a minor league game today, his first game action of the spring. [Boland, Jennings]
- More from Jennings: Both Hiroki Kuroda and Masahiro Tanaka will pitch Friday. Kuroda will only throw two innings in his final tune-up, Tanaka more because he has a longer layoff before his first start. Kuroda, Tanaka, and CC Sabathia all threw their scheduled bullpens.
- David Herndon can opt-out of his contract on Sunday if he’s not added to the 25-man active roster. He’s had a nice spring and reportedly intends to use the opt-out if not added to the roster so he can look for a big league job elsewhere. Could influence the bullpen decision. [Chris Cotillo]
- The Yankees are planning to use more infield shifts this season in an effort to compensate for their range-challenged infield. They haven’t been very good at shifting the last few years, so hopefully that will change. [Pete Caldera]
- Another roster cut: John Ryan Murphy has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton, the team announced. There are still 45 players in big league camp by my official count, so these next few days will be a little busy.
The Yankees will be on the road in Bradenton Dunedin to play the Pirates Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon. A handful of regulars will make the trip to play the day game after a night game, including Jeter, Beltran, Johnson, Roberts, Gardner, and Soriano. Chris Leroux, who has quietly been excellent in camp, will make the spot start. Dellin Betances and a gaggle of minor league relievers will follow.
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