Ichiro Goes 3-For-3, Murphy Homers In Yankees' Loss To Phillies
CLEARWATER, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Domonic Brown's chance to contribute is right now. Tommy Joseph's opportunity should come in due time.
Brown and Joseph hit long home runs in the seventh inning and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the New York Yankees 4-3 Tuesday for their first win of the exhibition season.
Brown connected off Zach Nuding, sending his second home run this spring over the batter's eye in center field. The 25-year-old Brown, once the Phillies' best prospect, is competing for the vacancy in left field.
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"That was a well-struck baseball ... the ball went a long ways," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "He put a good swing on it: nice, short and compact, with balance at the plate."
"His swing is more fluid and compact," he said. "It's more explosive."
Joseph, a catcher considered by some as the Phillies' current top hitting prospect, sent a two-run drive deep over the left-field fence. He was acquired from San Francisco last summer in the trade that sent Hunter Pence to the eventual World Series champions.
Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-3 to lead the Yankees. He legged out an infield single, stole second and scored on Mark Teixeira's double in the first inning off Kyle Kendrick.
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick gave up three hits and one run in two innings.
Kendrick, a swingman on the pitching staff in the last three years, has a permanent spot in the rotation for the first time since the spring of 2008, when he was coming off his rookie season.
"It was nice to get out there," Kendrick said. "I was excited. A little amped up a little bit in the first inning. I felt good. The body felt good. I was throwing mostly strikes."
New York right-hander Jose Ramirez impressed in his spring debut. The 23-year-old retired five of the six batters he faced.
The only Phillies batter to reach off Ramirez, Ryan Howard, walked to lead off the second and was quickly erased on a double-play grounder.
"The young man was starting his first game, seeing Howard and (Jimmy) Rollins and those guys," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He did a nice job."
Yankees relievers David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain each pitched a scoreless inning.
J.R. Murphy took over for Yankees catcher Bo Wilson in the bottom of the sixth and went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and a long double.
The Yankees will play split-squad contests against the Orioles on Wednesday.
NOTES: Yankees 3B Kevin Youkilis was scratched from the game because of a sore left oblique. He will be re-evaluated later this week. ... Philadelphia 2B Chase Utley was scratched from the lineup minutes before the game. Manuel decided to rest Utley for precautionary reasons. There was a tornado watch in the area and heavy rains flooded Bright House Field in the morning. Utley had missed each of the last two spring trainings with chronic knee pain. ... RHP reliever Mike Adams is scheduled to make his first appearance this spring on Thursday when the Phillies host the Atlanta Braves. Adams had surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome after the 2012 season. He signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Phillies as a free agent in December. ... LHP John Lannan will make his Phillies and spring debut on Wednesday in Fort Myers against the Minnesota Twins. ... Yankees LHP Nik Turley is scheduled to start against Baltimore on Wednesday.
Will Ichiro carry over his momentum from last season and have a big 2013? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below...
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