PBR - Alex Rodriguez finished 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs to lead the Yankees past the Phillies 7-4 on Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.
Phillies Pitching: Roy Halladay pitched a solid two innings, surrendering two hits and one run while striking out three. Joel Pineiro struggled, allowing three runs on three hits and walk over two innings. Antonio Bastardo, David Purcey and Joe Savery each tossed a scoreless inning in relief.
Phillies Offense: For the second straight day Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer in the opening frame to give the Phillies an early lead ... Freddy Galvis hit a ball that was up in the zone down the right field line for an RBI-double in the sixth to bring the Phils to within a run at 4-3 ... Domonic Brown also finished the contest 2-for-4 with a triple.
Phillies Defense: Michael Martinez bobbled a likely double-play ball in the fourth and then let a grounder buckle his knees with two outs later in the frame, letting Alex Rodriguez crack an RBI-double to left field to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead ... Galvis made a superb play in the fifth on a Francisco Cervelli grounder to his right where he was forced to throw across his body - remember, fielding has never been an issue for Galvis, it's his bat that remains a question ... Brown dropped a routine fly in the seventh that led to the Yankees pushing their lead to 5-3 ... With runners on the corners with two outs later in the same inning Lou Montanez made a spectacular diving grab on a fly ball down the right field line.
On the Mend: Ryan Howard is back with the club, but he's in a walking boot following a surgical procedure to rid an infection near his surgically repaired Achilles tendon. He last participated in a workout on Feb. 25, but now may be sidelined for another two weeks.
"I don't know when he's going to start baseball activities," Ruben Amaro Jr. told the Inquirer's Matt Gelb. "I don't have any time frame one way or another."
On Deck: The Phillies and Yankees will return to Clearwater on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 P.M. - Joe Blanton is expected to oppose Michael Pineda. The game will be broadcast live on the MLB Network.
