Lee, Buehrle face off in first On-Deck game

Cliff Lee will make his final spring start before the regular season in tonight's On-Deck series opener against the Blue Jays.

The Phillies left Clearwater with a bang, beating the Blue Jays yesterday, 7-2, with the help of two home runs in the late innings. Both teams made the trip north the Philadelphia and Citizens Bank Park as they will face each other in the Phillies' annual On-Deck series for the next two days. Game one of this mini-series opens with a night-cap, a rarity in spring games. But for Phillies fans, this provides a look at the team where they are accustomed to watching, right at home in Citizens Bank Park.

Cliff Lee makes his final spring training tune-up in the opener of this series. Lee's last start was his worst of the spring. He allowed six runs (four earned) on nine hits against the Red Sox. He hit one batter, allowed no walks and struck out seven. That start was Lee's first appearance in Grapefruit League play after taking 10 days off from traditional game action and playing in minor-league games.

For the Blue Jays, lefty Mark Buehrle takes the mound for his final spring start. Buehrle has allowed nine runs in 13 innings this spring while walking seven and striking out seven. He faced the Phillies five times in 2012 as a member of the Miami Marlins, going 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA.

Game Notes:

• Once again, Ben Revere is at the top of the order leading off. Could a strong weekend by the new Phillies' centerfielder make this lineup the Opening Day lineup?
• Humberto Quintero gets a start tonight catching. The Phillies haven't announced the Opening Day roster just yet, but it is believed that the race for backup catcher – in the absence of Carlos Ruiz for 25 games – is down to Quintero and Steven Lerud.
• Mike Adams, Phillippe Aumont and Jonathan Papelbon are also scheduled to pitch in tonight's game. Since Papelbon's shaky spring debut (2/3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER on Feb. 25), the three relievers have combined to allow only five earned runs.

Phillies lineup

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Jimmy Rollins SS
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Michael Young 3B
6. Domonic Brown LF
7. John Mayberry Jr. RF
8. Erik Kratz DH
9. Humberto Quintero C

Cliff Lee will start tonight's game.

Blue Jays lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
5. J.P Arencibia C
6. Mark DeRosa 3B
7. Rajai Davis DH
8. Colby Rasmus CF
9. Emilio Bonifacio 2B

Mark Buehrle will start tonight's game.

TV: TCN/MLBN
Radio: 1210 WPHT

Kevin Durso is a contributor for Philliedelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.