By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Phillies 8, Astros 4 ❖ Attendance: 5,575
Clearwater, FL: On their final day of Grapefruit League action before heading north, the Phillies offense was nowhere to be seen again. Well, at least through the first seven innings. Astros ace Dallas Keuchel spun seven shutout innings and it seemed as if Houston would walk away with a shutout victory, but the Phils offense erupted in the eighth for eight runs, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Andres Blanco. The victory was the Phils first since March 21st.
The Phillies head north for a matchup with their Futures Team on Thursday night at 6:05 in Reading at FirstEnergy Stadium.
WP: Daniel Stumpf (1-1, 3.97 ERA) ❖ LP: Tony Sipp (0-1, 4.50 ERA) ❖ SV: Danny Barnes (1)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
The Astros put up a three spot in the fifth to start the scoring and it seemed like that may be all they needed with Dallas Keuchel on the mound. Luis Valbuena doubled to lead things before Jeremy Hellickson retired the next two hitters quickly before allowing Jason Castro to reach on a walk. Jose Altuve, with two down, smacked a two-run homer to left, giving Houston a 3-0 lead.
Philadelphia took advantage of the Houston bullpen in the eighth. Andres Blanco, Cedric Hunter and Will Venable hit singles off of new Astros pitcher Pat Neshek. Ryan Howard lined out to first, but Blanco scored from third to make it a 3-1 game. Peter Bourjos followed with a sacrifice fly and then Cesar Hernandez hit an RBI bunt single to tie the game at three a piece. Maikel Franco hit the go-ahead single to score Peter Bourjos, giving Philadelphia a 4-3 advantage. With one down, Darin Ruf grounded out and Cameron Rupp reached on a walk. Andres Blanco, the guy who led off the inning, blew the game open with a grand slam to right center. Just like that, it went from a one run lead to a five run cushion, 8-3.
Andrew Bailey took the hill in the ninth and got the first out before allowing a double and back-to-back singles, one of which scored a run to make it an 8-4 game. Fortunately, Bailey induced a 4-6-3 double-play to end the ninth and seal the Phillies' 15th win of the spring, their first since March 21st against the Tigers.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Keuchel | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Jeremy Hellickson | 4.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3.31 |
Phillies
- Andres Blanco: 2-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, K, .282 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 1-4, R, RBI, 2 K, .292 AVG
- Cesar Hernandez: 1-4, R, RBI, .328 AVG
Astros
- Jason Castro: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, .333 AVG
- Jose Altuve: 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, K, .292 AVG
- Luis Valbuena: 1-4, 2B, R, K, .263 AVG
Phillies
- James Russell: 1.1 IP, K, 2.70 ERA
- David Hernandez: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2.25 ERA
- Daniel Stumpf: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.97 ERA
- Andrew Bailey: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5.63 ERA
Blue Jays
- Pat Neshek: 0.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6.00 ERA
- Tony Sipp: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4.50 ERA
- James Hoyt: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 4.35 ERA
What's Next
- Thursday, March 31st, 2016: vs. Phillies Futures Team at 6:05pm
- Reading, PA – FirstEnergy Stadium
- TV: TCN, MLB.TV, MLB TV; Radio: 94 WIP
