BLUE JAYS 9, PHILLIES 4
at Clearwater, Fla.
Sunday, March 9

Phillies at the plate: Ryan Howard smacked another titanic home run that traveled over the back fence and toward the swamp, where it likely fed an alligator. In the fifth inning, So Taguchi doubled home Greg Dobbs, who also doubled, and Jimmy Rollins added an RBI. Third baseman Pedro Feliz hit a solo homer in the sixth.

Blue Jays at the plate: There was plenty of offense to go around, starting with Vernon Wells' pair of two-RBI singles. Scott Rolen and Aaron Hill also collected two hits apiece. Lyle Overbay, Hill and Gregg Zaun each scored two runs.

Phillies on the mound: Kyle Kendrick struggled for the second straight outing, this time allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks over two innings. All of the damage came in the second inning, when Toronto sent 11 men to the plate. John Ennis surrendered three runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Blue Jays on the mound: Jesse Litsch strengthened his case to be the team's No. 5 starter with four effective innings. He struck out six and allowed two hits. One of them was the long home run by Howard.

Grapefruit League records: Phillies (4-8-1), Blue Jays (4-7).

Up next: Right-hander Brett Myers is scheduled to pitch in a Minor League game at the Carpenter Complex, while J.D. Durbin travels to Bradenton, Fla., to face Pittsburgh on Monday at 1:05 p.m. ET. Setup man Tom Gordon is also scheduled to pitch.