Ke'Bryan Hayes homers, JT Brubaker fans 5 but Phillies use fast start to beat Pirates

BRADENTON, Fla. — JT Brubaker felt like the Philadelphia Phillies were hunting heaters, so he wasn’t surprised when Alec Bohm sent his 2-0 sinker to left-center for a two-run homer.

“Just from previous history, I know that a two-seam into Bohm isn’t the right pitch, especially behind in the count,” Brubaker said. “That was me just not focused, paying attention. Just kind of shook my head and threw it.”

Behind Bohm’s homer and a three-run shot from Edmundo Sosa that cleared the left-field bleachers, the Phillies beat the Pirates, 9-7, on Monday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park.

Brubaker switched to spin, throwing his curveball and a modified circle changeup, and finished with a flourish. The Pirates right-hander induced weak contact and broke a couple of bats before striking out the final five batters he faced, fanning the side in the second inning with Dalton Guthrie and Brandon Marsh looking at called third strikes.

“I think it just puts more pitches in their head (and) kind of can take pressure off of that sinker-slider,” Brubaker said. “It’s still early. I’m going to continue to use that curveball and changeup to get a feel and a visual of not how to throw it, but of how hitters are going to react to it. Types of swings, types of takes. Just get more, I guess, feedback from myself to see what the usage is going to be on it. For right now, it’s hard takes. I got weak contact with it, landed it for strikes. Right now, it’s in a good spot to where I feel confident. I think it’s going to take pressure off of that slider and can utilize it more.”

After Sosa’s 414-foot blast off Yohan Ramirez gave the Phillies a 5-0 lead in the third, they increased the margin to 8-0 with a three-run fifth.

Josh Harrison hit a line drive to center for a two-run double off Tyler Chatwood, then scored on Jake Cave’s triple to right.

The Pirates cut it to 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Ke’Bryan Hayes pulled a Seranthony Dominguez 1-0 sinker onto the left-field deck for a 401-foot, two-run homer. Pirates manager Derek Shelton called it an “encouraging sign.”

“Early in camp to take good swings, I think it shows the work he put in this winter has paid off, not only in terms of his body but the swing work he put in,” Shelton said of Hayes. “It was very encouraging with that swing, and I thought the swing he took in his first at-bat was encouraging, too.”

Weston Wilson hit an inside-the-park home run to make it 9-2 in the sixth when the wind took his fly ball to left field for a ride, and Cal Mitchell crashed into the wall.

Mitchell remained in the game and had an RBI single to drive in Drew Maggi in the eighth, then scored on a double to left by Endy Rodriguez to make it 9-4. The Pirates scored three runs in the ninth, when Maggi drove in two runs with a single and Lolo Sanchez scored on a Liover Peguero forceout to cut the deficit to two runs.