Phillies 8, Blue Jays 2: J.P. Crawford leads Phillies' offensive outburst

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DUNEDIN, Fla. -- As J.P. Crawford finishes up his final days before being sent to minor-league camp for the remainder of spring, he is starting to show signs of what he is capable of at the plate.

The shortstop prospect went 2 for 2 with two RBIs against the Blue Jays on Saturday.

It was part of an impressive power output for the Phillies, who hit seven doubles in the 8-2 victory. Cameron Perkins had two doubles and two RBIs, and Nick Williams went 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI.

"Needless to say the hitting was outstanding today," manager Pete Mackanin said. "I wish we could have saved some of those runs for yesterday.

But Crawford's first hit might have been the sweetest of the day because it came with the bases loaded and two outs off Blue Jays reliever J.P. Howell. On Friday, the Phillies loaded the bases three times and failed to score.

"It's good to finally execute at the plate and help my team get some more runs," Crawford said. "Those were insurance runs that we needed."

Crawford bumped his Grapefruit League batting average up to .227 while also improving the quality of his at-bats. Rather than trying to swing for the fences, Crawford is working more at getting good contact and putting balls in play.

"Recently I've been swinging too hard and trying to hit a home run every time," Crawford said. "Today I just tried the send the ball back up the middle, get a base hit and I did."

The refined approach should help Crawford as he readies for the start of the season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

"He's going to get a lot of at-bats in Triple-A and hopefully put a lot of good things together," Mackanin said. "I think in Triple-A he's going to … I don't want to say blossom, but he's going to make progress, and once you get that ball rolling good things are going happen."

Florimon shows off the glove
It was Pedro Florimon's first time playing third base but it was hard to tell because of the defensive prowess he showed at the position Saturday.

With a runner on second Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit a quick grounder to third that Florimon fielded and made a quick throw to Scott Kingery at second to catch pinch runner Lane Thomas cheating off the base.

"Florimon is really sweet defensively," Mackanin said. "It was his first time playing third and he makes a play there that a lot of guys can't make."

Several Phillies had a strong day in the field, most notably catcher Andrew Knapp, who nailed Kevin Pillar trying to steal second base in the third inning.

Up next
Right-hander Aaron Nola is expected to pitch three to four innings in his start against the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in Clearwater.

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