Chase Utley Homers Twice as Phillies Down Braves; Archie Bradley Blanks Reds as Arizona Triumphs, 3-0

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 1, 2013

Grapefruit League

Utley: 2HR, 4RBI

Chase Utley was at it again for the Phillies, belting a pair of homers and driving in four runs as Philadelphia pounded Atlanta, 9-2.

Getting some healthy swings in prior to the start of the regular season, Utley has whacked four home runs and driven in nine runs in 29 at-bats. He's hitting a vary healthy .442 this Spring.

Last year, Utley hit 11 homers and drove in 78 runs in 155 games.

Both teams are under .500 in exhibition play. Atlanta is 13-16; the Phillies are 12-16.

Bradley: 1-Hit

Cactus League

Archie Bradley has spent three years in the minors, compiling a record of 29-18, with a 3.14 ERA.

With a final bullpen spot still open, Bradley let loose with his best stuff in Arizona's 3-0 win over the Reds, blanking Cincinnati for six innings on one hit.

While he did allow three walks and struck out two, Bradley was largely untouchable in what was his sixth game and fourth start of the Spring. He's tossed 22 1/3 innings, allowing just four earned runs, for an ERA of 1.61.

With his latest performance, there's a fair chance that he'll be spending at least part of this season in a major league uniform.

* * * *