Fundamental 👏 Baseball 👏 Varsho 👉 Chapman 👉 Kirk
Alek Manoah pitched a gem, Peyton Williams smashed the ball, and more as the Blue Jays beat the Phillies 6-3

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2023, 21:51 EDT
Another day, another Blue Jays victory.
On Friday evening, the Philadelphia Phillies visited Dunedin, Florida to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Sadly for the visiting team (Phillies), they lost the game.
Let’s look at the player of the game, as well as some things worth mentioning.
Blue Jays Nation’s player of the game: Daulton Varsho:
Admittedly, it could have also been the starting pitcher, who we’ll get to soon, but Friday’s player of the game goes to Daulton Varsho.
Varsho had three plate appearances, reaching all three times. His first plate appearance was an RBI triple down the right field line. The second was a scorching single up the middle, before taking a walk in his final plate appearance.
It’s also worth mentioning that he started a play in the outfield where they tagged out a runner trying to score.
Varsho has three hits in his past two games (five at bats). He’s heating up at the right time.
Things worth mentioning:
Alek Manoah also deserves the player of the game, as he continues to impress in spring training. On Friday in his last spring training start, he pitched six innings, allowing three hits and an earned run, while striking out six. He finished spring training with 20.1 innings pitched, 21 strikeouts, eight walks, and an ERA of 3.10.
Here's Alek Manoah (@Alek_Manoah6)'s strikeout thread from this evening! 82.3 mph slider ties the batter up. #BlueJays
Peyton Williams’ makeup is my favourite from the 2022 Blue Jays draft class. The first baseman stands at 6’5, 255 pounds, but slashed .317/.455/.593 with 21 homers, a 16.9 K%, and a 15.7 BB% in 492 plate appearances with the University of Iowa. He also has a ton of raw power, evident in his 110.9 mph double on Friday.
Trent Thornton looked solid in his limited outing. He struck out his batter on four pitches, but he did it with runners at the corners. There’s a good chance he’ll pitch for the Blue Jays at some point in 2023, but he’ll likely start the season in Triple-A.
It was double central as Brandon Belt, Whit Merrifield, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Kevin Kiermaier, and Peyton Williams all hit doubles, while Varsho hit a triple. Sadly, there were no home runs on Friday evening.
There are just four more games remaining in spring training, and less than a week before opening day! Saturday’s game will also be an evening game, as they’ll take on the Detroit Tigers at 6:07 PM. It’ll be on Sportsnet and MLB.tv.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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