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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays win second game of Spring Training with 7-5 victory over Phillies
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Photo credit: © Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 28, 2026, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 28, 2026, 16:22 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays have finally picked up their second win in Spring Training.
On Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jays played a split-squad game. They fell 5-1 to the New York Yankees, but were able to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 7-5. We’ll look at the victory in this Instant Reaction, while you can read the other one here.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, as Bryan De La Cruz hit a home run off Dylan Cease. They added a second run in the top of the third, as Kyle Schwarber hit an RBI single to drive in Justin Crawford to make it 2-0.
In the bottom half of the third, the Blue Jays tied the game. They cut the lead in half thanks to Andrés Giménez’s second double of the season, splitting the gap. Alejandro Kirk hit an RBI single with an exit velocity of 103.4 mph.
Moving to the top of the fifth, the Phillies restored their two-run lead and then some. Bryce Harper hit a home run to give them the lead back, which was followed up by an RBI triple from Garrett Stubbs. Otto Kemp then hit a single to give the Phillies a 5-2 lead.
The Blue Jays had a big inning in the bottom of the sixth. Nathan Lukes reached on an error to lead-off the inning, then was replaced by RJ Schreck on the bases. Prospect Josh Rivera stepped up to the plate, hitting his first home run of Spring Training to cut the Phillies’ lead to one.
But the Jays didn’t stop there. After Tucker Toman struck out, Josh Kasevich hit a single, then was scored thanks to a double by Riley Tirotta. Rafael Lantigua’s RBI single gave the Blue Jays their first lead of the game, making it 6-5.  In the bottom of the seventh, the Jays played some small ball, as Kasevich walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. Kasevich stopped in the basepaths, stealing second, with the hesitation allowing Schreck to steal home.

Takeaways…

This was the first look at Dylan Cease in a Blue Jays jersey. It was a very Cease-esque game, as he went one and two-thirds innings with three strikeouts, a walk, and a home run allowed. The right-handed pitcher generated 8 whiffs, with his fastball reaching 98.9 mph and averaging 97.4 mph.
Josh Fleming had a solid outing coming out of the bullpen, striking out two in an inning and two-thirds. Angel Bastardo struck out a batter in his inning of work, and Tanner Andrews struck out two in his inning of work.
There were quite a handful of old friends that came out of the Phillies bullpen. Génesis Cabrera pitched a scoreless inning, Tim Mayza gave up four runs, two of which were earned, and Trevor Richards walked three and gave up an earned run in his inning of work.
There were some solid defensive plays from the Blue Jays prospects in this one. Entering the game in right field, Yohendrick Piñango made a nice diving catch for the second out of the sixth inning. In the following inning, Josh Kasevich made one of the better catches you’ll see from a shortstop, running into the outfield to catch the ball with his back turned to home plate.
The best defensive play of the day was the final day of the play. A ball went out to left field, with Schreck initially losing it in the sun, but once he found it, dove is a similar fashion to Davis Schneider’s catch last August to win the game.
Kasevich got it done with the bat as well, drawing two walks and hitting a single. The biggest hit from the replacements was Josh Rivera’s home run that kicked off the rally. Acquired in the Nate Pearson trade, Rivera spent the 2025 season mainly with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. The Jays hit two doubles in this game, Andrés Giménez and Riley Tirotta. Rafael Lantigua, Ernie Clement, Brandon Valenzuela all had a single, while George Springer hit two singles.
This was the Blue Jays’ first victory in Spring Training since the opener last Saturday. With the win, they are now 2-6-1 this spring, having lost the other game by a score of 5-1 to the Yankees.
Next up for the Blue Jays is a game against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, with a start time of 1:05 PM ET. Unlike the last game between the two teams, this one will be televised, likely because Tarik Skubal is expected to pitch. The Blue Jays’ expected starter is prospect Grant Rogers.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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