DUNEDIN, Fla. -- It seemed to Gabe Kapler that the Blue Jays expected Mark Leiter to throw his splitter Wednesday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game at Dunedin Stadium. They could not stop themselves from swinging at it.
"That's the sign of a really good pitch," the Phillies' manager said after the 7-1 loss. "I don't know how much attention you've paid to vintage, in-his-prime Joel Peralta, but starting to see some similarities there, both in the tenacity and the smarts, the watching hitters and the execution of pitches."
Leiter, 26, struck out five batters in two scoreless innings in a wildly successful and efficient appearance.