Morgan sets tone as Phillies blank Yankees

TAMPA, Fla. -- Ryan Howard and Cesar Hernandez drove in runs to chase CC Sabathia early and the Phillies held on for a 3-0 Grapefruit League victory over the Yankees on Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Philadelphia left-hander Adam Morgan blanked the Yankees on one hit over four innings, marking his third start of the spring. Morgan walked one and struck out two.
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"It's always encouraging when you throw good," Morgan said. "But you can't get too high, you can't get too low. So right now, I'm just staying the course."

New York committed three errors behind Sabathia, including one by the veteran hurler himself, leading to three runs (two earned). Scheduled to throw three innings, Sabathia completed just 1 2/3, permitting five hits while throwing 29 of 49 pitches for strikes.
It was the second spring start for the former Cy Young Award winner, who is competing for the fifth spot in New York's rotation.
"I think just my control, I was kind of off with the two-seamer," Sabathia said. "I think the cutter was working good, but I got into some counts and couldn't put some guys away. I've got some work to do as far as that goes."

Yankees catcher Brian McCann left the game after two innings due to a bruise on the inside of his left knee. McCann was caught by the ricochet of a Sabathia pitch that hit Howard, but said he would have stayed in the game had it been a regular-season contest.
Michael Pineda (three innings) and Aroldis Chapman (one) had scoreless outings for the Yanks.

Up next for the Phillies:Alec Asher, who was acquired from the Rangers last July as part of the Cole Hamels trade, will make his third Grapefruit League appearance, and second start, against the Orioles on Monday at Ed Smith Stadium. First pitch is 1:05 p.m. ET (listen to an exclusive webcast). Severino Gonzalez, Ernesto Frieri and Edward Mujica are also scheduled to pitch. Asher made his Major League debut for the Phillies last season and made seven starts.
Up next for the Yankees: Following an off-day on Monday, the Yankees are back in action under the lights on Tuesday, traveling to meet the Red Sox for a 6:05 p.m. ET start in Fort Myers, Fla. (watch the game on MLB.TV). Right-hander Ivan Nova will make his third spring start and is scheduled to throw four innings or 60 pitches. The Red Sox will give the ball to left-hander David Price.