DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Ryan Borucki had increased velocity for a second consecutive start, but according to the Blue Jays left-hander, that's not necessarily a good thing.
Borucki was roughed up for five runs over two-plus innings in an 11-5 loss to the Phillies on Thursday afternoon. The 24-year-old allowed four hits and issued an uncharacteristic three walks while throwing 27 of his 48 pitches for strikes.
An uptick in velocity is normally considered to be positive. Pitchers design entire offseason routines around accomplishing that goal, but Borucki is not a power pitcher and doesn't care to be. He needs to get outs in other ways, and in this case, the extra speed might be a negative.
"I feel really strong," said Borucki, who averaged 91.5 mph on his fastball last season and has been sitting 94-95 in his first two spring starts. "These last couple of weeks, I have been coming in here, all of my bullpens, I've felt like it's coming out good.
"That might be a thing that I don't want. I feel like I'm at my best when I'm throwing 90-92. I can let my sink work. I feel like the harder I throw, the flatter the ball gets, and that's just not how I pitch. I need to be able to keep the ball on the ground and let my defense work."
Borucki added approximately six to eight pounds of muscle during the offseason, and that could be one reason behind the increased velocity. The southpaw also appears to be slightly overthrowing, as the nerves set in before embarking on what should turn into his first full season in the Major Leagues.
The lack of sink, and perhaps a tendency to overthrow, has led to Borucki's command issues. He prides himself on being a control pitcher, but through four innings this spring, he has issued four walks.
"I'm still trying to get my nerves out there," Borucki said. "I'm pumped up still. This whole week coming up, I'm just going to focus on throwing 85-90 percent and see if that action comes back."
Streak to end for Galvis
Freddy Galvis is the owner of Major League Baseball's longest active consecutive games streak at 325, but that impressive run is going to come to an end in the near future.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said he's not going to spend any time worrying about the streak. Montoyo explained to Galvis before he signed that Toronto would give him regular days off to accommodate younger players like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. That remains the plan.
Galvis appeared in all 162 games during each of the last two seasons. His last day off came all the way back on Oct. 1, 2016, when he was still a member of the Phillies.
"We're not breaking any records," Montoyo said. "Believe me, I appreciate that. As a guy who used to play, I appreciate that, somebody playing 162. I cannot imagine playing 162 and making nine errors. That's unbelievable. But I've already spoken to him, and he knows we're going to play somebody else, give him a day off, play Gurriel or whoever. He already knows that."
Three takeaways
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr., baseball's No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, picked up his first extra-base hit of the spring on Thursday. Guerrero hit a ball into the left-center-field gap in the bottom of the third inning and slid into second base for the double. He was later stranded and finished the afternoon 1-for-3.
"Things are going really well," Guerrero said through an interpreter. "I know I still have a lot of things to work on. ... We're working on getting stronger, getting better. I don't feel 100 percent yet, but we're working hard on getting better."
• Randal Grichuk made his spring debut at designated hitter against Philadelphia and hit a three-run homer over the wall in right field in his second at-bat. Grichuk had a delayed start to the spring as the Blue Jays wanted to take a cautious approach following previous issues with plantar fasciitis.
• Closer Ken Giles also made his spring debut, and it did not go well. Giles walked the first two batters he faced in the fifth and then served up a pair of back-to-back hits to Shane Robinson and Rob Brantly. Mitch Walding followed with another walk before Giles was pulled. He was charged with four runs without recording an out. Setup man Ryan Tepera was touched up for two runs on three hits and a walk in his lone inning, while John Axford worked a scoreless seventh inning.
Up next
Aaron Sanchez will make his Grapefruit League debut when the Blue Jays host the Pirates on Friday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET at Dunedin Stadium. Toronto is also playing a road game as part of its split-squad schedule and in that matchup that will see right-hander Sean Reid-Foley take the mound against the Braves. First pitch for that one is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.