CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Odúbel Herrera made his spring debut in the Phillies' 13-5 loss to the Astros on Saturday, going 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

Herrera was in the lineup as the designated hitter and narrowly missed a home run in his second at-bat against Astros right-hander Brad Peacock. He looked smooth running from home to second base on the first real test of the left hamstring strain that has kept him out all spring.

“It felt pretty good and I felt happy to be back on the field with my teammates, doing my thing,” Herrera said.

He added that he ran at approximately 75 percent of his normal speed on the double, but said he’s amped up his rehab in recent days to get ready for his return.

“I’ve done a lot of things [in rehab],” Herrera said. “Stretch, do some exercises, do some cardio and some track work.”

Herrera looked comfortable at the plate and said he wasn’t worried about his timing being off despite the missed time.

“I’ve been working in the cage, I’ve been on the Minor League side facing some pitchers too,” Herrera said. “I feel that I’ve been doing my work. I don’t feel like I’m where I want to be, but I’m not concerned at all.”

Herrera isn’t sure when he’ll be back in the lineup or when he’ll start a game in the field, but manager Gabe Kapler said it will be "sooner than later.”

“He’s not far,” Kapler said. “The next couple of days.”

Nola can't get out of third

Phillies starter Aaron Nola had some command issues in his third spring start and once again failed to get past three innings.

He gave up two runs on four hits and walked three in 2 2/3 innings. Nola threw 64 pitches and found himself in several long battles with Astros hitters determined to make him work.

“I was getting them to two strikes, but their approach was pretty good with two strikes. They made me pitch,” Nola said. “They made me throw some balls. They got themselves back in counts. I was missing just a little bit. I didn’t feel like I was missing by much, but missing a little bit.”

Nola did some additional work on the back fields to get his pitch count for the day up to 75. Kapler said Nola's next start would be in a Minor League game.

“We got him to his 75-pitch mark,” Kapler said. “We’re going to really build his volume [in the Minor League start]. We want to get up to somewhere in the vicinity of 90 pitches so he has his volume built for Opening Day.”

Realmuto goes yard

J.T. Realmuto was a bright spot at the plate once again, hitting a massive home run to right field in the third inning to follow up Herrera’s double.

“J.T. has been a really exciting force in the batter’s box,” Kapler said. “He’s pretty patient, but it’s not like he’s passive at all. He’s super aggressive on fastballs ahead in the count and he demonstrated his power today. That was nice to see.”

Realmuto has also gotten high marks from the pitching staff on working with them and putting together game plans.

“He’s really devoted himself to getting to know our pitchers,” Kapler added.

Arano struggles

Victor Arano let all six batters he faced reach base and didn’t record an out as part of the Astros’ nine-run fifth inning.

Arano was charged with six earned runs, but Kapler said his velocity looked good and there was no reason to be concerned.

“Not concerned about him at all -- 95-96 [mph], arm speed is there, the physical package is there,” Kapler said. “He’s working on keeping his front side closed a little bit more so he can land his slider for a strike. Sometimes Spring Training is for working some of the kinks out.”

Up next

Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff will make his second appearance of the spring and his first start on Sunday when the Phillies host the Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET. Left-hander James Paxton will be on the mound for the Yankees.