DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Phillies got the news they needed on Tuesday.
They will have fans at Citizens Bank Park in 2021.
This week, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia loosened capacity limits to outdoor events to 20 percent, meaning 8,800 fans will be permitted to attend Phillies games at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils announced that tickets to the first 19 regular-season games will be offered initially to season-ticket holders. The public will have the opportunity to purchase remaining tickets beginning March 12 at Phillies.com.
Tickets for the remaining 62 games will go on sale in early April.
“I think it’s great,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said following Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. “As much as we got used to [no fans in 2020], you truly miss it. You really miss the fans. Eighty-eight hundred is a start, right? It’s like a sign, like, hey, we’re making some progress here. And hopefully, it continues to grow as the months go on and we get more and more.”
The Phillies said the amount of tickets sold for games may increase or decrease as health conditions evolve. The team said fans will be seated in pods of two, three and four people, with limited pods available for five to six people. Fans 2 years and older must wear a mask over their nose and mouth once inside the ballpark, other than while eating or drinking at their seats.
The Phillies said the ballpark will be cleaned and disinfected before, during and after games by a newly created “Clean Team,” using processes and products approved by the CDC and EPA. Hand-sanitizing stations will be widely available throughout the ballpark.
The Phillies had 1,886 fans at Monday’s Grapefruit League home opener at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. It went well, and players remarked at how much they enjoyed having fans back in the stands.
Bohm flashes the glove
Alec Bohm made a few nice defensive plays at third base Tuesday, including one in the first inning when he charged the ball, barehanded it and threw out Marcus Semien at first base.
“[Moving] left, right, in -- he made some really good plays,” Girardi said. “That’s encouraging. We made it a focus: We’re going to do everything we can to get better infield defense-wise. He was great today.”
Innings are cooler than strikeouts
Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler threw two scoreless innings in his spring debut. He has talked previously about his ability last season to induce weak contact early in the count at the expense of strikeouts. He still has the stuff to pile up strikeouts, if he chooses, but he prefers pitching deeper in games rather than racking up strikeouts and getting pulled early due to higher pitch counts.
It seems everybody gets strikeouts these days. Not as many pitchers pitch deep.
In fact, innings are almost a cooler stat these days.
“I kind of feel the same way,” Wheeler said of focusing on innings pitched over strikeouts. “It’s old school, right? I feel like, now, it’s old school.”
Extra bases
• Adam Haseley and Scott Kingery each went 1-for-3. They are competing with Roman Quinn and Odúbel Herrera for the job in center field. Haseley started in left field, while Kingery started in center.
• First baseman Darick Hall, who is a non-roster player in minicamp, had a double and two RBIs.
• Right-hander Zach Eflin will make his spring debut on Wednesday afternoon against the Tigers in Lakeland. Shortstop Didi Gregorius will make his spring debut.