Making his first Grapefruit League start for the Phillies on March 4, Roy Halladay never found himself in a jam.

At least not until the game was over.

Halladay threw 24 pitches, 21 strikes in two hitless innings against a stripped-down version of the Yankees (Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson stayed home) before a sold-out crowd at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. Among those in the stands: His 9-year-old son.

How would Halladay explain why his son missed school?

"I don't know what we called him in with," Halladay said with a smile, "but the cat might be out of the bag now."

Braden Halladay, the staunchest advocate of his dad's decision to approve a trade to the Phillies in December, was not going to miss this.

Javier Vazquez's first pitch was all too familiar to Yankees fans: a home run. After that, the right-hander provided a glimpse of what the Yankees are hoping to get from him in his return to New York: a consistent starter who will take some of the pressure off the rest of the rotation. Much to the delight of Philadelphia's vocal fans -- and some mocking Yankees supporters -- Jimmy Rollins...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Kevin Hart, vying for a spot in Pittsburgh's starting rotation, battled through one rocky inning and Ryan Church hit a two-run homer Saturday, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies played to a 3-3 tie in 10 innings.

Kevin Hart, vying for a spot in Pittsburgh's starting rotation, battled through one rocky inning and Ryan Church hit a two-run homer Saturday, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies played to a 3-3 tie in 10 innings. Hart was scheduled to pitch two innings, but left the game after tossing 38 pitches in the top of the first inning.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Jose Bautista merely looked like a clean-up hitter for the Blue Jays on Friday. Toronto manager Cito Gaston has no plans on moving him off the top of the order.

Jose Bautista merely looked like a clean-up hitter for the Blue Jays on Friday. Toronto manager Cito Gaston has no plans on moving him off the top of the order. "I think I'll leave him right where he's at," Gaston said after Bautista, the front-running candidate to be the Blue Jays' leadoff batter, knocked a home run off Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels and added a pair of...

LAKELAND, Fla. - J.P. Arencibia hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday in an exhibition game showcasing the young talent of both teams.

If first impressions are important to baseball fans in Philadelphia, new Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay aced his entry exam. Halladay's spring debut with the Phillies did nothing to kill the buzz that engulfed Philadelphia when the team dealt for the former Cy Young Award winner three months ago. Halladay got the Grapefruit League schedule under way with two near-perfect innings in the...