Odúbel Herrera singles, steals a base in Phillies’ 4-2 loss to Blue Jays

Odúbel Herrera pulled on a Phillies uniform -- his familiar No. 37, no less -- Tuesday, 608 days after walking out of Atlantic City Municipal Court, and played in a spring-training game under the sun in Dunedin, Fla.

If this really was a second chance at having a major-league career, he made the most of it.

Herrera went 1-for-3 with a single and a stolen base in the Phillies’ 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He batted fifth, played right field, and made a nice catch on Bo Bichette’s sharp line drive in the third inning.

“He looked pretty normal for his first game, I thought,” manager Joe Girardi said.

This wasn’t normal, though. It marked Herrera’s first game for the Phillies since May 26, 2019. He was arrested the following day on domestic violence charges and later suspended by Major League Baseball for the remainder of the season after his 20-year-old girlfriend declined to press charges.

Herrera agreed to attend counseling. The Phillies nevertheless removed him from the 40-man roster last year before spring training.

» READ MORE: Odúbel Herrera returns to the Phillies lineup today vs. the Blue Jays

Herrera, 29, is in the Phillies’ spring-training minicamp. He will get other opportunities to play in spring-training games. But although the Phillies are auditioning center fielders, Herrera is behind at least Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Scott Kingery, and probably Mickey Moniak and nonroster invitee Travis Jankowski, on the depth chart.

Zack Wheeler’s first start of the spring went about as smoothly as possible.

Facing at least two-thirds of the Blue Jays’ projected opening-day lineup -- George Springer, Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Cavan Biggio -- Wheeler worked out of a two-on, one-out situation in the first inning and overcame a leadoff walk in the second. He threw 37 pitches and faced nine batters in two innings.

» READ MORE: Phillies are giving Odubel Herrera ‘chance to prove himself’ after domestic violence arrest

Young left-hander Bailey Falter was unable to complete the fourth inning. He allowed a leadoff homer to Gurriel, and after back-to-back strikeouts, gave up a double to Jonathan Davis, an RBI single to Josh Palacios, and a walk on a full-count pitch to No. 9-hitting Reese McGuire.

Darick Hall tied the game for the Phillies with a two-run double in the fifth inning, the exclamation mark on a rally that began with Herrera’s single against Blue Jays right-hander A.J. Cole.

But the Blue Jays won the abbreviated game in the sixth inning against reliever Cristopher Sanchez, who faced five batters and didn’t record an out. After Kevin Smith led off with a double, Sanchez walked Austin Martin and Richard Urena, hit Riley Adams with a pitch, and walked Philip Clarke, bringing an end to the game.

The Phillies will travel to Lakeland, Fla., to face the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.