DUNEDIN — The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 on Saturday in their Grapefruit League opener at TD Ballpark.
Daulton Varsho, who started at designated hitter, opened the scoring with a solo home run in the fifth inning, and first baseman Sean Keys added a two-run shot in the sixth.
Eric Lauer started on the mound and Toronto’s pitching staff held Philadelphia to four hits over nine shutout innings, while the Blue Jays recorded nine hits off Phillies pitching.
It was Toronto’s first game since a 5-4 extra innings loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.
The off-season brought significant change in Toronto, with all-star shortstop Bo Bichette leaving for the New York Mets in free…