February 28, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
It was a game to watch the Toronto Blue Jays prospects shine.
And fittingly the Blue Jays’ 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in front of 6,081 fans at TD Ball Park in Dunedin, Fla., on Saturday ended with a diving catch by right-fielder RJ Schreck on a deep fly ball hit by Phillies prospect Keaton Anthony.
Schreck also tallied two runs for the Blue Jays – including a heady one in the bottom of the seventh inning when he scored from third base when Phillies catcher Paul McIntosh threw to second to try to gun down Josh Kasevich on a stolen base attempt.
Like several of the Blue Jays starters, Schreck is now headed to the World Baseball Classic where he’ll play for Israel.
But Schreck was just one of several prospects who helped propel the Blue Jays to their come-from-behind win on Saturday.
With Canadian Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) managing, the Phillies paraded out three ex-Jay relievers: Genesis Cabrera, Tim Mayza and Trevor Richards in the game’s middle innings.
It was not a happy homecoming for Mayza in particular. He entered the game in the bottom of the sixth with the Phillies leading 5-2. Left fielder Nathan Lukes led off the frame with a slow grounder to Anthony at first base that he fielded but threw wildly to Mayza attempting to cover.
The next batter, Blue Jays infield prospect Josh Rivera, belted a two-run home run to right field to make it a one-run game. After 2022 second-round pick Tucker Toman struck out, Kasevich singled to right. Riley Tirotta then cashed him in with a double to right centre.
Right-hander Jose Pena Jr. then replaced Mayza but permitted an RBI single to veteran minor leaguer Rafael Lantigua to score Tirotta to give the Blue Jays a 6-5 lead that they wouldn’t surrender.
The game marked the much-anticipated Grapefruit League debut of Blue Jays’ prized free agent signing Dylan Cease, who started and threw hard – his fastball was consistently clocked at 98-99 mph. He fanned three batters but exited with two outs in the second inning after Phillies outfielder Bryan De La Cruz belted a 431-foot home run to centre field off him.
The Blue Jays employed a starting lineup similar to the one they plan to field on Opening Day. But for many of the players – including Andres Gimenez (Venezuela), Vladimir Guerreo Jr. (Dominican Republic), Alejandro Kirk (Mexico) and Ernie Clement (U.S.) – it was their last game before joining their respective World Baseball Classic teams.
Leadoff hitter George Springer had the best day of the starters, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a run. Gimenez contributed an RBI double in the third, while Kirk added an RBI single in the same frame.
The Blue Jays used seven pitchers. Left-hander Josh Fleming picked up the win after he entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and got Liover Peguero, the first batter he faced, to ground into a double play. He followed that up with a scoreless sixth.
Relievers Angel Bastardo and Tanner Andrews followed with scoreless frames before left-hander Brendan Cellucci retired the Phillies in the ninth to earn the save.
The bulk of the Phillies’ offence came in the fifth inning. With one out, Bryce Harper belted a solo homer and after that Blue Jays reliever Connor Seabold seemed to unravel, hitting two batters and allowing an RBI triple to catcher Garrett Stubbs and a run-scoring single to Otto Kemp.
Justin Crawford, the son of former Tampa Bay Rays all-star Carl Crawford, was a standout for the Phillies in the contest. He had two hits, a walk, a stolen base and a run.
This game was played by a split squad Blue Jays team. The other Blue Jays team lost 5-1 to the New York Yankees at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.
With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 2-6 in Grapefruit League action.
They will head to Lakeland to play the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
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