36-year-old Scott Elarton, last seen in the majors four years ago with the Royals, started his comeback with the Phillies on Monday and pitched two perfect innings against the Yankees.
He got four groundouts and a flyout before punching out Eric Chavez to conclude his day.
Elarton picked an odd team with which to attempt his comeback, given that the Phillies already have a set rotation, two fine fallback starters in Joel Pineiro and Kyle Kendrick and a seemingly full bullpen, but he can hope to impress one of the other teams this spring.
Once a top prospect in the Astros chain, Elarton won 17 games as a 24-year-old in 2000, but shoulder problems rendered him ineffective after that. He has a lifetime record of 56-61 with a 5.29 ERA. His last year as a semi-effective starter came in 2005, when he went 11-9 with a 4.61 ERA for Cleveland.
