DENVER _ The baseball finally came to a landing on Friday night, crashing into the last rows of the lower bowel at Coors Field. Tommy Joseph's towering home run was measured at 455 feet. And for the Phillies, it triggered a 5-3 win over Colorado and brought a measure of momentum as they play out the final stretch of the season's first half.
Joseph's three-run homer in the seventh inning capped a four-run rally. It was the team's first pinch-hit homer of the season. It was Phillies longest home run since Cameron Rupp hit a 461-foot blast last August.
Joseph was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game as he tries to pull himself out of a slump. He entered Friday batting .160 in 81 at-bats since manager Pete Mackanin named him the starting first baseman. Joseph's homer _ and the pair of multi-hit games he recorded earlier this week _ could be what he needs to right himself before the All-Star break.
The home run came just in time to put Vince Velasquez in line for the win. The right-hander struck out six batters and walked two in six innings. He allowed two runs on eight hits. He has a 2.12 ERA in his three starts since returning from the disabled list. His DL stint, which lasted nearly three weeks, was as much as Velasquez rediscovering himself as it was to rehabilitate his right biceps. The pitcher looks like he may have figured it out.
Velasquez found himself in a jam in the fourth after allowing a one-out double to Mark Reynolds. Velasquez then walked Jon Gray to put runners on first and second with two outs. He had allowed a run an inning earlier and looked to be on the verge of unraveling. Velasquez buckled down and forced Charlie Blackmon to ground out to shortstop.
He started the sixth by striking out Reynolds and forcing Nick Hundley to pop up. He was nearing 100 pitches, Velasquez knew his night was nearing a completion. He struck out Gray on four pitches, throwing three curveballs with devastating bite. Velasquez hopped off the mound before slowing to a stroll as he neared the dugout. He was taking in the final moments of another strong start.
Joseph's blast and Velasquez's arm almost went to waste in the later innings. Tyler Goeddel kept the Phillies ahead with a diving catch to end the eighth as the leftfielder somehow tracked down a shallow fly ball.
And that was after the lead was nearly coughed up in the seventh. Andrew Bailey, who joined the team in the morning when he was activated from the disabled list, recorded two outs before giving up a run. Hector Neris then walked the first batter he faced to load the bases.
The pitcher, who has been inconsistent after a strong start to the season, responded by throwing three consecutive balls to the next batter. The Phillies were one more ball away from losing their lead. Neris grooved a fastball, knowing Reynolds would take strike one. The pitcher came back with another fastball, which Reynolds pounded into the ground. Neris turned and watched as Freddy Galvis fielded it and fired to first to get the out. Neris pumped both of his fists and yanked off his cap. The inning was over, the lead was safe, and the Phillies still had some momentum.
