MIAMI _ The sixth inning arrived, with Vince Velasquez on the Marlins Park mound at 70 pitches thrown. It was this mound where, 49 days earlier, he succumbed to a sore elbow. Now Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich loomed in a tie game. It was the first test in what figures to be an important 10 weeks in the young right-hander's career.
These are the challenges he must master if he is to continue his current trajectory as a starter. He flourished in Tuesday's 5-2 Phillies win. Velasquez threw nine pitches in the sixth inning to record three tough outs. He completed six solid innings in his first start since May 30.
The Phillies could feel encouraged about their 25-year-old pitcher. They won because their 24-year-old third baseman clubbed a slider over the left-field wall. They breathed easier because their 23-year-old rookie outfielder hit a most impressive opposite-field homer.
It was a good night for the young Phillies.
Maikel Franco homered in the eighth inning to push them ahead. Nick Williams collected his second home run against a left-handed pitcher on this trip to provide two insurance runs in the ninth. Before all of that, rookie Cameron Perkins delivered a two-out single and safety squeeze to produce two Phillies runs.
And, for six innings, Velasquez kept them in it. He had not pitched since late May because of a strained right elbow. The Phillies did not have to bring him back to the majors as a starter, but they are afforded time to learn more about what Velasquez can and cannot handle.
With any Velasquez start, there was bad with the good. He attempted to sneak an inside fastball past Stanton with a 2-1 count in the first inning. Stanton did not miss it. He swatted his third homer in two nights.
Then, in the third, Velasquez fielded a swinging bunt by J.T. Riddle. Velasquez should have just kept it in his glove. Instead, he flung it toward first base. The throw was not close. It rolled up the right-field line, in foul territory, and became a two-base error. The next pitch, a low fastball, glanced Cameron Rupp's glove and skipped away. The passed ball scored the unearned run.
But Velasquez did not implode. He remained composed. He attacked the strike zone and pitched with an atypical efficiency.
Velasquez threw 79 pitches, 51 for strikes, in his six innings. He did not throw more than 17 pitches in an inning. He walked just one batter, Justin Bour, on four pitches. He struck out four Marlins. His fastball appeared healthy; it averaged 94 mph, according to Major League Baseball's Statcast. Of his 79 pitches, 55 were fastballs.
That formula will not breed long-term success as a starter, but it was good enough against the Marlins.
"I don't have an expectation," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said before the game. "My hope is that he throws strikes. Attacks hitters. Lets his stuff get them out instead of nibbling at the corners. I want him to throw strikes, whether he gets hit or not. That's what I'd like to see."
Velasquez obliged.
Pat Neshek, whose days with the Phillies are nearing an end, pitched another scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 1.17. With Chicago White Sox closer David Robertson reportedly headed to the Yankees, it'll be interesting to see if Boston _ in need of bullpen reinforcement _ turns to Neshek. The Red Sox have scouted this week's series between the Phillies and Marlins. Neshek could fit with two surprising contenders, Milwaukee and Minnesota, too.
Velasquez's next start will come Monday, at Citizens Bank Park, against the team that drafted him. The Houston Astros happen to be the best team in the American League. It will be another test for Velasquez, and he will carry some confidence into it.
