PHILADELPHIA — To anyone who has wondered why the Phillies brought back Vince Velasquez this season -- and let’s be honest, that’s pretty much everyone with even a passing interest in the team -- he authored an open letter Monday night.
Making his third start since reentering the rotation, Velasquez survived a rocky first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, held an early lead, and walked off the field after stepping on first base to record the final out of the sixth having thrown 98 pitches and with a three-run lead in tow.
There were gut-churning late-inning moments against the Phillies’ bullpen, as there almost always are for a team that hasn’t won a game by more than two runs since April 16. But closer Héctor Neris got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to nail down a five-out save in a losing-streak-stopping 4-3 victory between cloud bursts at Citizens Bank Park.
Velasquez picked up his first win since last Sept. 19 and only his second in 12 starts dating to the 2019 season. And although performances of this quality have been few and far between during his enigmatic Phillies career, and especially over the last few seasons, at least there have been others like it, which can’t be said for any of the starting pitchers who will open the season Tuesday at triple-A Lehigh Valley or double-A Reading.
Velasquez is capable of dialing up his fastball to 94 mph and retiring 10 major league hitters in a row, as he did between Avisaíl García’s two-out single in the third inning and Daniel Vogelbach’s groundout to end the sixth. There’s value in that, even though it doesn’t happen often enough for a pitcher who is making $4 million and occupying a hard-to-define role when he isn’t starting.
Playing without injured Bryce Harper (wrist), the Phillies once again generated little offense, at least beyond J.T. Realmuto’s two-run homer into the second deck in left field in the first inning and Roman Quinn’s RBI triple in the second.
Velasquez turned a 4-1 lead over to the bullpen. Rookie reliever Connor Brogdon, pressed into eighth-inning duty with José Alvarado serving a two-game suspension, loaded the bases before recording an out on a sacrifice fly, forcing manager Joe Girardi to turn to Neris.
Neris allowed one inherited run to score on a fielder’s choice, but he picked off García at first base to end the eighth inning. He gave up a leadoff double to Vogelbach in the ninth but came back to strike out Luis Urías and Luke Maile. He allowed the next two hitters to reach before finally striking out Lorenzo Cain before a water-logged announced crowd of 10,651.
The Phillies knew they would need extra starters -- and probably sooner than later in the first full season back from baseball’s pandemic summer. Sure enough, they had to place lefty Matt Moore on the COVID injury list two weeks ago. And while he rejoined the team last week and was reinstated to the active roster, the Phillies aren’t rushing him back into the rotation.
Velasquez didn’t complete five innings in either of his first two starts. But at least he kept the Phillies in the game in St. Louis on April 23 and Colorado five days later. Maybe if they could turn Spencer Howard loose this season, or if Ramon Rosso, Adonis Medina, or someone else in the upper minors had inspired more confidence, they’d have moved away from Velasquez. Instead, they tendered him a contract last November and resisted the urge to trade him away.
While the Phillies have taken one step forward and one (sometimes two) back for more than three weeks, the Brewers entered the game tied for the National League’s best record despite being inundated with injuries.
Milwaukee got Christian Yelich and Cain back from the injured list before the game, and the latter opened a 1-0 lead by taking Velasquez deep on the eighth pitch of the game. Making his third consecutive start in the rotation spot previously occupied by Moore, Velasquez threw 27 pitches in the first inning but gave up just the one run.
Velasquez navigated the bottom of the order to work around a leadoff double in the second inning and got out of a two-on, two-out spot in the third. He sailed through the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, marking only the 34th time that he completed six innings in a start for the Phillies. It was the 26th time that he went at least six innings and allowed no more than one earned run.
Neither Andrew McCutchen nor Rhys Hoskins was in the lineup against Brewers right-hander Adrian Hauser. But fill-in first baseman Brad Miller singled in the first inning and Realmuto launched a two-strike fastball out to left field for a 2-1 lead.
The Phillies took advantage of a rare miscue by the sure-handed Brewers in the second inning. Urías airmailed a throw to first for a two-base error before Quinn lined a triple to drive home Odúbel Herrera and scored on a groundout by Velasquez to make it 4-1.
