PHILADELPHIA _ The baseball dropped Friday night in front of Vince Velasquez as the go-ahead run rounded third base. Velasquez, a pitcher, was in the outfield in the 15th inning while Roman Quinn, an outfielder, was on the mound because baseball tends to get weird when the game bleeds into the early morning.
An inning earlier, Velasquez threw a runner out at home. And if the Phillies were to avoid a 4-3 loss to the White Sox, they would need him to again. Instead, Leury Garcia managed to slide just past the tag. Velasquez, who seemed to throw a fastball from left field, watched the replay on the scoreboard as the umpires upheld the call after a review.
The Phillies, in the midst of a wild-card race, were forced to have a position player pitch in the 14th inning of a tie game because they ran out of relievers. Their bullpen, already shorthanded by Hector Neris' suspension, had just six able relievers because Ranger Suarez was unable to pitch on consecutive days.
Juan Nicasio and Jose Alvarez combined to blow the lead in the ninth after Alvarez came a strike from securing a win. Zach Eflin and Blake Parker each pitched two perfect innings of relief. But the Phillies lineup left the bases loaded three times and allowed a game to get weird.
The White Sox intentionally walked Bryce Harper in the first to load the bases for J.T. Realmuto, who grounded into an inning-ending double play. They loaded them again in the seventh by intentionally walking Rhys Hoskins but Harper and Realmuto struck out against lefthander Aaron Bummer. An inning later, the Phillies again loaded the bases. Once more, they came up empty.
Those missed chances seemed destined to bite the Phillies. They finally did.
Before Nicasio and Alvarez stumbled in the ninth, Jason Vargas and Nick Pivetta bailed the offense out. Vargas made his Phillies debut by allowing just two runs _ both of which scored on a homer in the third _ in 61/3 innings. Not one pitch reached 85 mph, but Vargas still struck out five batters and induced plenty of weak contact. He retired 10 batters in order after Jose Abreu blasted that homer in the third.
The Phillies have plugged their rotation in the last two weeks with two veteran lefthanders who came with little cost. And so far, the results are welcomed. Three days earlier, Smyly pitched seven shutout innings. The Phillies have used Smyly and Vargas for three starts and the pitchers have a combined 1.40 ERA. The Phillies will take that.
Vargas became the 32nd pitcher this season to throw a pitch for the Phillies, which set a franchise record. A revolving door of arms does not seem to be an ideal way to reach the postseason, especially in a season that began with plans for October.
But the team's pitching plans have not gone according to plan. Two pitchers who began the season in the starting rotation are in the bullpen. And six pitchers who began the season in the bullpen are on the injured list. Yet the Phillies are still managing to stay in a wild card race.
It may not be sustainable to bank on Vargas pitching into the seventh inning every fifth day. But that's what he did on Friday. The high-leverage situations designed for the experienced relievers _ like a runner on third with no outs in the eighth inning of a one-run game _ may not always be tackled by Nick Pivetta. But that's what he did on Friday. The Phillies have little choice.
It is not a surprise that the team's pitching has been tested this season after they chose last winter to not upgrade their starting rotation. But it was difficult to imagine their problems being this deep. And perhaps it is harder to believe that despite the rotation shortcomings and bullpen injuries, the Phillies are still in a wild-card race with eight weeks left.
In order to emerge from that race, they'll need more pitching performances like the ones they received Friday from Pivetta and Vargas. Two weeks ago, Vargas was pitching for the New York Mets and Pivetta was being told he was moving to the bullpen. Now, they both stand to play important roles in the final stretches of postseason chase. A season built around hitting could be decided by the Phillies having enough pitching. They did on Friday, until they had use a pitcher in left field and an outfielder on the mound.
