Phillies lose to Marlins for fourth straight time this season
The Phillies had just four hits and struck out 11 times. They have lost four-straight to the Marlins, the owners of the National League’s worst record.
MIAMI — A few moments earlier, Vince Velasquez had rounded first base with his right hand pointed to the sky as his first-career homer landed in front of a sparsely-filled section of Marlins Park.
Gabe Kapler let Velasquez bat Friday night in the fifth inning of a 6-2 loss to the Marlins and the pitcher rewarded him by driving in the team’s first runs. A keen decision was followed by a sweet swing. But just moments later, Velasquez was walking off the mound with his head dipped after an empty night.
Velasquez allowed four runs in 4⅓ innings. Velasquez surely did not do enough to carry the Phillies, but he still managed to keep them within striking distance. But striking distance was not good enough.
“It wasn’t Vince’s best performance,” manager Gabe Kapler said.
The Phillies flew to Miami on Thursday night with a bamboo plant under the care of rookie reliever J.D. Hammer. They placed the plant — which they credited for bringing them good luck before this week’s sweep of the Mets — in the center of the visiting clubhouse at Marlins Park. But the plant’s fortune ran out. The Phillies ended a four-game winning streak with a dud.
They had just four hits and struck out 11 times. Scott Kingery, Bryce Harper, and J.T. Realmuto each had multiple strikeouts. They had just three chances with runners in scoring position. The Phillies homered 12 times in four games against the Mets, but limped against the Marlins.
They have lost four straight to the Marlins, the owners of the National League’s worst record. The Marlins are 6-5 this season against the Phillies, but 7-20 against the rest of the National League East.
The Phillies were feeling the heat five days ago on the heels of a seven-game losing streak. But then they swept the Mets. They traded that heat this weekend for the humidity in South Florida. But the heat will surely return if they can’t survive this weekend. A good series against the free-falling Mets can only buy a team so much goodwill.
“Part of my job is to understand that throughout a 162-game season, you’re going to have ups and you’re going to have downs,” said general manager Matt Klentak, who flew with the team to Miami. “When you get swept, it’s bad. And when you sweep an opponent, it’s great. But that’s part of going through a long season. In the same way that last week we were talking about maintaining perspective, I think we have to do the same thing coming off four good games against the Mets. Shift our focus to the Marlins and take care of business this weekend and then move on to the next one.”
The Phillies do not have a fifth starter, which is a problem for a team with playoff aspirations. Kapler said before Friday’s start that he challenged Velasquez to “take hold of this spot in the rotation.” The Phillies, Kapler said, want Velasquez to “make it unequivocally clear” that the final rotation spot belongs to him.
The righthander was a mainstay in the starting rotation for the last three seasons. He had flaws, but he showed enough promise for the Phillies to dream on. That rope ran short last month when the team moved him to the bullpen but that transition lasted just a few weeks because the Phillies did not have a fifth starter.
Velasquez’s two-run homer put the Phillies within a run, but then he started the bottom of the fifth by walking the opposing pitcher. The Marlins jumped on him for another run and Kapler came to the mound.
“It’s frustrating to go out there and only get four innings in and to not really seal the deal,” Velasquez said. “Hopefully, I can bounce back from this and get another opportunity.”
The Phillies hoped Friday that Velasquez would give them six or seven innings. Instead, he failed to get through five. Velasquez has made nine starts this season and has a 4.83 ERA. He threw 84 pitches Friday night as he labored through a lineup that entered with an OPS of .708.
The Phillies did not have a hit until Maikel Franco slapped a one-out double in the fifth. Velasquez had already given up three runs. The Phillies had reliever Ranger Suarez warming up in the bullpen. Velasquez slapped the weight off his bat, left the on-deck circle, and peeked back at Kapler. The manager told him to keep going toward the plate. Soon, he’d be rounding first base. And then he’d be walking off the mound.
“I was kind of overly excited to hit one,” Velasquez said. “But it’s very frustrating to go out there and walk the leadoff hitter, especially the pitcher. That was a big backfire. I take the L on myself by not getting out of that inning.”