Velasquez dazzles as Phillies beat Mets, 1-0, for first win

NEW YORK - The temperature hovered at 40 degrees, and a stiff wind made it feel even colder inside Citi Field on Saturday night. The Phillies unpacked an old duffel bag labeled "MITTENS." Some players wore ski masks. Others donned hoodies.

But there was Vince Velasquez, a brash, 23-year-old Californian, in short sleeves. His tattooed right arm, filled with promise, was bare for the baseball world to see. And, after six dominant innings against the defending National League champions, a modicum of hope darted back to Philadelphia.

Phillies 1, Mets 0.

"I had to come out and make a statement," Velasquez said, "and try to help a team get the first win."

What was that statement? "Just go out there," he said, "and dominate."

He did that in six exceptional innings with nine strikeouts. The Phillies avoided the franchise's worst start to a season since 1934 because of Velasquez. They won because the bullpen - finally - did its job. They won because 36-year-old Ryan Howard crushed an 88-mph fastball from 42-year-old Bartolo Colon.

For one night, they could bask in the immediate results and dream about the future.

"It's almost like he pitches with a chip on his shoulder," Howard said of Velasquez. "He said he wanted to make a statement. What better way to do it than he did tonight?"

Velasquez, the centerpiece of the Ken Giles trade, was that good. He spotted his 95-mph fastball on the corners. Two-thirds of his 99 pitches were fastballs. No Mets runner advanced past second base, and few of the balls they hit were hard.

Those nine strikeouts were the most for a pitcher in his Phillies debut since Roy Halladay fanned nine in 2010.

The bullpen did not blow it. Hector Neris and Daniel Stumpf survived the seventh, which featured a Howard fielding gaffe and a dramatic sliding backhanded catch by Peter Bourjos. David Hernandez struck out two in the eighth.

Jeanmar Gomez, the newly minted closer, earned the second save of his career with a six-pitch ninth. At 9:54 p.m., Wilmer Flores lined out to Freddy Galvis. The Phillies could smile.

"I knew we were going to win," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, "as soon as Freddy caught that last ball."

For Velasquez, the beginning of his Phillies career was inauspicious. His first 16 pitches were fastballs. He needed 26 pitches to record the first three outs, and 21 of them were fastballs. He kept digging his spikes into the Citi Field mound, and he looked like an anxious pitcher.

"It was cold weather," Velasquez said. "My hand was drying up a little bit, so I had to lick it, do something. I had to figure something out to get out of that inning."

He did. Mackanin had enough confidence in Velasquez (or fear of his bullpen) to send his starter out for the sixth inning at 89 pitches. Velasquez struck out Lucas Duda. Neil Walker flied to right. Michael Conforto popped a 93-mph fastball to shortstop. The 10-pitch inning was the quickest of Velasquez's night.

"It was fun to watch," Mackanin said. "He's going to be a good one. It's obvious."

When the ball fell into Galvis' glove for the 27th out, Velasquez joined his teammates for the season's first handshakes. Now he had a puffy red jacket and a Phillies tocque. On the mound, he wore short sleeves, because that is what he always does.

"I couldn't change anything because it was cold," Velasquez said.

Well, except for one thing. He stuck hand warmers in his back pants pockets, and that is the secret of how the 2016 Phillies won their first game.

"I touched my butt a little bit," Velasquez said, "and proceeded to pitch."

mgelb@philly.com

@MattGelb