Roman Quinn debuts as Phillies fall to Nationals
WASHINGTON - Roman Quinn walked into the clubhouse kitchen on Sunday morning at Nationals Park wearing a pair of black tights and a sleeveless compression top.
WASHINGTON - Roman Quinn walked into the clubhouse kitchen on Sunday morning at Nationals Park wearing a pair of black tights and a sleeveless compression top.
"He looks ready to run a 4x100," Ryan Howard joked as he walked past.
Quinn sure does have the speed to anchor a relay team. And that is the one facet that makes him so exciting.
He made his major-league debut Sunday in a 3-2 loss to the Nationals. Quinn went 0 for 3 with a walk. The 23-year-old joined the Phillies along with catcher Jorge Alfaro after double-A Reading was eliminated Saturday from the Eastern League playoffs.
Quinn made a diving catch in the first inning after he misread his first fly ball in a major-league ballpark. It did not take long for the centerfielder to showcase his speed as he sprinted toward shallow center for the out.
Adam Morgan was removed in the seventh inning after walking Bryce Harper on four pitches to start Washington's decisive rally. Edubray Ramos promptly yielded a double to Anthony Rendon, scoring Harper - the go-ahead run - from first. A second run scored on a passed ball by catcher A.J. Ellis.
Morgan allowed two earned runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked two. The lefthander has rediscovered himself, thanks in part to a two-seam fastball. Morgan has allowed five earned runs in his last 182/3 innings.
"On the bright side, they can't say we're a pushover," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Our starters really battled and pitched well this whole four-game series. That's really a good sign with these young pitchers."
Tommy Joseph homered in the seventh inning to tie the score at 1 before the Nats scored twice against Ramos. Freddy Galvis homered in the eighth for his 17th home run of the season. But the Phillies could not score the tying run after Cesar Hernandez and Quinn reached base with one out. Andres Blanco ended the rally by grounding into a double play.
Quinn batted .287 with a .361 on-base percentage this season at Reading. He stole 31 bases in 71 games and has more pop in his bat than you would expect out of a 5-foot-10, 170-pounder. Quinn, as Howard observed, is built like a sprinter. He can change games with his speed and torment pitchers when he reaches base. He stole 159 bases in 356 career minor-league games.
Mackanin said that Quinn "is going to get a lot of playing time." He could provide a spark to an offense that has sputtered. The Phillies have scored two or fewer runs in four of their last five losses.
Quinn's arrival to the majors came after a series of injuries. He has yet to play a full professional season. Quinn missed nearly two months this season with a strained oblique muscle. He then suffered a concussion earlier this month and missed another week. His road to the majors was not easy, and that is what he said made Sunday feel "surreal."
"Most definitely," Quinn said. "I had a lot of setbacks with injuries and stuff like that. They set me back, but it all paid off. All the work I put in paid off and I'm glad to be here."
The Phillies will flirt with boredom over the final 18 games of a trying season. But a bit of excitement arrived when Quinn and Alfaro walked into Nationals Park on Sunday morning. Two of the team's most intriguing prospects drove together to Washington. And there are now two more reasons to watch.
@matt_breen