Velasquez gets ball as Phillies look to stop suddenly-hot Rockies

The Philadelphia Phillies entered their four-game set with the Colorado Rockies Thursday evening already with five more wins than the Rockies. The Rockies also hadn’t won a single game at Coors Field in 2019.

And yet, you got the feeling that the Phillies weren’t catching the Rockies at a great time.

The Rockies entered their weekend set with the Phillies having won three consecutive games. After defeating the Phillies 6-2 Thursday night, the Rockies have now won four games in a row and no longer have a goose egg in the “wins at home” column. The Rockies have won one of the National League’s two Wild Card spots in each of the last two seasons, so it only felt like a matter of time before Bud Black’s squad snapped out of a surprisingly slow start.

Six shutout innings from Kyle Freeland helped the Rockies to take the first game of the series Thursday, and things won’t get any easier for the Phillies Friday evening. While they’ll send Vince Velasquez to the mound in game two of the series, the Rockies will counter with 24-year-old righty German Marquez, who posted a 4.2 fWAR across 196.0 innings a season ago.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Phillies-Rockies Friday evening tilt:

Phillies Lineup

1. Andrew McCutchen, left field
2. Scott Kingery, shortstop
3. Bryce Harper, right field
4. Rhys Hoskins, first base
5. J.T. Realmuto, catcher
6. Cesar Hernandez, second base
7. Roman Quinn, center field
8. Maikel Franco, third base
9. Vince Velasquez, pitcher

Rockies Lineup

1. Charlie Blackmon, right field
2. David Dahl, left field
3. Nolan Arenado, third base
4. Trevor Story, shortstop
5. Ryan McMahon, first base
6. Ian Desmond, center field
7. Garrett Hampson, second base
8. Tony Wolters, catcher
9. German Marquez, pitcher

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

• Vince Velasquez (0-0, 2.25 ERA and 4.69 FIP) vs. German Marquez (2-1, 2.00 ERA and 3.59 FIP)
• Velasquez is 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA in three career starts at Coors Field.
• Marquez made two starts against the Phillies in 2018. On June 14, he allowed six runs on seven hits in six innings at Citizens Bank Park. However, as part of a series where the Rockies outscored the Phillies 39-7, Marquez pitched seven scoreless innings against the Phillies on Sept. 26 in Denver. In total, he posted a 4.15 ERA across the two starts.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

1. Rhys Hoskins has zero hits in his last 11 at-bats.
2. The Phillies World Series odds currently sit at +1000, which is tied with the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox for the fourth best odds in the sport.
3. While much has been made of Scott Kingery’s recent success, Cesar Hernandez has nine hits in his last 18 at-bats. Since last Saturday, Hernandez’s average has risen nearly .100 points, as it’s gone from .178 on April 13 to .270 entering tonight’s game.
4. Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is just two seasons removed from winning the National League’s batting title, but has just 17 hits in his first 77 at-bats of 2019.
5. While Bryce Harper has just two hits in his last 14 at-bats, he’s still reached base in all 18 games the Phillies have played in 2019.

Programming Information

• 8:40 p.m. on Friday April 19 at Coors Field
• NBC Sports Philadelphia, Facebook Watch (outside of Philadelphia market)
• SportsRadio 94 WIP

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