Phillies blanked by Cardinals in lifeless performance

The Philadelphia Phillies handed the ball to right-hander Vince Velasquez Monday and the St Louis Cardinals handed “Vinny Velo” an ‘L’. The Phillies and Velasquez were silenced on Monday night at Busch Stadium, as they lost 6-0 to the Cardinals.

Velasquez has been decent early on in the 2019 season, however the opening game of a three game set in St Louis didn’t bode well for the 26-year-old, who couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina got the scoring started for St Louis in the fourth inning, with a two-run home run to left-center field:

The following inning was the undoing for Velasquez, who watched Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter lead off the frame with a solo home run, which was followed by a two-run blast from shortstop Paul DeJong two batters later:

Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper continues to struggle at the plate, as he went 0-4 with two strikeouts. In total, the Phillies posted five hits off of Cardinals pitching. Starter Miles Mikolas went seven innings, while allowing three hits and striking out five.

With the loss, the Phillies drop to 19-15 on the year and will return to action tomorrow as they send Aaron Nola (2-0, 5.06 ERA) to the mound.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

It was not an encouraging start for Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez on Monday night. Velasquez, making his sixth start of the season, was 1-1 with a 2.73 ERA coming in. He exited in the fifth inning without recording an out after surrendering two home runs to Matt Carpenter and Paul DeJong, respectively. Earlier in the game, Velasquez gave up a two-run home run to catcher Yadier Molina. Monday’s outing bumped Velasquez’s ERA to 3.86, and he is now 1-2 on the season.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas was excellent, going seven innings and only surrendering three hits, while keeping the Phillies off the board. This stellar outing increased Mikolas’ record to 4-2 and lowered his ERA from 4.73 to 4.02.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Cardinals Catcher, Yadier Molina

Our player of the game is Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. Molina went 3-4 on the night with a two-run home run, which opened the scoring for St Louis. Molina also scored a run and called a great game behind home plate, catching Mikolas’ seven innings of no-run ball:

Next Game

• May 7th @ St Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium, 7:45 PM
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia and MLB Network (out of market only)
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

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