Categories: 2021 Postgame Recaps

Phillies bullpen holds on for dear life in win against Marlins

Final Score: Phillies 4, Marlins 3

Remember when Vince Velasquez gave up seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings of a 19-11 loss to the Marlins in 2019?

Connor Brogdon walked two and struck out two in Tuesday’s win against the Marlins. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

Tonight probably isn’t the best night to bring that up. For the second time this season, Velasquez had his best outing of the year against Miami. He’s thrown a combined 13 shutout innings against the Fish and went seven innings for the first time in a start since Aug. 5, 2019.

The bullpen didn’t ruin the game. Well, they almost did. Connor Brogdon and José Alvarado combined to walk three batters and surrender three runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Adam Duvall’s two-run home run in the ninth evoked some familiar feelings for the more than 18,000 Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park. But to the delight of many, Alvarado was able to shut the doors.

Top Plays

Rhys Hoskins, who has struggled defensively in June, made a neat catch on a foul ball that approached the camera wells. Nice save by the security supervisor. It would have been ugly if Hoskins fell over.

One of the hottest hitters in baseball got it started for the Phillies in the first. Andrew McCutchen’s bloop single into left field gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. After going 13 games without allowing an earned run in the first inning of a start, Rogers has let the opposing team score in the first frame for the second consecutive outing.

Both starters cruised through the middle innings. Velasquez retired 13 consecutive hitters from the third to seventh innings. Rogers set down eight straight opposing hitters from the second through fourth innings.
Hoskins crushed his second-career home run against Rogers to left-center on a hanging changeup in the sixth. His first extra-base hit since June 22 broke an 0-for-23.

Odúbel Herrera came off the bench in the seventh inning to pinch-hit for Luke Williams and doubled off the wall in right-center field, scoring Brad Miller from second. The Phillies center fielder came around to score on Marlins reliever Anthony Bender’s third wild pitch of the inning. Per the Marlins, Herrera’s RBI marked the end of Bender’s 22 inning scoreless streak to begin his career. It was the fifth-longest streak in MLB history.

Brogdon and Alvarado combined to walk three batters and strike out two in the eighth. The first Marlins run of the night scored on an Alvarado wild pitch. Shortly afterwards, the officiating crew directed the Phillies lefty to wipe the rosin off his non-throwing arm. It’s what he usually does out of habit. With MLB’s new foreign substance crackdown, that is no longer allowed.

Adam Duvall homered to make it a one-run game in the ninth. Fans in the Hall of Fame club level yelled,”Take him out, Joe.” Joe Girardi did not listen to them. Alvarado would eventually get the final out of the ninth.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Trevor Rogers: 5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR, 99 pitches

Rogers has had an excellent season so far. He’ll probably get a few Rookie of the Year votes by the end of the year. Through 18 1/3 innings against the Phillies this year, Rogers has struck out 22 Philadelphia hitters. He threw a season-high 99 pitches. Marlins manager Don Mattingly has stretched Rogers against the Phillies once before and it worked, so he felt comfortable with the left-hander facing Hoskins for the third time. It turned out to be the wrong decision as the Phillies first baseman homered off of him.

Vince Velasquez: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 97 pitches

Velasquez came out and attacked a struggling Marlins lineup. He located well against right-handed hitters. A six-pitch fourth inning did wonders to keep his pitch count down. Perhaps Girardi could have taken a risk and batted Velasquez in the seventh and have him attempt to get an out in the eighth inning for the first time as a starter since his 16 strikeout performance against the Padres in 2016. We’ll have to wait another day for that.

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