Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Vince Velasquez had another poor and short outing.

He did it again last night as the right-hander gave up five runs on four hits with five walks in four innings as the Phillies were shut out by the Cardinals 6-0.

He actually had a no-hitter going into the fourth inning with only two walks and a strikeout. But he got into his first trouble in the fourth when he walked Jose Martinez and gave up a home run to Yadier Molina. After another walk to Kolten Wong, Velasquez struck out the next two batters after a mound visit.

And then things went further south. Matt Carpenter hit a lead-off homer in the fifth, followed by a Paul Goldschmidt single and another two run homer by Paul DeJong. That would be Velasquez’s night. Edgar Garcia, who was recently called up from Lehigh Valley, finished the inning and gave up two hits and a run on a sac fly.

The offense didn’t do much better, mustering only five hits, three of them in seven innings against starter Miles Mikolas.

With questions about Velasquez beginning to arise yet again, another pitcher looks to fix his woes. Aaron Nola takes the mound tonight against Dakota Hudson in the second game of their three-game series with the Cardinals. First pitch is at 7:45 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Off the field, a woman tried to send an Instagram message to Bryce Harper. She got a Harper, but not Bryce. It didn’t end well.

The Roundup:


After Sunday’s Game 4 loss to the Raptors, the Sixers head back up north to Toronto to take on the Raptors in Game 5 tonight at 8 PM on TNT. Will we see an aggressive Ben Simmons this time around?

Is it a big deal that Joel Embiid was out watching Trevor Noah’s show the night before Game 4? In my opinion, no.

Speaking of Embiid, Stephen A. Smith has a take on him.


The Flyers hired former head coaches Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo as assistant coaches on Alain Vigneault’s staff. It could say a lot about the team moving forward.


In other sports news, the Rockets tied their series with the Warriors at two game each, while Milwaukee took a 3-1 series lead over Boston.

The Bruins defeated the Blue Jackets to take the series win, while Gabriel Landeskog and the Avalanche will force a Game 7 against the Sharks.

The PA Gaming Control Board held a hearing on the potential casino and hotel at the sports complex.

Tony Bruno called a $500,000 Kentucky Derby Superfecta, but didn’t bet on them.


In the news, Zahav was named the best restaurant in the country at the James Beard Awards. One of their cocktails is called “Wu Tang Clan.”

Another dead whale washed up along the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s the ninth time that’s happened since March.