They weren’t going to win ’em all. Everybody knew that. Still, it didn’t make a sloppy 8-4 setback, one in which eight walks issued by Phillies pitching led directly to six New York runs, any easier to digest.
Marcus Stroman dominated early, Vince Velasquez imploded late, and a Phillies offense that is still searching for a breakout performance didn’t have enough juice to complete a second late-inning rally in as many nights.
Let’s run through what went down and what lies ahead after the Phillies’ first loss of the season.
You could say that things didn’t go well for Vince Velasquez in his season debut!
After needing just 14 pitches to strikeout the side in the sixth inning, Velasquez unraveled in the seventh when he threw 26 pitches (just nine for strikes), walked four batters, and was eventually charged with four earned runs.
His efforts helped the Mets create enough distance that by the time the Phillies’ offense flickered some temporary signs of life in the seventh and eighth innings, it was far too late.
Velasquez departed to a showering of boos from fans who have understandably grown frustrated with his inconsistencies — inconsistencies that have been on display for many of his 131 appearances with the club.
Ultimately, an inability to routinely locate a fastball and/or secondary pitches doesn’t play in innings 1-5 as a starter, and, as it turns out, it doesn’t play in later innings as a reliever.
“He has not been on the mound in a competitive situation in awhile, but it’s hard to explain,” manager Joe Girardi said of Velasquez’s quick downfall. “I was hoping he could get us through the seventh and maybe even into the eighth, and it just wasn’t meant to be.”
His rough night helped inflate the Phillies’ bullpen ERA from 0.69 at the start of the game to 3.71 by night’s end.
Here’s a split for you:
Don’t worry, though, because if you watched, you were able to witness baseball history:
So there’s that. I guess.
To his credit, Velasquez spoke to reporters after the game and took accountability for his performance. He noted his struggles began once he went to the stretch.
“I started aiming and got behind in the count. Again, I take full blame of the whole situation,” he said. “This game could have been a closer deficit, and I take full responsibility for that,” he said. “Three, four straight walks is not acceptable at all.”
Good. Textbook, even. That’s exactly what he should say.
At the same time, he didn’t do the job tonight and too often hasn’t done the job. So.
For the second straight night, the Phillies didn’t have much of an answer for Mets starting pitching.
Making his first regular season start since 2019, Marcus Stroman quieted the Phillies for six innings, allowing just one run on three hits. He relied heavily on his sinker to generate 15 outs via outs, with the other three coming via strikeout.
Listen, the Phillies are five games into this thing, and they’re 4-1. While it’s way, way too early to press any panic buttons about a slumping lineup, the reality is that the numbers are pretty rough:
I guess this is all a matter of perspective, really.
You can say the Phillies’ 4-1 start is a bit of an aberration given they’re unlikely to continue getting elite pitching (Vince Velasquez’s seventh-inning meltdown aside). On the other hand, the Phillies lineup will (should?) be better than what it has been through five games.
One Phillies hitter off to a tough start in particular is Bryce Harper, who was 0-for-4 with a walk against the Mets on Tuesday night.
His hitless evening included a key seventh-inning lineout with two runners in scoring position and two away in the middle of a mini-rally. Harper made solid contact on a 2-2 pitch, but it didn’t have quite enough carry to split the gap.
Through five games, he’s just 3-for-15 (.200 BA) with zero extra-base hits and a .629 OPS.
Last month, it was almost impossible to write a Phillies story without mentioning center field. It’s almost impossible now, too.
Roman Quinn started in center in this one and promptly went 0-for-3 with two more strikeouts. For the season, he’s now 0-for-8 with six strikeouts.
Previously, Girardi has talked about Quinn needing to improve his contact skills. That’s not happening right now, so it will be interesting to see just how much patience the team has should his struggles continue.
You can’t hate what you saw from Chase Anderson in his Phillies debut. Anderson worked five innings, holding the Mets to just two earned runs. He threw some good changeups early on that produced some awkward swings and kept the Mets mostly off balance by heavily relying on a four-seam fastball, changeup mix.
In total, Anderson produced whiffs on 11 of his 37 New York swings.
His only major mistake of the night came during the fourth inning when Dom Smith somehow went up well out of the strike zone to serve a two-run homer over the left field fence.
However, Anderson would recover by sitting down the next six Mets batters in order. He departed after 80 pitches, allowing the two earned runs, two hits, and two walks to go along with three strikeouts.
His performance won’t go down as one of the greatest debuts in franchise history, but the Phillies will gladly sign up for that performance on most nights.
Despite a disappointing evening, the Phillies send Aaron Nola (0-0, 2.70 ERA) to the mound with a chance to win the series against David Peterson. The young left-hander is coming off a rookie season in which he went 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA in 10 games.