GAME
RECAP: Mets Crush Phillies 11-1
First was Michael Conforto,
then Yoenis Cespedes.
Two innings passed, and Neil Walker and Lucas Duda joined in. Curtis Granderson wanted to get in on the fun, too. By
the end of the Mets' 11-1 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night, five Mets had
put balls over the outfield walls of Citizens Bank Park, including two from
Walker. "This is a really talented group," Walker said of a Mets team
that has homered 17 times over the first five games of a road trip. "To
watch it firsthand … these are the kind of things this team is capable
of." Two pitchers entered Tuesday night having yet to allow a run in a
start, but only the Mets' Logan Verrett escaped with that still intact.
Verrett tossed six scoreless innings and has now led the Mets to wins in both
of his spot starts in place of Jacob deGrom, who
is expected to make his next scheduled start.
Verrett also reached base twice and scored on Cespedes' third-inning home run. "I
didn't feel as sharp as I did in my last start, so I really had to work for it
today," Verrett said. "Early on, I was trying to overthrow a bit with
my fastball. … A little bit later in the game, we started throwing some sliders
in there, and that was really able to help me find my arm slot." Phillies
starter Vince Velasquez lasted just 4 1/3 innings in his follow-up performance to his 16-strikeout shutout against
the Padres last week -- but only two of the Mets' six dingers came against him.
Thanks to a Ryan Howard error that allowed Verrett to reach in
the third, only two of the five runs Velasquez allowed were earned, raising his
season ERA from 0.00 to 0.93. "We didn't pitch well. We didn't hit well.
We didn't play well tonight," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
"We got beat pretty bad. The Mets seemed to want it. There's not a whole
lot to say."
PHILS PHACTS:
- As if the five runs the Mets scored against Velasquez weren't
enough, New York continued to pile on against the Phillies' bullpen once
Velasquez was pulled in the fifth. Brett Oberholtzer and James Russell combined to pitch three innings, in which they gave up four home
runs, amounting to six runs. Philadelphia entered Tuesday with the
fourth-worst bullpen ERA in baseball (5.49). After the Mets massacre,
their ERA is now 6.14.
- Verrett hit a
routine ground ball to Phillies shortstop Freddy
Galvis in
the third. Galvis threw to first, but Howard missed the catchable throw
for an error. Velasquez retired the next two Mets, but Conforto singled
and Cespedes homered on an 0-2 curveball. Velasquez regretted the pitch,
wishing he had thrown a fastball. "Why I agreed to the pitch, I don't
know why," Velasquez said. "Maybe it was just the heat of the
moment and I just went with it. … Cespedes was just waiting on it the
whole time. It's bad on my part. Bad pitching, bad execution. I take full
responsibility for that."
- "We're just not having fun. All through spring we
were having so much fun, in the dugout, outside the dugout. We need to
stop being timid. We have to be a little more upright, be fun, start
enjoying ourselves. I think we'll be all right." -- Velasquez, on the Phillies' offensive struggles.
- Tuesday marked the 15th straight game the Phillies
weren't able to collect 10 hits, extending their franchise mark to begin a
season. The last team to go this long into a season without a 10-hit game
was the 1978 Mets. "Our hitters will come around, but we haven't been
taking advantage of mistakes," Mackanin said. "I don't know what
it is. I don't know if it's a lack of aggressiveness."
NEXT
GAME:
Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (1-1, 4.30 ERA) pitches the series finale against the Mets on Wednesday
night at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed two earned runs in 11 2/3 innings in
his first two starts before allowing five earned runs in three innings Friday
against the Nationals.
PHILS PHACTS:
He Is Human After All – Vince
Velasquez's first two starts showed everybody just how
dominant he can be. His third start Tuesday night showed everybody he is not
quite a superhero. "We're all human," Velasquez said following the
Phillies' 11-1 loss to the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
"We make mistakes." Velasquez allowed five hits, five runs (two
earned), and two home runs and struck out four in just 4 1/3 innings. He
appeared to grab his left side as he left the mound in the fifth, but he said
he is fine. "I'm good," Velasquez said. "It was a little itch,
yeah. Just throw your arm up or something. Frustration, you want to throw your
glove down, you know?" He began his Phillies' career with 25 strikeouts in
15 scoreless innings, joining Curt Schilling (2002), Nolan Ryan (1978) and Karl
Spooner (1954) as the only pitchers in baseball history to strike out 25
batters in their first two starts of a season. He also joined Roger Clemens,
Kerry Wood and Max
Scherzer as
the only pitchers in baseball history to throw a shutout with 16 or more
strikeouts, zero walks and three or fewer hits, which he accomplished Thursday
against San Diego. Velasquez had been the talk of the town, but the Mets,
facing him the second time in 10 days, jumped on him early. David Wright hit a one-out double to left field in
the first inning, and Michael
Conforto followed with a two-run home run to right to
make it 2-0. An error from Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard in the third inning proved costly.
Conforto hit a two-out single to put two on. Yoenis
Cespedes followed
with a two-out, three-run home run to left field to make it 5-0. Conforto and
Cespedes both hit 0-2 curveballs. "There's nothing wrong with the pitch
selection," Velasquez said. "It's just bad location." Velasquez
hung both pitches. He said he wanted to bury them, though he acknowledged that
he wished he had thrown Cespedes an 0-2 fastball up in the strike zone instead.
"Why I agreed to the pitch, I don't know why," Velasquez said.
"Maybe it was just the heat of the moment and I just went with it. …
Cespedes was just waiting on it the whole time. It's bad on my part. Bad
pitching, bad execution. I take full responsibility for that." Velasquez,
who said he battled a stomach bug Monday, makes his next start next Tuesday
against the Nationals in D.C. He said he has a few things to work on. Perhaps
the Phillies' offense will be hitting by then. The Phillies have scored three
or fewer runs in nine consecutive games, their longest stretch since a
nine-game drought in May 2011. The Phillies also have not had 10 hits in a game
in their first 15 games. It is the longest stretch like that to start a season
since the 1978 Mets. "We're just not having fun," Velasquez said.
"All through spring we were having so much fun, in the dugout, outside the
dugout. We need to stop being timid. We have to be a little more upright, be
fun, start enjoying ourselves. I think we'll be all right. It's early. It
shouldn't be any added pressure."
Prospect Heads To DL – After
getting off to a torrid start with Double-A Reading, Phillies catching prospect
Jorge Alfaro is headed to the seven-day disabled list with a strained right
oblique, the team announced Tuesday. The 22-year-old backstop was named Eastern
League Player of the Week on Monday. Before he landed on the DL, Alfaro had
begun the season 18-for-36 (.500). Of those 18 hits, six went for extra bases
(four doubles, one triple and one home run). Alfaro missed much of last season
after getting surgery on a tendon in his left ankle. He returned at the end of
2015 and got four Gulf Coast League at-bats in his first appearances in the
Phillies' organization. Alfaro is ranked as the Phillies' No. 6 prospect and No. 94 overall by MLBPipeline.com. He was acquired
from the Rangers' organization as part of the trade that sent Cole Hamels to Texas. Outfielder Cody Asche sustained a strained right oblique
near the beginning of Spring Training, and after a setback, he still has yet to
resume baseball activities. Darin Ruf was out for close to two months with a
left oblique injury in 2014, Chase Utley missed exactly a month in '13 and Carlos Ruiz just less than a month in '12. "The
one thing about obliques is you can't really rush them," Phillies general
manager Matt Klentak said of Asche's injury last Wednesday.
Today
In Phils History – One of the Phillies first stars debuted on this day
in 1888 when Kid Gleason took the field. 60 years later, in a game known for a rather
unique double play by Phillies catcher Andy Seminick, a star, Dick Sisler, and
a legend, Richie Ashburn, put on the Phillies uniform for the first time. The
following year, Willie
"Puddinhead" Jones tied a major league record when he hit 4
consecutive doubles. Today is also know
for the swapping of two unique bullpen arms when the Phillies traded away Al
Holland to Pittsburgh for Kent Tekulve in 1985. However, with the exception of
Ashburn’s debut, today is best known for the managerial milestones beginning in
1920 when manager Gavvy Cravath inserted himself as a pinch-hitter into
a game against the New York Giants. His 3 run homerun scored the only runs of
the game. The homerun also happened to be the 119th of his career
which stood as the major league record until it was broken the following season
by Babe Ruth. 86 years later, it was a Phillies loss that handed Washington Nationals
manager Frank Robinson his 1,000th career victory.
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies are currently 6-9 this season putting them on pace to meet most
preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most
expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the
exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the
Phillies are 45-45-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom
half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a
77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!
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