Your worst fears about Vince Velasquez and the Phillies’ bullpen came true on Sunday.
Both were bad in an ugly 11-6 loss to the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.
And so the Phillies, who can’t afford a slow start in this 60-game sprint, have lost their season opener and are 1-2 going into a four-game series at home and at home with the New York Yankees. York, a team with the World Series or bust aspirations.
Drink.
Jake Arrieta will make his first start to the season on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park against left-hander JA Happ of the Yankees.
Zach Eflin receives the ball on Tuesday night against Gerrit Cole.
OH VINNY
All those good vibes that Velásquez generated at summer camp disappeared when he blew a 4-0 lead in the second inning. He hit a hitter, walked a hitter, left a single, a solo homer and a three-run homer in the inning.
Velásquez lasted only three innings. He launched 60 pitches, of which only 36 were strikes. His four-seam fastball averaged 92.7 mph, down from 94.5 last season.
Velasquez has earned a place in the rotation with a good performance in recent weeks, but he needed to continue to pitch well, in the games that count, to keep his job, especially in a season where every game is magnified.
Now you have to ask yourself if he will make his next outing, which is scheduled for Friday against the Blue Jays anywhere the Blue Jays play.
Top prospect Spencer Howard pitched in an in-school game in Lehigh Valley on Sunday, so he’ll line up to take Velasquez’s place if management decides to go that route.
‘FEATHER PROBLEMS
Velasquez did his team no favors by wasting an early lead and losing momentum. His poor start also put the ball in the bullpen’s hands early in the game and everyone knows that the feather is the weakness of this team.
Cole Irvin, Reggie McClain and Nick Pivetta collected 5⅓ innings. They were marked by nine hits, including two home runs, two triples and one double, and seven runs.
THE OFFENSE
He produced 12 hits and six runs. That is enough to win many nights. But not this one.
The Phils reached the cycle in the first inning. Adam Haseley singled, Rhys Hoskins doubled and Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer. Before the inning ended, Jay Bruce tripled in one run.
The Phils scored just two runs the rest of the game. They had loaded bases and one in the fifth and sixth innings and both times got nothing. They also left the loaded bases in the eighth and two in the ninth.
In total, the Phillies were 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men stranded.
MARLINS ‘PROBLEMS
The Marlins continue to attack the Phillies.
Last year, the Marlins lost 105 games, most in the National League, but still managed to win 10 of 19 against the Phillies. That cost the Phillies a winning season and perhaps a postseason opportunity because the rest of the NL East Division cleaned up the Marlins.
Now, the Phillies are 1-2 against the Marlins in the new season.
Making the series loss even more difficult to swallow is the fact that the Marlins have been hit hard by COVID losses. Six key players overall are missing, and four regulars, including scheduled starting pitcher Jose Urena, came out on Sunday. Ureña scratched a few hours before the game. Robert Dugger left for Miami. It was his eighth as a major league player.
Dugger allowed five runs in 3⅓ innings. The Marlins ‘bullpen gave up just one run the rest of the way and his hitters hit the Phillies’ bullpen.
Seven of the Marlins’ 12 hits on the day were for additional bases.
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