So much for the feel-good bullpen story that the Phillies have been spinning the last few days. It unraveled with Vince Velasquez at the helm in the team’s first loss of the new season Tuesday night.
The New York Mets hit the top four four times in the seventh over on their way to an 8-4 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phils trailed by just one run after six overs, but the backlog swelled to five runs after Velasquez, who made his season debut, ran four times in the seventh run. All four of those walks turned into runs as the Mets built up a 6-1 lead.
“I take full responsibility for the loss,” Velasquez said after the game. ‘Running three, four batsmen is not acceptable at all. No apologies, I blame no one but myself. The whole loss depends on me. Completely unacceptable. ‘
Velasquez’s role is to give the Phillies multiple innings in the middle of games. Since several relievers (Jose Alvarado, Sam Coonrod and Connor Brogdon) were not available for workload, this was a place where Velasquez had to get through for his team – and he did so briefly. He entered the game at the start of the sixth innings and knocked out the side.
But as was the case many times during his five-plus seasons with the Phillies, the erratic right-hand man later fell a turn apart. The unraveling began with a lead step to Luis Guillorme in the seventh.
“After the fight, I completely lost it,” Velasquez said.
He further said he had trouble hitting out of the piece and directing the ball.
Altogether Velasquez faced eight batsmen, beating four of them and walking four of them. The right-hand man cheered with a crowd of 10,752 when he left the game in favor of Brandon Kintzler with one out in the seventh.
Before the nightmare performance of Velasquez, the bull of the Phils was the story of the young season. Phillies relievers allowed just one run in 13 overs in the first four games, all of which were won.
Velasquez made it feel like 2020, when the Phils once again had the worst bull in the majors.
The Mets scored two more runs against the bull when Pete Alonso launched a two-run from David Hale in the ninth.
The Phils still start 4-1. They will win the series against the Mets on Wednesday.
Anderson’s debut
The right-hand man Chase Anderson, the no. 5-course starter from the Phillies, is not known for playing deep into the game. In fact, since 2016, he has averaged less than 5⅓ innings per start.
Anderson therefore gave the Phils about what they expected in his season debut and started with the club for the first time. He took five innings and allowed just two runs, both of which came on a home run by Dominic Smith without playing in the fourth game. Anderson ran the previous batter, Alonso. Smith hit a 1-1 fast ball (92 mph) that was outside and outside the hitting zone. He got the good part of the bat on the field and drove it to the left.
After allowing the two runs in the fourth series, Anderson struck a 1-2-3 fifth innings before handing over Velasquez.
Over the course of the season, the Phillies will need Anderson to venture deeper into the games or to expose the long relief as in this game.
Playing the game
The Phils were just a turn in the top of the sixth innings, when JT Realmuto reached the base on a one-off error and moved to second place on a wild track through Mets starter Marcus Stroman.
Didi Gregorius, who walked down the bottom in fourth place to get the Phillies on the board, came forward and strung a one-hopper along the first baseline. The ball had the appearance of an extra basic hit, but Alonso made a dive on the line and hit Stroman for Realmuto in third place. Stroman then retired Jean Segura on a ground ball to beach Realmuto.
Everything blew up on the Phillies in the next half inning.
Stroman’s night
Stroman held the Phillies to three strokes and a run over six overs. He walks two and hits three.
Where is the offense?
The Phillies were just 1 for 11 with a runner in points standings and they left ten men at their base, including two in eighth position when Trevor May knocked out Mets reliever Brad Miller and Roman Quinn.
In five games, the Phillies have scored just 18 runs, averaging 3.6 per game.
Following
The series concludes on Wednesday afternoon. Aaron Nola makes his second start of the season. He will face Mets’ left-wing David Peterson.
The Phillies are off Thursday before opening a three-game series in Atlanta on Friday night.
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