Game Recap:
Ryan Zimmerman hit his 13th home run of the season, and Anthony Rendon drove in three runs to help Washington beat Vince Velasquez and the Phillies by a score of 6-2 on Saturday night.
What went right?
Cesar Hernandez went 2-4.
Brock Stassi got the start in left field and walked in his first two at-bats.
Cameron Rupp was 2-4 at the plate with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning, and a solo home run in the seventh.
Freddy Galvis went 1-3 and scored a run.
Mark Leiter Jr. pitched two scoreless innings of relief. He walked two, struck out one and allowed one hit.
What went wrong?
Odubel Herrera made a great catch in the top of the second inning to rob Ryan Zimmerman of a home run, but he went 0-3 at the plate.
Maikel Franco had a rough game, as he was 0-3 on the night, including a strike out in the first inning that turned into interference and more than likely cost the Phillies an early run.
Michael Saunders was 0-4 was was caught stealing second in the bottom of the fourth inning, which again, likely cost the Phillies a run.
Vince Velasquez didn't have a terrible game, but the mistakes he made were enough to cost him a win. He pitched seven innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.
Nationals starter A.J. Cole needed 109 pitches to get through six innings, and yet the Phillies could only score one run against him.
Game Analysis:
Last night was another rough game for the Phillies, as they were unable to get out of their own way once again. Vince Velasquez allowed home runs to Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon, and the Phillies could only manage two runs on offense as they dropped their fifth game in a row, this one by a score of 6-2.
In this recent rough patch, the Phillies have struggled with simple fundamentals at times, and last night was no exception. It started in the first inning, when Maikel Franco struck out as Odubel Herrera attempted to steal second base. Franco's swing moved him out of the batter's box, and he made contact with Washington catcher Matt Wieters. The swing resulted in an interference call, and Herrera was called out on the steal attempt. Had Franco not swung in an attempt to hit the pitch into New Jersey, then the Phillies would have had runners on second and third with two outs and a chance to drive them in. Instead, the first inning came to an end, and Washington starter A.J. Cole began his six innings of dancing around trouble.
The mistakes continued from there. Tommy Joseph had two hits last night, but attempted to stretch a single into a double in the bottom of the second inning. Jayson Werth threw Joseph out at second, and the Phillies first baseman could only watch from the dugout as two of the next three batters reached base with hits. Cameron Rupp's single scored Freddy Galvis, but instead of the Phils having just a 1-0 lead, it could have been at least 2-0 had Joseph not made that base running mistake. Michael Saunders victimized the Phillies with two mistakes of his own last night. First, he was caught stealing in the bottom of the fourth inning, which once again could have cost the Phillies a run. Then, in the top of the sixth, he seemed to lose a fly ball from Ryan Zimmerman in the lights, which turned into an RBI double for the Washington first baseman. Anthony Rendon then came to the plate and launched a three run home run into the left field stands, giving Washington a 6-1 lead and effectively putting the game out of reach.
These mistakes are all simple ones, and things that should be, and are avoided by good baseball teams. If a team makes one of these mistakes a week, that might be acceptable. For the Phillies, every one of these mistakes happened in the first five and a half innings of the game last night. If you're looking for a reason why they lost their fifth game in a row, there are your answers. I wouldn't blame Vince Velasquez too much, because honestly, he didn't make many mistakes on the mound. Yes, he was bailed out by Odubel Herrera robbing Zimmerman of a home run in the second inning, and Zimmerman would eventually hit a two run home run in his next at-bat, but that was one of the few bad pitches that Velasquez threw last night. He had good control, and his strikeout pitches were working, as he struck out eight, and didn't walk a single batter in seven innings of work. Even so, on a team like the Phillies, apparently pitchers have to be just about perfect to get a win right now. Last night, Velasquez was not, and he picked up his third loss of the season because of it.
Today, the Phils are going to attempt to avoid being swept for the second time in three series. Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 3.18 ERA) is looking for a bounce back start as he faces off against Tanner Roark (3-1, 4.04 ERA).
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