The Phillies rode the power arm of Zack Wheeler and the power bats of Didi Gregorius, Phil Gosselin and J.T. Realmuto to their first victory of the new season Saturday night.
Wheeler pitched seven innings of one-run ball and Gregorius (solo homer), Gosselin (two-run shot, solo shot) and Realmuto (three-run shot) all homered in the 7-1 win over the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.
Gosselin, a utility man who made the team with a late barrage of hits in summer camp, got the start at designated hitter. He walked his first time up, singled his second time up and homered his third time up to break a 1-1 tie in the sixth. He homered again in the eighth to give the Phils a six-run lead.
All seven of the Phils' runs came on homers.
Gosselin, 31, hails from West Chester and played at Malvern Prep and the University of Virginia. He played in 44 games with the Phillies, his fifth big-league club, last season. The multi-homer game was the first of his career. He entered the day with just seven career homers in 597 big-league at-bats.
Two games into the 60-game sprint, the Phils are 1-1.
Helluva debut
MLB
Wheeler brings some big power to the Phillies' rotation. His 87th and final pitch of the day was a 97-mph fastball for a strikeout in the seventh inning. Someone in the Phillies' dugout yelled, "Way to go, Wheels!" as he walked off the mound after the strikeout.
Wheeler allowed five hits, a run, walked two and struck out four.
Wheeler was able to make the start because his newborn son, Wesley, arrived Monday, five days early.
Off the hook
The Phillies' offense was slow starting. It let Miami starter Caleb Smith off the hook in the early innings. Smith walked six batters in the first three innings and the Phillies could only muster a single run on a leadoff homer by Gregorius in the bottom of the second. Smith went on to walk three batters in that inning but the Phils did nothing with that generosity. Smith got out of the inning by striking out Bryce Harper looking at a 2-2 breaking ball with the bases loaded.
Harper got his first hit of the season in the seventh and was on base for Realmuto's first hit of the season, which was a long-three run homer off the batter's eye in center. Harper's hit was a bunt single up the third-base line against a shift.
Nice play
Moments after the Phillies took a 3-1 lead on Gosselin's two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, the Marlins tested Andrew McCutchen's defense in left field. Left-handed hitter Corey Dickerson hit a slicing line drive toward the left-field line. McCutchen got a nice jump and made an important sliding catch to keep the lead man off base in the seventh and help Wheeler put up a shutdown inning.
McCutchen missed four months last season with an ACL tear. He might not be moving as fluidly as he once did, but he closes the gap with excellent reads and jumps.
Shortstop Gregorius made a nice play to the end the top of the eighth and get Tommy Hunter out of trouble.
The Phils' defense was very good. Wheeler kept the ball on the ground and benefited from four inning-ending double plays.
Is Vinny for real?
Vince Velasquez earned a spot in the starting rotation by pitching very well during summer camp. He showed off a new cut fastball and an improved changeup to go with his four-seam, power fastball and his curveball. Now, it's time to see if Velasquez can put it all together when things count. He will start the series finale Sunday afternoon against Marlins right-hander Jose Urena.
Velasquez has been in and out of the Phillies' rotation for four seasons. It's time for him to show he can keep his pitch count under control, get through the middle innings and show some consistency. In a 60-game season where every game is magnified, the Phillies can't afford to have a long leash with Velasquez and he must lock down his role quickly because top prospect Spencer Howard is waiting in the wings.
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