After using six relievers for seven innings in Wednesday night's exciting extra-inning win, the Phillies needed Vince Velasquez to go deep into Thursday's series finale.
If this was late May or early June, when Velasquez was struggling and his pitch counts were soaring early in games, there would have been some pessimism that he could give them the required length. But Velasquez entered Thursday's game riding a streak of five straight starts of six or more innings.
It was evident early in Thursday's 3-2 Phillies loss to the Giants (see Instant Replay) that Velasquez wasn't going to be able to save the bullpen. He needed 28 pitches to finish the first inning, and though his next three frames were quicker, he was removed after 93 pitches in five innings. The Phillies may have been able to coax one more inning out of him if not for a blister on his right middle finger.
Manager Pete Mackanin and the Phillies' training staff went out to the mound in the fifth to examine Velasquez's hand and decided to leave him in the game. He was able to get through the inning but was pulled for precautionary reasons.
"I asked him if it affected his pitches and he said no," Mackanin said. "But you could see it was starting [to]. He was at around 90 pitches so I took him out of the game. I didn't want to get him into a situation where he might miss his next start. It wasn't a bad blister, but you could see it developing. And I wanted to make sure with 90 pitches that he came out."
Velasquez exited, and the Phillies' bullpen pitched four more scoreless innings before Severino Gonzalez allowed a leadoff homer in the 10th to Denard Span for the loss. It ended the 'pen's streak of 11 straight scoreless innings against the Giants.
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The good news, though, is that it looks like Velasquez will be able to make his next start at Dodger Stadium.
"When I have a solid feel of the ball it kind of aggravates it a little bit, putting pressure ... utilizing the middle finger pretty much every pitch," Velasquez said. "So we are working on it now but I think it's fine. I should be good by the next start.
"Good thing I mentioned something before it turned into a bloody blister or something."
Velasquez wasn't happy with his short outing, and he was frustrated to have another multi-walk game. He's walked 39 batters in 102 2/3 innings this season and exactly one-third of them have come in his last four starts.
Again, the walks didn't kill him. Velasquez (8-3, 3.33) has shown this year that even when he lacks his best stuff, he can still keep his opponent off the board. He wasn't razor sharp in either of his last two outings and still allowed four runs in 11 innings.
"I'd like to minimize my walks. I know I am probably leading the team in walks right now, which is kind of bad, actually really bad," he said. "I never had intentions of walking so many guys, especially this early, starting out the game in five innings or walking this amount of guys in back-to-back-to-back starts.
"I've got to work on some things in the bullpen, utilizing my two-seam [fastball], locating my two-seam. My secondary pitches are just kind of brutal right now. So I've got to sharpen up a lot of stuff before my next start because the Dodgers ... those guys just rake."
Velasquez is eager to pitch in L.A., his hometown, and hear Vin Scully announce his name.
"That would be awesome," he said. "He's a great guy. I never had the pleasure of meeting him. He's a legend."
There was nothing legendary about the Phillies' offensive performance on Thursday. They mustered just four hits, three of them singles. They did walk six times against debuting Giants starter Matt Moore but went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners.
But all in all, the Phillies played the Giants tough this week. San Francisco is a playoff-tested team with a 2½-game lead in the NL West, it had its two horses starting the first two games, and the Phillies still won their first series since the All-Star break. They scored a combined 12 runs in 12 2/3 innings against Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto. Not easy to do.
"Very good team, obviously. We played them tough this series. We didn't quit. We came from behind I don't know how many times," Mackanin said.
"I think we're growing up little by little. Every time you not only beat a team but when you play them tough, it matters. I think the Giants, I think Bruce Bochy would be willing to say that these guys (the Phillies) are no pushover. They battle. They battle to the end. That's what I like about the team."
The Phils (50-60) now hit the road for six games out West in San Diego and L.A. They'll welcome their latest top prospect Saturday, when right-hander Jake Thompson makes his major-league debut against the Padres (see story).