Four months and one week after Vince Velasquez dazzled the home crowd at Citizens Bank Park with 16 strikeouts in a three-hit shutout, the game is still on the mind of the rookie righty.
The last three starts have revealed a pitcher sometimes too reliant on his put-away stuff and less focused on getting quicker outs.
For the third straight game, Velasquez gave up at least two homers and failed to pitch into the seventh inning in Sunday’s 9-0 Phillies loss to the St. Louis Cardinals (see Instant Replay).
He admitted afterward the 16-strikeout performance may have happened too early in his season. It has had him pitching in the mindset of someone who wants to strike every batter out.
“That’s one of the things that I have to start doing: Accept the fact that I had 16 strikeouts - cool,” Velasquez said. “But accept the fact that people are going to start timing you and that’s where you have to mix your pitches and make your secondary pitches. People watch film. I watch film. They know what I throw and I know what I have to do and what I like to use. I’ve got to catch them off guard. I can’t just throw fastballs all the time.
“That was early in the season, that was great and one heck of an experience. But now is the time to bear down and execute the secondary pitches and protect my fastball and go from there.”
Velasquez was shaky from the get-go Sunday, allowing a leadoff single in the first inning before working full count walks to Stephen Piscotty and Matt Carpenter to load the bases for Brandon Moss. Moss nearly blew the game open, driving an 0-1 fastball to the wall in center, but Odubel Herrera’s leaping catch resulted in just one run scoring.
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But Velasquez threw 28 pitches in the frame.
In a 1-2-3 second inning, he three just 11 pitches and struck out a pair.
He had retired eight straight before Moss stepped into the batter’s box to lead off the fourth inning. This time, the former Phillie didn’t miss, driving Velasquez’s first pitch, a breaking ball, into the seats in left field.
Later in the inning, a Peralta single and Jedd Gyorko double had runners on second and third with one out. Velasquez was able to strike out Randal Grichuk, but he then fell behind opposing pitcher Mike Leake 3-0 before allowing a two-run, two-out single on a 3-1 pitch that gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.
Velasquez, who gave up three homers in each of his last two starts, was hurt again by the long ball in the fifth. Piscotty jumped all over a 1-2 curveball for a 5-0 St. Louis lead.
“He wasn’t locating his secondary pitches,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “He had trouble doing that. We’re giving up too many home runs.”
Frank Herrmann also gave up a pair of homers - both of the two-run variety - in relief duty that gave the Cardinals an insurmountable advantage.
The offense had nine hits, all singles. The Phillies failed to hit an extra base hit for the sixth time in 2016 and were shut out for the sixth time.
Still, Velasquez had them in a 4-0 hole before they came to the plate in the fourth inning.
The righty is putting up historical strikeout numbers at Citizens Bank Park. He entered Sunday averaging 11.96 K/9IP. No other Phillies pitcher has finished with a higher average. Curt Schilling holds the modern day single season record (11.57 at Veterans Stadium in 1997).
Velasquez struck out another seven batters in six innings Sunday, dropping his K/9IP at home to 11.81.
General manager Matt Klentak raved about Velasquez’s stuff on Wednesday, one day after he allowed three home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struck out 10 that night.
But the Phillies, who are in the process of learning about their young starters, are looking for pitchers who can go deep into games, Mackanin said. Which means Velasquez is going to have to learn how to pitch to contact at some point.
“I don’t know what he would say, but the tendency for a lot of younger pitchers is to pitch away from contact with their good stuff,” Mackanin said. “They have success in the minor leagues, they come up here and think they have to make perfect pitches.”
Velasquez acknowledged that. It’s all about his command, both pitcher and manager said.
After allowing a single to lead off the sixth, Velasquez struck out the side and his day was done after 106 pitches.
He’s now thrown 119 innings on the year in the majors, five 2/3 off his career-high (2013, single-A). Both he and Mackanin opined that fatigue wasn't a factor in the recent struggles. But the end is near for his season. The Phillies have a number in mind and he’ll likely get three or four more starts.
During those, he’ll be working on becoming a more complete pitcher.
“I even told Mack, 'Why can't I just do what I did in that last inning?' I'd love to do that,” Velasquez said. “And I'd love to get 16 strikeouts again. Just things don't work out that way. You just have to put the pieces together and you have to figure it out. I've got to figure them out.”
