That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Five things learned from Phillies series loss to the Blue Jays

By John Town

TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 24: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Philadelphia Phillies exits the game as he is relieved by manager Gabe Kapler #22 in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on August 24, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. The players are wearing special jerseys as part of MLB Players Weekend. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 24: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Philadelphia Phillies exits the game as he is relieved by manager Gabe Kapler #22 in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on August 24, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. The players are wearing special jerseys as part of MLB Players Weekend. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 21: Starting pitcher Vince Velasquez #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies works the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on August 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Vince Velasquez remains solid

One of the least talked about storylines this season has been the development and improvement of Vince Velasquez. After a disappointing injury-plagued season in 2017, Velasquez needed to take a major step forward this year, and he has.

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Overall this year, Velasquez has a 4.05 ERA, 3.71 fielding-independent pitching, and 1.255 WHIP in 129 innings. His numbers are dragged down significantly by his 10-run clunker June 8 in Milwaukee. If you remove that start, he has a 3.43 ERA this season. That is a radical jump from his 5.13 ERA last year.

Velasquez has been especially strong since that 10-run outing. In 13 appearances since then, he has a 3.09 ERA and 1.127 WHIP.

Sunday was another solid outing for Velasquez. It certainly wasn’t his best as he allowed three walks and three hits in five innings. He gave up two runs on a home run by Kendrys Morales, who now has eight home runs in his last seven games.

All things considered, he delivered a good enough performance to get the job done, earning his ninth win of the season.

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Velasquez has put things together at the right time with games really mattering. As long as his start against the Brewers remains an outlier for the season, the calls for him to move to the bullpen should be silenced.

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