Phillies Race Past Marlins 3-1 In Home Win

Right-hander Vince Velasquez (5-1) struck out 10 in five innings and the Philadelphia Phillies pitchers struck out 17 batters overall to secure a 3-1 home victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Phillies Race Past Marlins 3-1 In Home Win

“We really like him. He’s going to be special,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Velasquez. His strikeout total was his highest since he erased 16 batters in an April 14 shutout of the San Diego Padres. Velasquez threw 68 strikes and walked two.

“They’re going to foul things off and there’s going to be deep counts,” he said. “There’s a couple of times where I could have put them away earlier then throwing more pitches. I didn’t really be as competitive as much as I wanted to.”

Tommy Joseph hit his first major league homer as part of a three-hit game for the Phillies.

The Marlins tied a franchise record for nine innings with 17 strikeouts, and saw their three-game winning streak snapped.

Joseph hit a solo shot in the second inning off Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-2). Joseph’s single in the sixth helped make it 3-0 when Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna booted the ball and allowed a runner to score. He returned to the dugout, however, after he hit a 1-2 pitch that ended up hitting the foul pole net in left field. Peter Bourjos scored for the Phillies with an RBI single in the fifth. Ozuna snapped his 16-game hitting streak with an 0-for-3 night at the plate.

The Marlins threatened in the ninth when they loaded the bases with one out off closer Jeanmar Gomez, but they managed only Derek Dietrich’s sacrifice fly.

“After the first three (batters), we didn’t seem to have the same type of at-bats,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.

Philadelphia relievers Elvis Araujo, Andrew Bailey, David Hernandez and Hector Neris combined to strike out seven batters in three scoreless innings.

Carlos Ruiz caught his 1,000th game for the Phillies. He’s the fourth player in Phillies history with 1,000 or more games at catcher, joining Mike Lieberthal, Red Dooin and Bob Boone.

PHOTO: PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 17: Adeiny Hechavarria #3 of the Miami Marlins is unable to hold onto the ball as Peter Bourjos #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies steals second base in the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park on May 17, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 3-1. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)