By Peter Gleason
So, Vinny Velasquez, what have you done for the Phillies lately?
After opening the season by allowing five earned runs through his first five starts, Velasquez (4-1, 2.70) has surrendered eight in his last two, and he gets a chance to reverse that tonight against the Marlins.
Half of those came from a six-inning outing against the Marlins earlier this month in which he gave up a season-high seven hits, including a two-run homer to Christian Yelich.
The 23-year-old right-hander followed with another sub-par performance, surrendering five hits and four runs in six-plus innings of Thursday’s 7-4 win at Atlanta.
Velasquez tossed six scoreless innings but fell apart in the seventh, giving up four runs without recording an out.
“I just started slipping,” Velasquez told MLB’s official website.
He struck out 25 batters in his first two outings but has just 24 his last five starts combined.
Velasquez could be throwing to catcher Cameron Rupp, who is expected to return after missing the last two games with a left ankle injury. Rupp suffered the injury from a collision with Cincinnati’s Eugenio Suarez during Saturday’s 4-3 win.
