Slumping Phillies Go Down Quietly In 6-0 Loss To Marlins
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sandy Alcantara tossed two-hit ball over six innings and Garrett Cooper homered to lead the Miami Marlins to a 6-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night.
Phillies starter Vince Velasquez was a late scratch because of a numb right index finger, forcing Philadelphia into a bullpen game. The first three pitchers all gave up runs, and the Phillies lost for the fourth time in five games.
Alcantara (2-3) bounced back fine after he allowed eight runs in 1 1/3 innings in his previous start against Los Angeles. The righty threw six scoreless innings for only the second time this season and first since April 1. He struck out nine on 100 pitches and helped the Marlins take two of three in Philly.
He never got the chance to match up against Velasquez, who returned to the dugout about 30 minutes before the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start. David Hale (0-2) immediately started warming up in the bullpen.
Miguel Rojas hit a solo shot off Hale in the third inning for a 1-0 lead.
Cooper crushed a 421-foot, two-run homer to left off Matt Moore in the third and he hit an RBI triple in the sixth. Moore gave up two runs, and Archie Bradley allowed three in 1 2/3 innings.
Alcantara saw his ERA grow from 2.72 ERA to 4.06 after he was hit hard by the Dodgers. He got back on track against a team he loves to beat: The 25 year old improved to 5-1 in seven starts against the Phillies.
Adam Cimber, Ross Detwiler and Zach Pop each tossed a scoreless inning in relief, completing a three-hitter. They helped the Marlins wrap a an 11-day trip with a 5-5 record that included a four-game split in Arizona and losses in two of three games at Dodger Stadium.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: C J.T. Realmuto (left wrist bone bruise) missed his fourth straight game. ... OF Roman Quinn (finger) could start a rehab assignment on Friday. ... Velasquez left a start in 2017 and his season soon ended because of an issue with the same right middle index finger.
GOING DEEP
The Marlins have homered in 22 of the last 25 games.
OUTTA HERE
Phillies 1B Brad Miller was ejected in the ninth for arguing a called third strike.
UP NEXT
Marlins: Return home and open a four-game series with the Mets. The Marlins' starter is TBD and the Mets will pitch RHP Marcus Stroman (3-4, 2.72).
Phillies" Send RHP Aaron Nola (3-3, 3.64 ERA) to the mound Friday at home against Boston LHP Martín Pérez (1-2, 3.40 ERA) in the first of a three-game set. Nola is 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA in five starts since tossing his first career shutout. The Phillies will increase seating capacity for the weekend series from 11,000 to 16,000 fans.
