Hellickson shines as Phils down Marlins in series opener
Jeremy Hellickson came into the season as a potential piece the Phillies could move at the trade deadline if he was performing well enough and if there was enough interest. Thanks to a somewhat weak market for starting pitching, there has been a lot of interest surrounding Hellickson and he has been tied to rumors with several teams over the last few weeks, with one of them being the Miami Marlins. Hellickson made his second start tonight against the Marlins since those rumors surfaced, and he proved himself to be a viable trade candidate as he shut down the Marlins in both of those starts, including tonight’s masterful performance. Hellickson pitched 6 nearly perfect innings as he allowed just one walk and one hit. Tommy Joseph put the Phillies (46-55) on top in the 8th inning and the offense piled on three more runs in the 9th to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. The bullpen followed up Hellickson with three excellent innings of relief by three different pitchers to preserve the shutout and give the Phils a 4-0 win in the series opener against the Marlins (53-46).
If you’re a fan of offense, you probably didn’t enjoy the first 7 innings of tonight’s ballgame. But the Phillies picked it up in the final two innings, scoring all four of their runs in the 8th and 9th. Joseph delivered the big hit that put the Phillies in front 1-0 in the 8th inning. Cesar Hernandez continued to produce out of the leadoff spot as he singled home Tyler Goeddel with one out in the 9th inning to put the Phillies up 2-0. The next batter, Odubel Herrera chopped one past the pitcher and reached on a fielder’s choice, but an errant throw by Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria allowed two runs to score to make it 4-0 Phils.
Although Hellickson didn’t factor in the decision in tonight’s game, this was still easily his best outing of the season to this point. Hellickson threw 6 fantastic innings, allowing just one hit and one walk. David Hernandez picked up the win tonight for the Phillies after he pitched a shutout 7th inning. Hernandez improves to 2-3 on the year with a 4.24 ERA. Hector Neris needed just 8 pitches to retire the side in order in the bottom of the 8th inning and preserve the Phillies 1-0 lead at that point. Jeanmar Gomez came in to pitch the 9th even though it wasn’t a save situation and preserved the shutout, pitching a clean ninth inning and impressing some of the scouts that may have been at the game to see his stuff. Marlins starter Jarred Cosart pitched 5 solid innings, allowing no runs on just 3 hits. Like Hellickson, however, he did not factor in the decision. Fernando Rodney suffered the loss tonight for the Marlins as he let up the go-ahead double by Joseph in the 8th inning.
Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff (6-11, 3.98 ERA) will take the mound tomorrow against Marlins starter Tom Koehler (7-8, 4.42 ERA) in the second of three games in Miami. Eickhoff and the Phillies will look to clinch their first series victory since the All-Star break with a win tomorrow night against Giancarlo Stanton and the Marlins.
Photo: Roberto Coquis (Wikimedia Commons)
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