PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sandy Alcantara returned to form in Philadelphia.
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. They fell back to .500 (22-22) .
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.
“His fastball was all over the place. His slider was good, his changeup was as well," Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. "He has really, really good stuff, and he was dominating tonight.”
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. He had three RBIs and bumped his average to .220.
“You've got to ride that wave,” Cooper said.
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.
“You're going to have a bad day. And I had a really bad day in Los Angeles," he said.
He had a really good on in Philadelphia. Alcantara also doubled and may have pitched deeper into the game had it not been for three early walks that ran up his pitch count.
“He was just really efficient at the end of the (start),” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Those early walks really cost him a lot of pitches and possible a couple of innings. He had that kind of stuff tonight.”
Adam Cimber, Ross Detwiler and Zach Pop each pitched a scoreless inning in relief, completing a three-hitter as Marlins pitchers struck out 15. They helped Miami wrap 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.
“This one ended up being a good series for us,” Mattingly said.
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 right middle index finger.
“It’s very shocking. It’s normally the middle finger but now it’s the index finger," Velasquez said. “We have some questions now. Why is this happening?”
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.
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