Velasquez, McCutchen lead Phillies past slumping Blue Jays

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vince Velasquez pitched six strong innings, Andrew McCutchen hit the go-ahead single in the fifth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the slumping Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Saturday night.

Velasquez (1-1) allowed a run, two hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Andrew Knapp and Adam Haseley each had two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia.

The Phillies helped their playoff chances once again and will look to sweep the four-game series on Sunday. Philadelphia entered the day in the seventh spot in the National League.

Travis Shaw homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost six straight but still hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the AL. They started the day four games ahead of ninth-place Seattle.

Toronto held a team meeting prior to the game with manager Charlie Montoyo preaching a positive message, telling the team how proud he is of them, that they’re still in a good spot, to have fun and embrace the moment.

Philadelphia’s maligned bullpen tossed three scoreless innings, with Tommy Hunter following Blake Parker and David Phelps by pitching a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save in his third chance.

Velasquez had his best outing of the season and one of his best in the last two years. Entering Saturday, he had gone six or more innings in just two of his last 28 starts.

Velasquez got off to a shaky start, walking the first batter on five pitches, and had the grounds crew come out after the second batter to repair the mound. He was sharp from that point and saved his best for last, a nine-pitch 1-2-3 sixth with two strikeouts.

Shaw did the only damage against Velasquez, giving Toronto a 1-0 lead with a one-out drive to deep right in the fifth. He was playing first base in place of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was not in the starting lineup...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Velasquez-McCutchen-lead-Phillies-past-slumping-15581051.php