Final: Phillies 4, Rockies 2
WP: Severino Gonzalez (2-1, 7.11 ERA) LP: Eddie Butler (2-5, 4.38 ERA) SV: Jonathan Papelbon (11)
Denver, CO – On a rainy, 40-degree night at Coors Field, a strong outing from Severino Gonzalez, in his third career start, helped the Philadelphia Phillies (18-24) secure their seventh victory over their last eight games.
Thanks to a two-out rally in the top of the first inning, the Phillies got out to an early 2-0 lead against Colorado right hander Eddie Butler.
Back-to-back singles from second baseman Chase Utley and first baseman Ryan Howard put runners on the corners for third baseman Maikel Franco's 22nd plate appearance of the season. With the count 2-2, Franco reached base on a fielding error by Butler, which subsequently allowed Utley to score and advance Howard to third base. The next batter, right fielder Jeff Francoeur, singled-home the Phillies' second run of the inning on a 87 mph changeup.
Butler threw 43 pitches after the first inning, 24 of which were for strikes (55.8%). Entering tonight, just 57.9% (504) of his 870 career pitches, in ten starts, were strikes.
Two innings later in the top of the third, the Phillies doubled their lead.
With one out and a 1-1 count, Howard delivered with his eighth home run of the season and the 342nd of his career, which ties him with Cubs' Hall of Fame third baseman Ron Santo for 93rd all-time in Major League Baseball history.
Later in the frame, Francoeur doubled for the fifth time this season. His extra-base hit set up a RBI-single by center fielder Odubel Herrera, which thus increased the Phillies' lead to four.
Butler was pulled after just three innings tonight. He surrendered four runs, two of which were unearned despite himself committing two errors on the mound, on six hits and two walks.
The Phillies' Gonzalez was perfect through the first three frames, but allowed a lead-off single to Rockies' center fielder Charlie Blackmon in the bottom of the fourth.
Two batters later, after Blackmon stole second for his sixth swipe in eight tries, right fielder Carlos Gonzalez hit a RBI-single to decrease his team's deficit to three runs. That would Severino's only surrendered run this evening over five innings of work. After facing 18 batters tonight, his career and season ERA lowered from 10.57 to 7.11.
Colorado drew one run closer in the bottom of the seventh inning, as catcher Nick Hundley grounded out to shortstop Freddy Galvis, scoring first baseman Wilin Rosario from third.
Relievers Jake Diekman, Luis Garcia and Ken Giles threw shutout innings of relief in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings respectively.
Closer Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 11th save of the season in the ninth, and his fifth since last Wednesday's 3-2 victory over Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Phillies' all-time saves leader now has 336 career saves, 117 of which have occurred in red pinstripes over 215 appearances.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severino Gonzalez | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.11 |
| Eddie Butler | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4.38 |
- Gonzalez: W; 65 pitches, 45 strikes; 5 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 18 faced batters
- Butler: L; 77 pitches, 46 strikes; 5 groundouts, 0 flyouts; 18 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Jake Diekman (6th, 7th*): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 7.63 ERA
- Luis Garcia (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.48 ERA
- Ken Giles (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, o BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 1.96 ERA
- Jonathan Papelbon (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, o BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 1.50 ERA
Rockies
- Yohan Flande (4th, 5th): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.38 ERA
- Ken Roberts (6th, 7th): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.16 ERA
- Christian Friedrich (8th, 9th): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.60 ERA
* Diekman faced one batter in the 7th inning
At the Plate:
Phillies
- Ben Revere & Freddy Galvis combined: 0-10, 1 LOB
- Chase Utley: 2-4, R, BB, .159 AVG
- Ryan Howard: 3-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, SO, .257 ERA
Rockies
- Charlie Blackmon: 1-3, R, .275 AVG
- Carlos Gonzalez: 1-4, RBI, SO, .205 AVG
- Wilin Rosario: 2-4, R, 2B, SO, .309 AVG
What's Next
- Thursday, May 21, 2015: at Colorado Rockies, 3:10 pm
- RHP Jerome Williams (3-3, 5.02 ERA) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (1-2, 6.56 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
