By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Phillies 2, Padres 1 ❖ Attendance: 17,638
Philadelphia, PA – The story of the Phillies (4-5) recently has been their pitching. The starters and the bullpen have been extremely strong as of late and it continued tonight in the win over the Padres (3-6). Jerad Eickhoff kept San Diego off balance all night with his sharp curve and fastball command, scattering just four hits while striking out nine over seven dominant innings. Jeanmar Gomez allowed a run in the 9th, snapping the bullpens scoreless streak that went back to the 7th inning of Friday's game against the Mets.
Meanwhile, Maikel Franco provided the lone offense for the Phils, going 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and two RBI's. The slugging third baseman is hitting .379 this season after tonight's performance.
Philadelphia and San Diego conclude their series on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Vince Velasquez gets his second start of the season for the Phillies. The Padres will send Drew Pomeranz to the mound in the finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
WP: Jerad Eickhoff (1-1, 1.50 ERA) ❖ LP: Colin Rea (0-1, 5.56 ERA) ❖ SV: Jeanmar Gomez (4)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| SD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| PHI | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
The Phillies got on the board first in the opening frame, thanks to a Maikel Franco solo blast into the left field stands. Franco struck again in the 3rd. With two down, Odubel Herrera reached on an infield single and made it to second on an errant throw to first. Franco followed with a double into the left center field gap to plate Herrera from second and extend the Phils lead to 2-0.
San Diego threatened in the 8th against David Hernandez. Alexi Amarista singled to lead things off. Two batters later, Jon Jay hit a ground ball to Ryan Howard at first and the veteran first baseman threw the ball to second, but hit Amarista in the back. With everyone safe on the play, Cory Spangenberg drew a walk to load the bases. David Hernandez ended any hopes of a San Diego rally, striking out Matt Kemp and Wil Myers to end the inning and conserve the 2-0 advantage.
The Padres finally broke through in the 9th against Jeanmar Gomez. After getting the first two outs, Gomez walked Derek Norris. He went to second on a defensive indifference during the next at bat. Brett Wallace singled, scoring Norris from second, cutting the lead in half with two down in the ninth. Fortunately, Alexei Ramirez popped out to Freddy Galvis ending the game, sealing the Phillies fourth win in their last five.
Jerad Eickhoff was the highlight for the Phils tonight. He was in control throughout seven dazzling innings. He's sporting a 2.42 ERA in 63 innings pitched, spanning 10 starts, at the big league level. Eickhoff has pitched 18 straight scoreless innings at Citizens Bank Park and 24 of his 27 innings pitched at home have been scoreless. In his 10 starts for the Phillies since being promoted from Triple-A last season, he's struck out 61 hitters and walked just 15.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Rea | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5.56 |
| Jerad Eickhoff | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1.50 |
Padres
- Alexi Amarista: 2-3, .375 AVG
- Melvin Upton Jr.: 1-3, 2B, 2 K, .308 AVG
- Brett Wallace: 1-1, RBI, .111 AVG
Phillies
- Maikel Franco: 2-3, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, .379 AVG
- Odubel Herrera: 1-4, R, 2 K, .250 AVG
- Cesar Hernandez: 1-4, K, .333 AVG
Padres
- Ryan Buchter: 1.0 IP, 2.45 ERA
Phillies
- David Hernandez: 1.0 IP, 1H, 1 BB, 3 K, 5.79 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez: 1.0 IP, 1H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1K, 1.80 ERA
What's Next
- Thursday, April 14, 2016: vs. San Diego Padres, 1:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- LHP Drew Pomeranz (1-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. RHP Vincent Velasquez (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Citizens Bank Park
