By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Right-hander Vince Velasquez shined in the Philadelphia Phillies' 5-0 doubleheader nightcap victory against former shortstop Freddy Galvis and the San Diego Padres Sunday evening at Citizens Bank Park.
After the Phillies dropped the first game of the doubleheader 10-2, Velasquez worked seven scoreless frames in the series rubber match, allowing just two hits and a walk while punching out seven of his 24 batters faced.
The National League-worst Padres collected just two singles the entire game — a leadoff single by former Phillies catcher A.J. Ellis to break up Velasquez's no-hit bid in the sixth, and a out-out single by switch-hitting second baseman Jose Pirela in the seventh.
Velasquez has shined over his last six starts, combining for a 2.38 ERA, 0.794 WHIP and 34-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 34 innings. Phillies writers Meghan Montemurro (The Athletic) and Reuben Frank (NBC Sports Philadelphia) shed light into how Velasquez's recent success matches up in franchise history:
- First Phillies pitcher with three or more instances of a no-hitter through five innings in one season since Steve Carlton did so four times in 1979.
- Velasquez has allowed four or fewer hits in six straight starts, the second-longest streak by a Phillies starter since 1908, only bested by David West's nine-game streak in 1994.
- Fourth Phillies pitcher in the last 111 years with consecutive starts going six-plus innings while allowing no runs and two or fewer hits, matching Dick Ruthven (1979), Carlton (1981) and Aaron Nola (2016).
National League starters with at least 100 IP and 10.0 SO/9, and less than 3.5 BB/9:
-Max Scherzer
-Jacob deGrom
-Patrick Corbin
-Vince Velasquez— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) July 23, 2018
Since June 23, Velasquez has posted the third-lowest ERA among all major league starters, minimum 20 innings pitched (1.29). Only the Boston Red Sox' Chris Sale (0.27) and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke (1.13) have performed better. Velasquez is now 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 23-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 0.375 WHIP spanning two career starts (16 innings) against the Padres.
Phillies starting pitching has arguably lifted the club to its first-place, late-July standing in the division this season, more so than any other component of the club to date. While Velasquez struggled over his first 13 starts (4-7, 4.95 ERA/.262/.325/.452), he has been dominant ever since (2-1, 2.38 ERA, .134/.230/.241).
