Phillies Beat Indians Behind Velasquez For Sixth Straight
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vince Velasquez tossed two-hit ball over six innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cleveland Indians 2-1 Sunday for their sixth straight win.
Freddy Galvis had an RBI single a day after driving in three runs in a 4-3 win, helping the surprising Phillies win for the 15th time in 21 games since starting 0-4.
Velasquez (4-1) struck out six and pitched around trouble because of four walks. He lowered his ERA to 1.44. David Hernandez pitched two hitless innings and Hector Neris earned his first career save after giving up a solo homer to Carlos Santana with one out in the ninth. Closer Jeanmar Gomez wasn't available after pitching four of the previous five games.
Danny Salazar (2-2) was the hard-luck loser for Cleveland. He gave up two runs, three hits and fanned eight in seven innings. Salazar hasn't allowed more than three hits in any of his five starts.
The Indians have played six straight one-run games and 11 overall, going 4-7.
The Phillies entered the season with low expectations after losing 99 games last year. But strong pitching has sped up the rebuilding process. The staff has three shutouts and has given up just 10 runs during the winning streak. The bullpen had 20 straight scoreless innings before Santana's homer.
Velasquez helped himself by drawing a walk with one out in the third. He advanced on a single by Peter Bourjos and scored on a two-out single by Galvis. Bourjos scored on a balk to make it 2-0.
Left fielder Darin Ruf, who played exclusively first base throughout spring training, made an outstanding, diving catch to rob Rajai Davis of extra bases with two runners on and two outs in the fourth, preserving the 2-0 lead.
STANDINGS
Indians: Have lost five of six, falling to 10-12.
Phillies: A 15-10 record is their best since finishing the 2011 season with a franchise-record 102 wins. Previous six-game winning streak was May 13-18, 2015. Have consecutive three-game sweeps for first time since September 7-12, 2012.
STREAKING
Indians: Jason Kipnis was 0 for 4, snapping a nine-game hitting streak.
Phillies: Odubel Herrera was 0 for 3, ending his 11-game hitting streak.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: Placed C Roberto Perez on the 15-day disabled list with a right thumb injury and purchased the contract of C Adam Moore from Triple-A Columbus. Perez injured his thumb diving to make a tag in the fifth inning of Saturday night's loss.
UP NEXT
Indians: After a day off, RHP Josh Tomlin (3-0, 3.18) faces Tigers RHP Justin Verlander (2-2, 5.46) Tuesday night in the opener of a six-game homestand.
Phillies: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2-1, 3.81) starts the opener of a four-game series at St. Louis and the first in a 10-game road trip. RHP Adam Wainwright (1-3, 7.16) goes for the Cardinals.
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