"That's great, isn't it? I was really encouraged by not only his BP, but obviously the game," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He looked like he made major adjustments to his approach, so let's see where it goes from here. He had a different approach in batting practice, which was obvious to me. I was asking Matt [Stairs] about that. Really concentrating on staying above the ball and leveling off his swing, and it paid off that game."
Vince Velasquez started for the Phillies, marking his return since being on the disabled list since May 30 with a right elbow flexor strain. He surrendered two runs (one earned) over six innings.
"I felt really good," Velasquez said. "Right from the get-go, just pretty much pitching to contact and trying to get early outs."
Giancarlo Stanton greeted Velasquez with a solo shot in the first, his third homer in the last two days.
"It's tough to pitch to him, he manages the zone so well," Velasquez said. "This time he beat me."
Nick Williams pushed the lead to three for the Phillies with his two-run homer off Jarlin Garcia in the ninth inning.
"You don't see many home runs hit by a left-hander hit to that part of the ballpark," Mackanin said. "He really crushed that ball. He's got well above-average power. Good to see that. He's just on a high."
The two clubs conclude their three-game set this afternoon at Marlins Park. Rookie Nick Pivetta, who surrendered a career-high nine runs in his last start, gets the nod for the Phillies. He'll be opposed by righty Dan Straily.
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