Velasquez surrendered two runs on six hits. He collected three strikeouts and walked a pair in the win.
“I made the pitches that I needed and got the ground balls that I needed," Velasquez told reporters afterward. "I got out of those jam situations. I helped myself. Did I prove something? Yeah, I did. It shows that I can do it and that I can go deep into games. I can build on this.”
Given the questions surrounding the Phillies rotation, the club needs Velasquez do just that - to build off this quality start and carry some momentum through the final two months of the season.
A key moment of the game came in the fifth when, with runners on first and second and no outs, Velasquez fielded a bunt from DBacks hurler Merrill Kelly and fired to third to record an out. Scott Kingery then made a quality throw across the diamond to complete the second end of a double play. It was a pivotal play that could have given Arizona a spark if it went wrong.
At the plate, Kingery finished 2-for-5 with a homer while Jean Segura chipped in with a pair of RBIs.
Hector Neris, back from serving a suspension, tossed a clean ninth inning and collected a strikeout.
It was a quality win for the Phillies over a team that's on their tail in the Wild Card race. The two clubs resume their three-game set on Tuesday with Jake Arrieta set to face Mike Leake who will be making his debut with Arizona after being acquired from Seattle at the trade deadline.
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