MLB Game Preview - Philadelphia at Arizona

Mon Aug 5, 2019 9:40 PM EDT

Vince Velasquez, last seen playing a stellar left field, will be back at his regular job Monday night when the Philadelphia Phillies open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

Velasquez became part of viral video Friday night when forced into playing the outfield in Philadelphia's 15-inning, 5-4 home loss to the Chicago White Sox.

He fired a perfect one-hopper to cut down a runner at home, made a diving snag of a liner that Statcast estimated had only a 15 percent chance of being caught and nearly threw out Leury Garcia at home in what turned out to be the winning run.

"I'm one of those kinds of guys that can be counted on to play anywhere," Velasquez said after the game. "And you've seen me throw left-handed."

Presumably, all he will need to do Monday is pitch -- right-handed.

Velasquez (3-6, 4.40 ERA) has been effective in his past two starts, allowing two runs in 10 2/3 innings, while striking out 15 and walking five. He was in the rotation early in the season, went to the bullpen, and has started in his past seven appearances.

Velasquez is 1-2 with a 3.93 ERA in six career appearances (three starts) against Arizona. He pitched a scoreless inning of relief against the Diamondbacks in June, when Arizona won two of three games in Philadelphia.

The Phillies lost two of three to the White Sox in the interleague series, but didn't lose ground to the Washington Nationals in the race for the second wild-card spot in the National League. Arizona took the final two games of a three-game set against Washington to get back to .500, 2 1/2 games behind the Phillies and Nationals.

"Now what we have to do is take this into tomorrow against Velasquez," said Arizona outfielder Adam Jones, who drove in a season-high four runs Sunday in a 7-5 win. "Going from this point on, every series is important. We need to win series."

Arizona will turn to 30-year-old rookie Merrill Kelly (7-11, 4.52), who is 0-5 in his past eight starts. He has given up seven runs in each of his past two outings, including a stint of just 2 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on July 23.

His best start of the season came at Philadelphia on June 12, when he twirled 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out five.

A recent Arizona bright spot has been reliever Archie Bradley, who threw 28 pitches in a six-out save Sunday. He has not allowed a run in his past 11 appearances, spanning 14 1/3 innings.

Before that, he had a 5.66 ERA and had lost his set-up role. His ERA is down to 4.01.

"I was pretty bad a couple of months ago. I really had no idea where the pitch was going," Bradley said in the locker room Sunday. "I'm getting ahead of guys, attacking. I feel confident with all three pitches I'm throwing right now."

The Phillies enter the series with a new third baseman, having moved outfielder Scott Kingery after sending slumping Maikel Franco to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, when utility man Brad Miller was activated from the injured list.

The Phillies need somewhere to put Kingery on a more regular basis after their recent trade for outfielder Corey Dickerson.

"We have quite a few outfielders," manager Gabe Kapler said Sunday. "Scott will end up moving to the dirt, and the most logical way to get Scott reps right now is at third base."

--Field Level Media