Pitcher erases run -- from the outfield! - MLB.com

PHILADELPHIA -- Don’t run on Vince Velasquez. Working with a shorthanded bullpen due to closer Hector Neris' suspension and soreness in Zach Eflin's right triceps, the Phillies found themselves pitching outfielder Roman Quinn and playing Velasquez, a right-handed pitcher, in left field in the 14th inning of a tied game

PHILADELPHIA -- Don’t run on Vince Velasquez.

Working with a shorthanded bullpen due to closer Hector Neris' suspension and soreness in Zach Eflin's right triceps, the Phillies found themselves pitching outfielder Roman Quinn and playing Velasquez, a right-handed pitcher, in left field in the 14th inning of a tied game on Friday night against the White Sox at Citizens Bank Park.

.@vjvelasquezrhp has averaged 94.5 mph on his fastball from the mound this season …
He got it up to 94.7 on this outfield assist. (h/t: @AndrewSimonMLB) pic.twitter.com/Lr5wu815tD
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 3, 2019

Velasquez kept the game -- won by Chicago, 4-3, in 15 innings -- temporarily tied when he threw out Jose Abreu at home plate after Abreu tried to score on a single from James McCann. Statcast clocked Velasquez’s throw at 94.7 mph. It was the ninth-fastest throw by a Phillies outfielder this season.

The fastest? The man on the mound. Quinn threw out a runner with a 98.2-mph throw this season.

Velasquez wasn't done, though. In the 15th, he nearly repeated his feat on a sharp single to left by Abreu with two outs and runners on first and second. Leury Garcia broke for home, and Velasquez's throw reached catcher J.T. Realmuto just a moment late -- confirmed by an umpire review -- allowing Chicago to take a lead it would keep. This throw, according to Statcast, was even harder at 95.0 mph.

"I saw the throw before -- that first throw that he made," Garcia said. "So I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to go.’ He almost got me. But I got him."

Vince Velasquez’s catch to end the 15th had a 15% catch probability. It was a 5-star catch (0-25% catch prob). It’s the #Phillies’ first 5-star catch of the season (they were one of 7 teams without one). They had two all of last season.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) August 3, 2019

Remarkably, one batter after Abreu's single, Eloy Jimenez hit another laser to Velasquez, who laid out for an inning-ending diving grab that had a catch probability of just 15 percent and may have saved yet another run.

“A pretty crazy first day,” said starter Jason Vargas, who allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings in his debut with the Phillies, who fell into third place in the National League East, seven games behind the first-place Braves, and a game behind the Cubs and Nationals for the two NL Wild Card spots.

“It was frustrating, certainly,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. “I really thought the team stepped up in a major way, with everything on the line. They fought and clawed for every last inch. They never quit, even under the circumstances. Look, I'm most proud of that. … I was proud of the Vince Velasquez plays in the outfield. I was proud of Roman Quinn."

“I’m one of those kinds of guys that can be counted on to play anywhere,” said Velasquez, who hadn't played in the outfield since high school. “And you’ve seen me throw left-handed.”

Todd Zolecki has covered the Phillies since 2003, and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook .

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