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Only four more games against the Braves to go, gang! Then only, like, twenty more after that. Remember last season, when the Phillies played the Nationals 25 times in 15 days, or some other accurate stat? The Braves are the Phillies’ Nationals this April, though even the nine games they play together in the season’s opening month pale in comparison, it feels, to last year’s endless supply of Nationals.
In any case, it’s Vince Velasquez’s job to finish things out this time. Through three starts, Velasquez has typically done his thing, burning through a pitch count early in games and departing before the bullpen had a chance to catch its breath. However, Velasquez pulled out of a tailspin in his last start and, backed by his offense, and pushed through 6.2 innings. Though he has thrown a league leading four wild pitches.