Thank You, David Peralta. May I Have Another? D’Backs 6, Phillies 0

Did someone on the Phillies offend Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta? Because he’s spent the last three games unleashing an unholy vengeance on their pitching staff.

On Wednesday, Peralta had another impressive showing in the Diamondbacks’ series clinching win over the Phillies, going 4-5 with 2 RBIs. This continued a season-long trend of Peralta feasting on Phillies pitching. In six games, he is 14-27 with three home runs and nine RBIs.

That was more than enough offense for the Diamondbacks, because the Phillies were unable to get anything going against starter Patrick Corbin. Right from the beginning, there were signs that it might not be the Phillies’ day. Cesar Hernandez led off the game with a single, but was then erased from the basepaths two batters later thanks to a strikeout-caught stealing double play. To his credit, Hernandez actually managed to reach base three times, which is three more times than most of his teammates.

Corbin showed exactly why he was an All-Star - and why many Phillies fans think the team should pursue him in free agency this offseason. He only allowed four baserunners in 7.1 innings, and the only time the Phillies had a runner in scoring position was when Roman Quinn doubled in the sixth inning.

Vince Velasquez got the start for the Phillies, and he was nowhere near as effective. Velasquez had been on a roll lately, but it was obvious that he didn’t have his best stuff today. His velocity appeared to be down, and it seemed like only a matter of time before the Diamondbacks got to him. The inevitable finally happened in the third when Peralta tripled home two runs. After the D’Backs added another run in the fourth, manager Gabe Kapler decided to end Velasquez’s day.

Despite the lack of offense, the game still appeared to be within reach until the seventh inning when a combination of Adam Morgan and Enyel De Los Santos gave up two more runs. After that, it was just a matter of how quietly the Phillies would go out. (As it turned out, pretty quietly.)

Fortunately, this is the last time the Phillies will have to see Peralta, Corbin, and the Diamondbacks this season. There is the possibility that the teams could square off in the postseason. If that happens, I hope that whoever it was in the Phillies organization that offended Peralta offers him a sincere, heartfelt apology.