Phillies outlast Marlins in 14-inning marathon, 3-1

An estimated 174 dogs—and 15,238 paying humans—were treated to one of the best starts of José Ureña’s career on Sunday. He wouldn’t factor into the decision, though. Jean Segura’s 14th-inning home run (his first in a Phillies uniform) off of struggling veteran Wei-Yin Chen put the Marlins behind for good in the 3-1 loss.

• Vince Velasquez: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (81 pitches)
• José Ureña: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (102 pitches)

The most experienced but worst-performing Marlins starting pitcher entering the afternoon (9.22 ERA, 2.12 WHIP, 14.3 K% in 13.2 IP), Ureña needed a quality start badly to quiet the critics. “Quality” would be an understatement—leaning on a filthy two-seam fastball that had sharp lateral movement and topped out at 98 miles per hour, the right-hander shut down a dangerous Phillies lineup.

The one blemish against Ureña was a César Hernández solo homer in the fourth inning that just barely cleared the right field fence. That put the Phils ahead 1-0.

Meanwhile, Chad Wallach continues to demonstrate why he is deserving of the Marlins backup catcher’s job.

In the top of the sixth, Bryce Harper attempted to score from second on a single to left. Wallach made an extremely difficult scoop and tag to keep it a one-run game.

Wallach also reached base three times, boosting him to a .844 OPS.

Fresh off Saturday’s scoring splurge, the Fish offense reverted back into awfulness. Vince Velasquez carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth.

But then, third baseman Brian Anderson spoiled the no-no and erased the lead with one swing:

Both bullpens traded zeroes from there. Sergio Romo escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth by getting old friend J.T. Realmuto to ground out. Tayron Guerrero handled the 10th, extending his scoreless streak to 7 ²⁄₃ innings (though he has issued walks in five straight appearances, too).

Finally, Don Mattingly ran out of alternatives: he had to go to Chen. Andrew McCutchen hit a long fly ball that barely hooked foul; Jean Segura kept his in play:

The performance actually lowered Chen’s earned run average to 23.40. Even so, Mattingly will have to face more tough questions about what—aside from an $80 contract—justifies keeping the left-hander on this team.

As I alluded to at the top of the article, this was the first of four Bark at the Park games for the Fish this season. Enjoy...

The homestand continues with a three-game set against the talented yet underachieving Cubs. Yu Darvish and Trevor Richards are Monday’s probable starters. First pitch at 7:10 p.m.

Cubs vs. Marlins box score (MLB.com)

Fish Picks answer key

1. Ureña
2. Under
3. Phillies

Bonus (Twitter only): Brian Anderson