Lorenzen Fits The Bill In Phils Debut

MIAMI. FL - “So, when am I pitching?” that was the simple text message received by Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham just minutes after the club acquired former Tigers right-hander Michael Lorenzen earlier this week. It was soon announced Lorenzen would make his Phillies debut Thursday against the Miami Marlins during the finale of the four-game series. The Phillies newest addition took his assignment and ran with it.

The Anaheim native pitched 8.0 innings to the tune of two runs on six hits while striking out five in the Phils 4-2 win over the Fish. Coming off of one of the most grueling losses of the season, in last nights four hour, 12-inning marathon which saw Rob Thomson expel nearly his entire bullpen, the Phils were in need of a strong outing from their new toy.

Since the All-Star break, Lorenzen holds a 3-1 record with a 1.69 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Though in all of his starts, neglected to pitch past the 7th inning–working further than the 6th in only one game during that stretch. Nonetheless, today’s showing from Lorenzen marked the first time in his career he pitched to eight complete innings. Despite a few hiccups along the way, a steady attack from the offense kept Lorenzen calm and poised on the hill for the majority of the contest.

The offense’s steady attack began in the 2nd inning when JT Realmuto, who’d been dealing with a blister on his hand for the past few days made his first appearance back in the Phils lineup and did not disappoint, Realmuto launched his 13th home run of the year off Marlins veteran starter Johnny Cueto. This came after a walk from Nick Castellanos who continued his hot hitting as of late with a 1-3 day, crossing the plate twice.

The second of those runs from Castellanos came right after one of the game’s biggest turning points. In the top of the 7th with runners on 1st and 2nd, Bryson Stott worked an eight-pitch AB, forcing Cueto from the ballgame with the bases loaded and nobody out. What ensued may have quite possibly won the Phillies the ballgame as Brandon Marsh would single through the gap on the right side of the infield scoring two runs, giving the Phillies and Lorenzen a 4-1 lead headed into the bottom of the 7th.

Lorenzen strutted out for the bottom of the 7th with 77 pitches and traversed quickly through the first two batters, even so letting up a deep centerfield blast from Bryan De La Cruz all but assuring Zen wouldn’t be out again for the 8th inning. However, after a scoreless top of eight Rob Thomson would opt to send the flaunting Lorenzen out one last time for the 8th frame. The Phillies newest addition, doing his best Cliff Lee impression faced only four batters as he eclipsed 100 pitches in the inning.

When the bottom of the ninth strolled around Seranthony Dominguez would make his way out to the mound, looking to earn just his second save of the year after earning his first in Tuesday night’s 3-1 thriller. Dominguez had struggled this season, dealing with injuries and inconsistent play, the hard-throwing righty was pleased when he brought down the heart of the Marlins order with ease to end the ballgame and send the nearly 17,000 Phillies fans that converged on loanDepot Park home happy with a 3-1 series win over the Fish.

With the win, the Phillies climb to 59-50 on the season and hold sole possession of the second NL Wildcard spot behind the Giants, with Milwaukee idle by just one game. The club will now head home for a 10-game home stand against the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and Minnesota Twins. Game one of the Phils weekend bout with the Royals is tomorrow night for a 7:05 pm ET First Pitch, you can see the contest on NBC 10 and listen on 94 WIP.