Phillies' Velasquez gets rude homecoming in loss to L.A.

LOS ANGELES - They gathered Tuesday evening on the Dodger Stadium dirt, behind a rope, and anticipated a homecoming. More than 100 friends and family came to watch Vince Velasquez, a native of nearby Pomona, Calif., and those closest to the 24-year-old pitcher secured field passes.

Before a nightmarish 9-3 Phillies loss, Velasquez came to greet his support, which held signs during batting practice to encourage him. One spelled Pomona, but with a Phillies script "P." A woman wearing a Velasquez jersey assembled a strikeout tracker.

Then, for two hours, they watched Velasquez pitch the worst game of his major-league career. He could not fire fastballs past the powerful Dodgers lineup, which crushed three two-run homers. Velasquez allowed a staggering nine runs on 11 hits — both career highs — in 42/3 innings. He was humbled at the iconic stadium 30 miles west of his hometown.

Afterward, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin wondered whether Velasquez should have adjusted his strategy to blow away all of the Dodgers batters and employe his change-up more often. Velasquez, when relayed that suggestion, rolled his eyes.

On this night, he was going to live or die by his fastball.

"I had a plan to attack the guys," Velasquez said. "I challenged the guys inside, outside. I mean, you can't go wrong with that."

It began with promise. Velasquez silenced the Dodgers with fastballs in the first inning. He fanned Chase Utley on a 95-mph fastball. Corey Seager stared at a perfect 96-mph heater low and inside for strike three. And, after a Justin Turner single, Josh Reddick whiffed at another 96-mph fastball.

Velasquez threw 18 pitches in the first inning. Fourteen were fastballs. Everything floundered from there.

Howie Kendrick bashed a 2-0 fastball in the second inning for a two-run homer to center. Yasmani Grandal jumped a first-pitch fastball in the third inning for another monster home run to right. In the fourth, Turner walloped a 1-0 fastball to deep left for his own two-run shot.

"As he gets older and continues to grow, he'll learn from outings like this that it's important to use all his pitches," Mackanin said, "especially against a team like this with all the power they have. He'll get it. He'll get it."

These are trying times for a young Phillies rotation that has sustained losses in the form of injuries and ineffectiveness. Velasquez's time dwindles with every completed inning; the Phillies will place restrictions on his workload, which will prematurely end his season. But he has averaged just 51/3 innings per start, so that could push him deeper into September. On Tuesday, he made his 20th start, his most in any season.

Velasquez did not lose velocity as his pitch count rose. He simply could not locate his fastball down in the zone. He repeated mistakes that have, at times, haunted him this season; the criticism of Velasquez is that he resembles a [ITALICS]thrower[/ITALICS] not a pitcher.

His current 3.94 ERA is the highest it has been all season.

There is no denying Velasquez's talent, not after the magical 16-strikeout game in April and how he rebounded from a three-week break in June. The Phillies wanted to test him in 2016, to see how he could handle the task of facing a big-league lineup every fifth day. That, they said, would teach Velasquez that he could not throw a fastball past every hitter.

The brash pitcher is still learning.

"They were on my stuff," Velasquez said. "Again, this is something you have to learn from. You're not always to go out and throw a shutout, especially against a team like this that's fully loaded."

As he shuffled to his exit in the fifth inning, some fans seated a few rows behind the first-base dugout at Dodger Stadium stood to clap. Velasquez went inside and checked his phone.

"I got a couple of text messages saying all of Pomona was here," he said.

They knew the journey was still unwritten, even after a forgettable night at home.

mgelb@philly.com

@mattgelb