Velasquez strikes out 7 as Phillies blast Blue Jays

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Vince Velasquez struck out seven batters and showed off his speed on the base paths in his final Grapefruit League start Monday night as the Phillies rolled past Toronto, 7-1, at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

Velasquez allowed five hits in five innings. He threw 86 pitches, 52 of which were strikes. His lone run allowed was a homer by Russell Martin. Velasquez ended his night by striking out Martin, Josh Donaldson, and Jose Bautista in order.

"If I can do that the whole time - stop fiddling around and pitching around guys like Donaldson and Bautista and just trust my stuff," Velasquez said, ". . . I'm good to go. [Pitching coach] Bob McClure said, 'I'd take that any day.' It's been a strong, healthy, successful spring training."

The pitcher helped his own cause by scoring a run in the fourth. Velasquez moved from second to third on a single to right field by Freddy Galvis. Galvis was then caught in a run down between first and second as Velasquez stood on third. Galvis waved the pitcher home and Velasquez sprinted for the plate, not breaking his stride until he ran up the wall behind home plate.

"My momentum just kept going. I got excited," Velasquez said. "I just booked it. I didn't really think about it at the time. I just thought, 'Hey, he's going to think that pitcher's can't run.' I just showed my athleticism there. You know what I'm saying? You know in Benchwarmers when he climbs the fence? I was thinking about doing that but that's not a real fence. I didn't want to get hurt."

Tommy Joseph went 4 for 4 with a two-run homer and a double. Galvis went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Joaquin Benoit, Edubray Ramos, and Pat Neshek pitched scoreless outings in relief.