LOS ANGELES — There aren’t really any must-wins in May, but there are much-needed wins.
Jake Arrieta knew what the story was Tuesday night. Twenty-four hours earlier, the Phillies had self-destructed in the eighth inning and suffered a brutal one-run loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They needed someone to rise up and make things right again. Enter Arrieta. The man with the lumberjack beard and killer sinker delivered seven shutout innings to lead a much-needed 6-1 win at Dodger Stadium (see first take).
“You want to be a stopper,” Arrieta said afterward. “Anytime you’re in a situation when you lose a tough game, especially the first game of a series, you want to come out and put a stop to it. That’s what I intended to do.”
The Phillies blew a 4-0 lead in Monday night’s loss and their defense fell apart as the Dodgers rallied to go ahead in the eighth inning. Manager Gabe Kapler was thrilled with the way his team bounced back after the difficult defeat.
“We've had some tough losses this season and last night was certainly one of them,” he said. “Whenever you have a tough loss, you want to see how your club is going to respond. Are they going to pick each other up? Are they going to fight for each other? Are they going to show big heart and big character? And that's what we saw tonight from our men.”
It all started with Arrieta.
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“Jake was an animal,” Kapler said.
Arrieta scattered six hits, walked two and struck out five. He got a bullpen assist from Tommy Hunter in the eighth after Hector Neris lost the shutout. Arrieta is 5-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 10 starts. He has allowed more than two earned runs in just one of those starts. His May numbers were sensational: 2-1 with an 0.90 ERA in five starts. He pitched 30 innings, allowed three earned runs and just 25 hits, only one of which was a homer. He struck out 20 and walked nine.
Arrieta’s strikeout totals were not eye-popping in the month, but he doesn’t care. He likes throwing that darting sinker and getting all those groundball outs.
“Everybody likes strikeouts, which is great,” Arrieta said. “But outs are most important. It doesn't matter how they come. I have seven guys behind me. I’m not going to pitch away from contact. I could strike more guys out if I threw more four-seamers and threw more breaking stuff, but why do that if I could throw more efficient innings with less pitches?
“I pitch to contact and get a punch-out when I need it. I’m trying to get 27 outs and if I can’t do that, I’m trying to get as close as I can.”
Beyond the score, there was some good news and some bad news in the game.
The good: Rhys Hoskins got back in the batter’s box as a pinch-hitter one night after fouling a 95-mph fastball off his face. He doubled in the ninth inning as the Phils put the game away with two runs.
“We wanted to get Rhys right back on the bike and he wanted to be out there,” Kapler said.
The bad: Utility man Pedro Florimon, who got a start at third base, suffered a broken right foot on a foul ball during his first-inning at-bat. He will head back to Philadelphia on Wednesday and the Phils will have to add a player who can serve as a backup shortstop.
“It’s tough,” Kapler said of Florimon’s injury. “He’s been a really good bench player for us. He's a warrior.”
The victory improved the Phillies to 30-22. Last year, the team did not win its 30th game until after the All-Star break — July 16.