Phillips rebounds from early homer, pitches longest outing of season

ST. LOUIS -- When Tyler Phillips walked into the visiting dugout at Busch Stadium after the sixth inning Sunday, he flashed nine fingers to manager Clayton McCullough, signaling he had wanted to go nine innings. He did it again after the seventh.

McCullough got the message.

Phillips turned in his longest outing of the season, going 7 1/3 innings on 97 pitches in the Marlins' 2-1 loss to the Cardinals. After surrendering a two-run homer to Bryan Torres in the second inning, Phillips settled in, retiring 18 of the final 21 batters he faced.

His outing continued an impressive stretch for Miami's pitching staff, which entered Sunday with a Major League-best 2.87 ERA and a 3.05 rotation ERA while allowing two runs or fewer in eight consecutive games.

"[Phillips] was outstanding today," McCullough said. "He was able to really economically get through a lot of innings. He's tough, he always wants the ball, and the big [5-4-3] play in the sixth inning helped his cause to get back out there."

Phillips' outing also helped limit the workload on Miami's bullpen as the Marlins continue their 10-game road trip with a four-game series against the Rockies beginning Monday.

"We're going into a couple of tough environments to pitch in to finish up this road trip, so to get that type of length from Tyler, keep us right in that game" McCullough said. "Again, unfortunate to lose, but you do take a silver lining from this, that we'll go into tomorrow with a lot of guys that are rested and available. So he did his job for sure."

The turning point for Phillips came immediately after Torres' second-inning home run. Rather than nibbling around the strike zone, the right-hander changed his approach and attacked hitters.

The adjustment paid off, as he didn't issue a walk after giving up 13 over his first six starts since moving into the rotation on May 24.

"I was just in survival mode," Phillips said. “I started recognizing, like, 'Hey, you're falling behind. These guys are putting better bats on the ball in those 2-0 counts, and ultimately I gave up a homer on [it].'

“From that moment on, I just decided, 'Hey, throw the ball over the plate, let your field work.'”

The defense rewarded the trust Phillips decided to place in them. Heriberto Hernández made a sliding catch in left field and Graham Pauley finished the second inning with a diving catch at third. The infield turned a double play in the sixth after Phillips gave up a leadoff single.

McCullough shared that mentality has developed over Phillips' past few starts, with an emphasis on attacking the strike zone.

"Him and [pitching coach] Daniel [Moskos], and kind of made a concerted effort that we never know how good you are if you don't fill up the strike zone," McCullough said. "He took that into his pre-start work, his last start against Texas. He really filled up the zone, and saw it again today.

“So, that's the ticket..He's got enough pitches, can get the ball off the barrel, and he does have the ability, with his mix, to get some quick outs."

The 28-year-old’s outing also served as proof to himself that he could maintain his stuff deeper into a game.

"It gives me a sense of, 'Hey, you can do this,'" Phillips said. "I get to the fifth now, and it feels like the third inning to me, so building the stamina nicely these days, and hopefully we just build onto that."

Part of that progress came from a simple adjustment.

"There's the preparation from what they call the energy development system, just doing some extra running. But after my game in Philly, I kind of messed up my knee a little bit, so I've been laying off running. This time, it was really just drinking water and saying the right prayers," Phillips said.

Another came from Moskos, who encouraged Phillips to mentally reset between innings instead of dwelling on the previous frame.

"Whenever there's two outs, I'll check out," Phillips said. “Once I get down there. I'll tell some jokes, I'll hang out with the catcher, or whoever it is.

“I kind of just do the same thing. I just find a spot on the wall, and I'm a big believer that your facial muscles dictate how you're going to feel. If you're wanting to get angry, you just frown. Eventually it turns into anger, and I try to channel that the right way. So, two outs, I just put the glove on, get the face going, and go out there and attack again."