Last June, for example, he took a line drive off his right forearm from Washington’s Adam Eaton, sprinted for the baseball on the third-base side and made a perfect throw to first base with his left/non-throwing hand for the final out of the inning.

Velasquez did, however, deliver a much-needed gem Monday night in the desert, giving the Phillies seven sharp innings in a 7-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

First baseman Rhys Hoskins and manager Gabe Kapler had a lengthy conversation about the Phillies’ inconsistent offense before Monday night’s game in Arizona.

Corey Dickerson, the last player Phillies general manager Matt Klentak added at the trade deadline, had two hits in his first start for the team Sunday, but Scott Lauber writes in his notebook that the outfielder was back on the bench for the series opener Monday night in Arizona.

Columnist Marcus Hayes admired the athleticism of Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez after watching his brilliant emergency work in left field Friday night.

I’ve always liked watching hitters that attack early in the count, but the statistics show that many of the best hitting teams in baseball see a lot of pitches.