Velasquez strikes out 16 in shutout vs. Padres

It’s safe to say the Phillies are very happy with their end of the Ken Giles trade so far. On Thursday, rookie right-hander Vincent Velasquez struck out 16 batters in a complete game shutout against the Padres (PHI 3, SD 0).

Take a look at Velasquez’s pitching line:

Golly. That’s as good as it gets right there. Joke that it came against the Padres if you want. That kind of performance is impressive against any team.

Check out strikeout No. 16:

PitchFX clocked Velasquez’s final pitch, his 113th of the day, at 97.2 mph. Between that and the post-strikeout fist pump, I’d say the young man was pretty excited. Oh, and he picked up his first base hit in the game as well.

Velasquez’s masterpiece resulted in a Game Score of 97, easily the highest in baseball so far this young season. Only seven pitchers beat a 97 Game Score in 2015, and four were no-hitters.

The 16 strikeouts tie Cliff Lee, Curt Schilling, and Steve Carlton for the third most in a single game in Phillies history. Chris Short fanned 18 in 1965 and Art Mahaffey struck out 17 in 1961.

Through two starts Velasquez is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA this season. He struck out nine Mets in six shutout innings in his first start last week. Last season he had a 4.37 ERA in 55 2/3 innings with Houston.

As I mentioned, the Phillies acquired Velasquez as part of the Giles trade this offseason. The Astros sent five young players to Philadelphia, including Velasquez and former No. 1 pick Mark Appel.

Giles, meanwhile, has allowed five runs and three home runs in his first 3 1/3 innings with the Astros. He allowed three home runs total in two years with the Phillies.

Vincent Velasquez struck out 16 batters in Thursday’s shutout. (USATSI)