MINNEAPOLIS — The Phillies halted their losing streak at nine games when they powered their way to a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.
The victory was just the Phillies’ seventh in the last 33 games.
Freddy Galvis led the victory with a career-high five RBIs.
The Phillies were held to just nine runs in losing all six games on the homestand before this three-game series. They had 38 hits and scored 22 runs in the three games in Minnesota, but still lost twice to the team with the worst record in the majors.
Even in victory Thursday, the Phils were sloppy in the field and on the bases.
Starting pitching report
Phillies starting pitchers entered the game with an ERA of 6.11 in June. Jerad Eickhoff knocked that down a notch by pitching six innings and giving up just two runs, only one of which was earned. He walked one and struck out five.
MLB
Eickhoff is 5-9 with a 3.36 ERA in 15 starts.
Minnesota right-hander Ricky Nolasco (3-5) gave up 10 hits and four runs in 6⅔ innings. One of the hits was a home run.
Nolasco’s ERA is 4.95. That’s the lowest (by more than a run) of the three starters the Phils faced in the series.
Bullpen report
Severino Gonzalez did a nice job protecting the lead in the seventh. He struck out two. Gonzalez has added velocity since moving to the bullpen.
Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez closed it out.
At the plate
Galvis drove in his first run with a safety squeeze, his second with a triple and his next three with his seventh homer of the season.
Ryan Howard was the designated hitter for the third straight game and he drove in a run for the second straight day with his 11th homer of the season. It tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second. Howard went 2 for 5 on the day to raise his average to .150.
Odubel Herrera singled home a run. Cesar Hernandez, whose lack of production has landed him on the bench lately, made the most of a start with three singles, a triple and a walk. He scored three runs.
Lineup stuff
Tommy Joseph was a late scratch because of illness. Andres Blanco, who had been scheduled to start at second base, moved over to first base and Hernandez was inserted at second.
Pitching moves coming?
Phillies officials are pondering several changes on the pitching staff.
Up next
The Phillies move on to San Francisco for three with the high-flying Giants. Here are the pitching matchups:
Friday night — RHP Zach Eflin (0-2, 10.80) vs. RHP Jake Peavy (3-6, 5.47)
Saturday night — RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-6, 4.41) vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner (8-3, 1.85)
Sunday afternoon — RHP Aaron Nola (5-7, 4.11) vs. RHP Johnny Cueto (11-1, 2.06)