The Phillies have won six of seven games, and strong starting pitching has been a big part of it — first-year manager Gabe Kapler talked about the rivalry among his starters to push each other to be better, a standard set high by Arrieta. “It’s very different, but you saw what (Curt) Schilling and (Pedro) Martinez did with the Red Sox,” Kapler said after Friday’s win, citing strong starts from Jake Pivetta and Vince Velasquez. “When one guy comes out and has a good start, the other guy wants to come out and match it, or do it a little better. As long as there is respect with it amongst our starts, it’s nice to see them competing in games and trying to match the last guy’s performance.”
The Phillies have won nine of 11 overall while improving to 7-1 at home. It is Philadelphia's best start at home since it won seven of eight to begin the 1981 season.
Nick Pivetta tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts, Cesar Hernandez homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 Wednesday in a wet interleague matchup.