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Much like the Philadelphia Phillies <a title="Matt Holliday Jersey" href="http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-holliday-jersey">Matt Holliday Jersey</a> , Vince Velasquez has struggled since early August. The right-hander will be on the mound Saturday night as the Phillies face the Miami Marlins in the second game of a three-game series in Philadelphia. Velasquez will try to help the Phillies win their first series since Aug. 5 — which also came against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.Velasquez (9-11, 4.30 ERA) has a 6.66 ERA and a 1.644 WHIP over his last six starts, and opponents have a .900 OPS against him in that stretch. The Phillies are 2-4 in those outings, and they’ve fallen out of the playoff race with a 12-23 record over the last six weeks. Article continues below ...Philadelphia beat Miami 14-2 on Friday. With 16 games remaining, the Phillies are 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East and five games back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second NL wild-card spot.Velasquez gave up five runs on seven hits in four-plus innings against the New York Mets last Sunday on a rainy afternoon at Citi Field. It marked the fifth time in six starts that Velasquez has gone four innings or fewer.“I was missing spots kind of the whole game and the conditions got the best of me,” Velasquez told the Delaware County Daily Times after the outing. “I can’t let that happen.”Velasquez has a 2-1 record and a 2.08 ERA in three starts against the Marlins this season. The 26-year-old is 4-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in nine starts against Miami in his career.The Marlins were not sure who would start on Saturday as of Friday night. Manager Don Mattingly said it would likely be a bullpen game with the team playing its sixth contest in five days.The Phillies are hoping their offense from Friday night carries over to Saturday against whichever pitcher the Marlins use.The 14 runs they plated were the most since a 17-5 win over the Pirates on July 6. The Phillies hit five homers on Friday night, including a pair by Aaron Altherr and the 31st of the season by Rhys Hoskins.“Big night for Rhys, and really up and down the lineup, we got contributions,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said after Friday’s win. “I thought we had a good offensive approach all night.”Hoskins, who was starting at first base for just the third time this season on Friday, has four homers and seven RBIs in his last six games. He is now hitting .253 with an .868 OPS this season <a title="http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-austin-romine-jersey" href="http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-austin-romine-jersey">http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-austin-romine-jersey</a> , and Hoskins’ 31 homers tied him for the eighth-most in the National League.Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto hit his team-leading 21st homer of the season Friday night. It improves on a career-high for Realmuto, who has 71 RBIs.Miami (57-90) has lost six of its last seven games, and the team has hit the 90-loss mark for the first time since finishing 71-91 in 2015. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is 10-7 this year against the Marlins, and the franchise has hit 75 wins for the first time since finishing 81-81 in 2012. The Los Angeles Angels have considered offering star Mike Trout a 10-year, $350 million extension, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.Rosenthal notes that it's not clear if an actual offer has been put on the table.The 27-year-old is under contract through the 2020 season, with a salary of $33.25 million in each of the next two years.Back in March 2014, a 22-year-old Trout signed asix-year, $144.5 million extensionwith Los Angeles that bought out three arbitration years as well as a trio of free agency years. It marked the highest averaged annual value ever given to a player with just two years of service time.All Trout has done is live up to the contract and then some.Trout has a career .307/.416/.573 slash line with 240 home runs and 648 RBI. In seven full seasons, the center fielder has an American League Rookie of the Year award <a title="Reggie Jackson Jersey" href="http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-reggie-jackson-jersey">Reggie Jackson Jersey</a> , six Silver Sluggers and a pair of AL MVP awards. He has never finished outside of the top four in MVP voting, finishing runner-up four times, including last season.As a result, there has been growing speculation that the Angels will look to lock him up before he has a chance to reach the open market. And this offseason has help reset the market for superstars.MannyMachado(10 years, $300 million with the San Diego Padres) and Bryce Harper (13 years, $330 million) have each topped the $300 million mark this winter. Harper's deal edged outGiancarloStanton's 13-year, $225 million deal for the largest in league history.Also of note, ZackGreinke's six-year, $206.5 million deal with the Arizona Diamondback holds the record for largestAAV($34.4 million) in MLB history.Trout is expected to command more, both in terms ofAAVand total guarantee, than eitherGreinkeor Harper.While the Angels may be pondering an extension internally, the star himself isn't worried about his contract status at the moment."I haven't even thought about it <a title="http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-bernie-williams-jersey" href="http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-bernie-williams-jersey">http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-bernie-williams-jersey</a> ," Trouttold reportersFriday. "Obviously, you guys bring it up a lot and I appreciate you asking me all these questions, but right now is not the time to think about it. I still have a couple more years."Rosenthaladded that Trout, a New Jersey native, is "quite happy" in Southern California.If Trout plays out his current contract and tests free agency following the 2020 campaign, he will be 29 years old when he signs his next deal. It may be tougher for him to get a decade-long deal (if that's what he wants) then than it would be now, but as long as he continues to perform in the meantime, he should have no problem generating interest.
