Greenfield native Kyle Gibson pitches during his minor league start with the Rochester Red Wings against the Indianapolis Indians in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 27, 2017.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
For the second time in a week, Greenfield’s major league baseball representatives got the ball as starting pitchers for their respective teams.
Kyle Gibson, a 34-year old, 10-year veteran was the starter for the Philadelphia Phillies in their home game against the Atlanta Braves Sunday.
Across the country in Phoenix, Drey Jameson, a 25-year old rookie making his third major league start, pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the San Francisco Giants.
Both pitchers left their games with the lead, but after a lengthy rain delay the Braves rallied to beat the Phils 8-7 in 11 innings. The Giants had a late-inning rally to defeat the Diamondbacks 3-2.
Gibson threw five innings and gave up seven hits, five earned runs, two walks and had nine strikeouts.
After a strong August, he’s had some struggles this month.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported from Sunday’s game that Gibson’s velocity was up and he struck out nine, but overall, it was another rough day for the right-handed starter.
“I’d say it was probably the most frustrating thing about the last five starts,” Gibson told the Inquirer. “I went back and actually tracked each hit the last five starts just to see where I threw it, the pitches I was giving hits up on. It’s frustrating to see how many executed pitches I’ve been giving up on hits. My stuff feels great. Body feels great. It’s coming out of the hand good. Just a couple of crazy plays today and some things didn’t go my way. It’s frustrating when you feel like you’re making pitches and it’s not going your way.”
Jameson threw 5.1 innings and did not give up an earned run against the Giants Sunday. He had five strikeouts, three walks and gave up five hits.
Jameson told the Arizona Republic, “ I didn’t have my best stuff,” but was encouraged by his ability to get results anyway.
The two Greenfield-Central grads threw on Tuesday, Sept. 20, too.
Jameson picked up a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Gibson suffered the loss in the Phils 18-11 defeat, at home, against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Gibson has been a key pitcher for the Phils this season, as they battle for a spot in the post season.
With 10 games left in the regular season, the Phillies have a 1.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for a National League wildcard slot.
He his 10-7 with a 4.84 earned run average with 137 strikeouts in 161.2 innings pitched.
Jameson was called up earlier this month to make his major league debut.
He’s pitched well in all three starts with a 2-0 record and 0.98 ERA. He has 17 strikeouts and five walks in 18.1 innings pitched. He has given up 14 hits.
Both pitchers are scheduled to start for their clubs this weekend, but on different days.
Gibson is slated to go Saturday against the Washington Nationals. Jameson is scheduled to pitch Sunday in San Francisco.
