ON THE MARK
Markakis goes 3-for-3 with RBI as Braves edge Phillies
ATLANTA — Tyrell Jenkins was too nervous to watch the ninth inning, so he headed to the clubhouse.
“I saw the first pitch and went in the kitchen and made a sandwich,” he said. “I had to do something to not be stressed about it.”
Jenkins earned his first career victory, pitching six innings and helping the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on Friday night.
Jenkins, acquired in the November 2014 trade that sent Jason Heyward to St. Louis, began the game with a 6.43 ERA and 26 baserunners allowed in his first three career starts, a span of 14 innings.
Jenkins (1-2) did a lot better against the Phillies, allowing one unearned run on four hits and four walks. He struck out four.
Pitching exclusively from the stretch, Jenkins struggled with his command in the fourth, walking two and loading the bases with two outs, but Odubel Herrera swung at the first pitch and popped up.
“I couldn’t wait for this day to get here,” Jenkins said. “I hate sitting on a bad start. Watching the film, every ball that was hit this past Sunday (at Colorado) made me ready to get out there tonight.”
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin described Jenkins as “effectively wild” but credited him for mixing in secondary pitches like his changeup.
“We knew that he walked people, but you can’t sit on any pitch because he doesn’t locate consistently,” Mackanin said.
Jim Johnson, the fourth Atlanta pitcher, earned his fifth save in eight chances.
Nick Markakis went 3-for-3 with two doubles for the Braves.
Vince Velasquez (8-3) gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings.
The Phillies went up 1-0 in the third. Cesar Hernandez scored from first base when left fielder Jace Peterson bobbled Herrera’s single.
Velasquez made 30 pitches in the bottom half of the inning as Atlanta took a 2-1 lead on RBI singles by Gordon Beckham and Markakis.
The Phillies went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and are hitting .145 in those situations in the last eight games.