Examining a ‘pretty dang good outing’ from Marcus Phillips

Look, I hear you. It was far from perfect. But following Tennessee’s 4-1 loss Saturday night to Kentucky, I was pretty much on the same page as outfielder Hunter Ensley when he answered a postgame press conference question on the outing from starting pitcher Marcus Phillips.

“I personally think he had a pretty dang good outing,” the outfielder said. “I think it was two unearned runs? He’ll look over it and see what he has to do better. But, I thought he pitched really well and he will be ready for next week.” 

The right-handed hurler for Tennessee tossed five innings on Saturday night. He allowed two runs, which were both unearned, and tied for a career-high of eight strikeouts. Phillips also stranded six Wildcats in scoring position and left eight on base by the end of his outing.

“He’s got good stuff. He’s a big leaguer on the mound,” Ensley continued on Phillips. “He’s got big time velo [velocity] on the heater and good off-speed stuff. Really good presence. Just like their guy [Nic McCay], he was locating. I think he’s been around the block a few times now. He’s been in those situations like that. He’s obviously more comfortable working around.”   

So, that was a really solid takeaway from this ballgame: Marcus Phillips danced around a ton of pressure in high-leverage situations. The negative? He often put himself in tough situations with four walks and did his part in giving up eight stolen bases.  

“I mean he utilizes. He’s got big stuff. Everybody knows that. He utilized his stuff, and unfortunately – they did take some good swings,” skipper Tony Vitello said postgame. “I think we got ourselves into some trouble with some walks and a couple plays we could have made on defense. Those two things are going to happen. It’s just, when we don’t score on offense and you’re playing a lineup that’s versatile, and they’re dangerous like all SEC lineups, it just gets exposed or highlighted a little bit. 

“So, [he] had good stuff. Had good composure in those moments, but you’d like to avoid those moments a little bit.”

That’s fair. What was super impressive about him on Saturday was the ability to get out of jams. Having said that, he was a big reason for the jams in the first place. Regardless, the stat line looks decent following a start where you’d probably get different answers from different people when asked on it.

One thing that MUST get corrected his opponents having a field day on the base paths when Phillips is on the mound. Ole Miss and Kentucky have combined to swipe 15 (!!) bags against Phillips and his catcher the past two weekends.

Charlie Taylor always tells us on the porch: The battle is on the base paths but the war is at the plate with the batter. I agree to a certain extent. This is that extend. Come on now. Make some adjustments to help yourself. Hopefully we see some next weekend.

“I think just a little bit of presence. It’s a little easier for the left-handers facing the runners, but you see guys up on the mound that are able to step-off pick, just have presence up there and deal with certain situations,” Vitello said on managing the run game. “And I don’t know that we could’ve gone back in time, but there was one where first and third early break where we ought to be able to step off and kind of make a play on the deal. 

“But they’re also looking to be super aggressive and high-risk on the bases, and that’s part of the deal as well.”

Phillips was up-and-down in his start Saturday night for Tennessee. He was elite in certain areas (strikeouts, runs, runners on) and was poor in others (walks, stolen bases). It’s an undeniable fact, however, that he is one of the more talented pitchers on the roster.

He was good enough to win on Saturday. The offense just had a bad night.