PHILADELPHIA -- Vince Velasquez waited two long weeks to make his second start of the 2020 season.

He hopes to make a third one Friday.

It remains to be seen if he will, however, following the Phillies' 5-2 loss to the Braves in Game 1 of Sunday's seven-inning doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park. Velasquez allowed one run, three hits and three walks and struck out six in four-plus innings. But things are complicated now that the club's top pitching prospect Spencer Howard made his big league debut in Philadelphia's 8-0 loss in Game 2, raising questions about Velasquez's and Howard's future roles on the pitching staff. Phils manager Joe Girardi said the team will not employ a six-man rotation. He also said that he thinks Howard could serve multiple roles for Philadelphia, meaning starting and relieving.

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"Right now, my plans are [for] Vinny to make that start," Girardi said. "It's just because we haven't talked about it, right? We didn't come into today and say we were going to make a change in the rotation. We didn't come in and say that. We said we're going to evaluate every day what's best for our team.

"I'm sure we will continue to talk about it, what we do and how we have the best makeup of a pitching staff. There's been no decisions made at this point, but we'll continue to hash it out."

Like Girardi said late last week when asked about Howard's promotion, "Stay tuned."

"That's not in my mind or in my thought process," Velasquez said. "My job is to go out there and pitch. I have been in that [bullpen] role before, so I know what it entails. Whatever role it is, I've still got to go out there and command my pitches. To answer your questions, no, I haven't really thought about it. But as far as preparation goes, like I said, it's fine-tuning. It's right there. It's literally right there. It's just a minor adjustment. I feel it."

Velasquez entered the season optimistic because of a refreshed mindset and an improved repertoire of pitches. He struggled in his debut July 26 against the Marlins, allowing four runs on three hits (including two homers) and two walks in three innings. He struck out four.

Velasquez prepared to start July 31 against the Blue Jays, except Major League Baseball postponed seven consecutive games following their series against the Marlins because Miami had a COVID-19 outbreak.

The Phillies have said the long break put their pitching staff at a disadvantage. The sharpness and arm strength are not there.

Velasquez's fastball averaged 92.1 mph Sunday, down from 92.7 mph on July 26 and down from 94.2 mph last season. The three-week ramp-up in Summer Camp and the two-week break between starts likely come into play there, although Girardi wondered if they were getting accurate velocity readings during the game.

Regardless, Velasquez does not sound concerned.

"Ninety-two is OK," Velasquez said. "Even today, I didn't really have 95 [mph]. You guys are probably used to seeing 95-97 [mph]. I'm not saying I'm trying to throw hard, but I don't want to go out there and overthrow. That's what got me hurt in previous years. I'm throwing nothing but fastballs, and the next thing you know, guys are timing up fastballs, driving it the other way. Now, I'm mixing pitches."

Velasquez got 13 swings and misses out of 76 pitches (17.1 percent), the 11th-best whiff rate of his career (minimum 50 pitches). He got nine on his fastball and four on his changeup. Velasquez reintroduced his changeup this season after ditching it the past couple seasons.

Velasquez got Ender Inciarte to ground out on a changeup in the second inning, working himself out of a bases-loaded jam.

"I'm sure everyone probably was like, 'Oh, he might give up a hit,'" Velasquez said. "No, I got a ground ball. I was very effective with my changeup. I used it wisely."

Velasquez carried a 1-0 lead into the fifth. After he allowed a first-pitch single to Tyler Flowers, Girardi emerged from the dugout and went to his bullpen. Deolis Guerra and Adam Morgan allowed five runs to score. The bullpen's ERA jumped to 7.48 ERA (23 earned runs in 27 2/3 innings).

Velasquez lamented the fact that he got ahead of several hitters but could not put them away. The Braves fouled off 20 pitches. If Velasquez is more efficient there, he likely could've pitched deeper in the game. He hopes for another shot at that later this week.